Virgin Australia’s plane was delayed for two hours recently when a “stowaway” snake was found in its cargo hold. With the assistance of a snake catcher, the non-venomous snake was successfully removed.
According to reports from the Associated Press, during boarding of flight VA337 from Melbourne to Brisbane, a passenger spotted the snake in the cargo hold of the Virgin Australia aircraft.
Snake catcher Mark Pelley was called to the scene to handle the situation. Initially concerned that the snake might be venomous, Pelley later found out it was a harmless 60cm green tree snake.
Pelley stated, “It wasn’t until I grabbed the snake that I realized it was not venomous. Until then, it looked quite dangerous to me.”
When Pelley entered the cargo hold, the snake was half-hidden behind a panel, almost disappearing into the depths of the aircraft. He informed engineers and staff that if the snake vanished inside the plane, they would have to evacuate all passengers as they were unsure of the snake’s identity. Fortunately, Pelley caught the snake on his first attempt.
“If I hadn’t caught it on the first go, the engineer and I might still be pulling apart a 737 looking for it,” Pelley added.
As the snake is native to the Brisbane area, Pelley suspects it may have stowed away in a passenger’s luggage, escaping during the flight from Brisbane to Melbourne.
Due to quarantine regulations, the snake could not be released into the wild. Being a protected species, it has been sent to a veterinarian in Melbourne in the hopes of finding a licensed handler to care for it.
Officials from Virgin Australia stated that the flight was delayed approximately two hours due to the snake incident.
This is not the first time snakes have caused delays on Virgin Australia flights.
In a previous incident on November 21, 2024, on flight VA1482 from Broome, a non-venomous Stimson’s Python was found in the cabin. TV personality Andre Rerekura, who is knowledgeable about reptiles and snakes, happened to be on the plane at the time. He bravely caught the snake and removed it from the aircraft, earning cheers from other passengers and crew onboard.