Passengers discover live snake on an AirAsia flight in Thailand

Reptile spotted slithering over lights above plane’s overhead compartments

Passengers on a Thai AirAsia flight from Bangkok to Phuket were shocked when they spotted a snake in the cabin’s overhead compartment.

The discovery led to some passengers moving away from the seats that were closer to the snake while others took out their phones to record the reptile. A TikTok video of the incident, shared by a user with the handle @wannabnailssalon, has gathered more than 3.4 million views since it was posted.

The tiny snake was seen slithering over the cabin lights on an AirAsia Airbus A320 plane on 13 January.

One of the cabin crew members reportedly tried to capture the snake inside an empty plastic water bottle. The snake was later swept into a garbage bag using a plastic bottle.

It was not immediately clear how the snake ended up inside the aircraft.

The snake was found as the plane was preparing to land at the Phuket airport.

Once the plane landed, the plane was searched thoroughly. Reports said that no other snakes were found.

Some observers on TikTok likened the situation to the Hollywood film Snakes on a Plane – a 2006 action thriller starring Samuel L Jackson that follows an FBI agent escorting a witness on a flight when criminals release venomous snakes, causing chaos.

The Independent has reached out to AirAsia for comment.