An AirAsia flight was forced to change its course after passengers discovered an uninvited guest onboard.
A flight operated by AirAsia, the Malaysian airline, had to alter its flight path after passengers spotted a snake on the plane.
In a statement, AirAsia confirmed that several passengers on a domestic flight from Kuala Lumpur to Tawau on February 10 had seen a snake appear in the cabin. In fact, a social media account even shared a photo of the snake slithering across the lighting fixtures on the aircraft.
The uninvited guest that forced AirAsia to change its flight path. (Photo: CNN).
“This is an extremely rare incident, but it can happen at any time on an aircraft,” said Captain Liong Tien Ling of AirAsia to CNN.
As soon as the pilot received the news about the uninvited guest, the aircraft was redirected towards the city of Kuching.
Once there, the entire plane was fumigated, and the snake was quickly removed by the authorities.
“The captain acted appropriately, and the flight subsequently landed safely in Tawau as soon as possible,” Mr. Ling stated.
“The safety and health of passengers and crew are always the top priority. The safety of passengers and crew is never compromised,” he added.
Incidents of snakes appearing in aircraft cabins are quite rare, but they have occurred before.
