A TikTok video showed a snake spotted slithering in an overhead light fixture on an AirAsia flight.
The internal Malaysian flight from Kuala Lumpur to Tawau was diverted after passengers onboard spotted the snake on the plane, according to NPR.
The TikTok user, E-day Tay, shared the video and so far it has received more than 2.6 million views.
@edalwa01 Kelihatan seekor ular dalam pesawat dlm penerbangan dari KL ke Tawau. Pesawat terpaksa emergency landing di AirPort Kuching #fyp
According to Business Insider Australia, AirAsia confirmed in a statement that the incident did occur, but stated that it was a “very rare incident”.
AirAsia’s chief safety officer Liong Tien Ling told Insider: “As soon as the Captain was aware, he decided to divert the aircraft to Kuching as a precautionary measure to fumigate the aircraft.
“The Captain took the appropriate action and the flight safely departed for Tawau as soon as possible. The safety and wellbeing of our guests and crew is always our top priority.”
The airline said that the snake did not injure anyone and according to the New Strait Times, the incident was handed very well per the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia.
Commenters on the original TikTok video likened the situation to the 2006 Samuel L. Jackson movie “Snakes on a Plane.”
While this was a bit of a rare occurrence, it’s not entirely unheard of, in 2017 a real life snake on a plane broke loose on a flight to Alaska.
According to CNN, the snake was found during a 90-minute flight from Aniak to Anchorage.
15 minutes into the flight, the pilot told the passengers there was a snake loose on a plane.
A passenger brought the snake on board (which is a major no-no) and the plane landed safely, on time, in Anchorage.
