Snake on a Plane: Qantas Flight Delayed After Snake is Found

Snakes on a plane isn't just a movie. An actual snake was found on a Qantas plane which caused a flight delay.

For the second time this year, a snake was found trying to hitch a ride. QF21 flight to Tokyo's Narita airport was supposed to depart at 9:30 p.m., but about an hour before it was supposed to board, a snake was discovered in the plane's doorway, the Guardian reports.

The tiny Mandarin rat snake was only about 7 inches long, but out of a fear that there were more on the plane, the 370 passengers were forced to stay at a Sydney hotel for the night.

"The snake was taken to quarantine to determine where it came from, and a replacement aircraft - a B747 - operated a replacement service to Narita this morning at 10.15," a spokeswoman told Guardian Australia.

The Department of Agriculture is in charge of the quarantined snake. They identified it as a Mandarin rat snake which is common in Asia. Unfortunately the snake was euthanized "as exotic reptiles of this kind can harbour pests and diseases not present in Australia", a spokeswoman said.

The spokeswoman praised Qantas for taking the proper action." This find demonstrates the important collaborative efforts of Department of Agriculture and airport staff in identifying and containing serious biosecurity risks," the spokeswoman said.

She praised the Qantas staff for their actions. "This find demonstrates the important collaborative efforts of Department of Agriculture and airport staff in identifying and containing serious biosecurity risks."

Qantas wasn't going to take any chances of finding another snake on board. "They used another aircraft to operate that service and the existing B747 will be fumigated before re-entering service," the Qantas spokeswoman said.

The spokeswoman believes the passengers were told the reason for why their flight was delayed. This isn't the only time a snake was found on a Qantas flight. In January, a 9-foot python was found clinging to the wing of a plane for two hours during a flight before it fell off.