In-Flight Drama: Passenger Claims Snake on Plane, Causes Emergency Landing

An easyJet Airbus A320 flying from London to Marrakesh, Morocco, had to make an unscheduled emergency landing in Faro, Portugal. The surprising reason: A passenger began screaming hysterically "There's a snake on the plane" and demanded an immediate landing. This was reported by the Mako website.

A passenger who witnessed the event shared: "Although it might sound like a scene from a comedy movie, the atmosphere was very frightening, especially for families with children on the flight. Initially, we really thought there was a snake roaming free in the cabin at 30,000 feet. It quickly became clear the passenger was likely under the influence of psychoactive substances, but we couldn't calm him down."

The flight crew concluded that continuing the flight was not possible under these conditions and decided to make a stop in Portugal, where local security forces removed the unruly passenger.

This unusual incident caused a significant delay of about four hours in reaching the final destination in Morocco. Airline representatives emphasized that passenger safety is the top priority and that the passenger became a real threat to those around him, necessitating immediate action in the situation.

Although snake incidents on planes are not common, a few exceptional cases have been documented in the global aviation industry. Maariv reported that on January 13, passengers on a domestic flight in Thailand experienced moments of panic when they discovered a live snake slithering in the overhead storage. The incident occurred on an AirAsia Thailand flight departing from Don Mueang Airport in Bangkok to its destination in Phuket province.

According to an airline report, the flight attendants were informed of the unexpected reptile presence after a passenger identified a "small snake" in the overhead storage. The discovery was communicated to the flight crew shortly before landing in Phuket, as stated by the airline's head of safety, Pol Phompong.

It is worth noting that this is not the first time AirAsia has dealt with such an event. In February 2022, a similar incident was documented when a spotted python was discovered in the passenger cabin of a domestic flight in Malaysia, departing Kuala Lumpur for Sabah. Following the disturbing discovery, the aircraft was forced to alter its route and land at Kuching International Airport in the state of Sarawak.

The 2022 incident in Malaysia, which included videos and photos of the python wriggling along the plane's lighting fixtures, went viral on social media. In response to the event, the airline stated that this is a "very rare phenomenon that can happen on any aircraft from time to time." Similarly, Phompong referred to the incident in Thailand, emphasizing that it's a "very rare event."