Fearful passengers discover a live snake during Bangkok flight

Airplane passengers got an unwanted surprise when they spotted a snake slithering around in the cabin’s overhead compartment.

The AirAsia flight was travelling from Bangkok to Phuket when the drama unfolded as people who noticed the snake quickly moved from their seats as they feared the reptile would fall onto their heads.

Others took the opportunity to record the unusual situation on their phone and a clip from the TikTok account @wannabnailssalon has since gone viral with 5.9m views.

A brave cabin crew member then tried to move or catch the snake inside an empty plastic water bottle but then came up with a better plan and used the water bottle to guide the snake into a bin bag.

It remains unclear as to how exactly the snake managed to get on board and what happened to it after it was captured,

Since the incident, Phol Poompuang, head of corporate safety of AirAsia Thailand has reassured passengers this was "a very rare incident," and confirmed the plane landed safely in Phuket where it was inspected by the engineering and safety teams at the airport.

"Flight attendants were notified before landing in Phuket after a passenger noticed a small snake in the overhead luggage compartment," he added as per CNN.

"AirAsia crew were well trained to handle an occurrence of this nature and relocated passengers from the area as a precautionary measure.

"As per standard procedure for an incident of this nature, the aircraft underwent a deep clean and fumigation before resuming operations. The safety and wellbeing of our guests and crew is always our top priority and at no time was the safety of guests or crew at any risk."

Meanwhile, people have been sharing their thoughts on social media about the incident, where many people joked that it was the "real snakes on a plane," referring to the 2006 action film starring Samuel L Jackson where FBI agent Neville Flynn (Jackson) is forced to take charge of a plane when a gangster released a crate filled with venomous snakes on purpose.

One person said: " I wouldn't like to be sitting underneath it."

"I’ve seen this movie before," another person joked, while someone else added: "I’d be sitting like a foetus all the way"

"The steward was smart and focused," a fourth person commented.

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