A snake on a plane has left hundreds of passengers stranded overnight in Sydney.

The eight-inch (20cm) Mandarin rat snake was discovered by staff in the doorway of a Qantas 747 jet due to leave Sydney for Tokyo.

The reptile was spotted just before passengers began boarding.

Some 370 passengers were booked on the flight but all had to spend Sunday night in Sydney hotels thanks to the slippery customer.

Australia's Agriculture Department said the snake, a species that grows to an average length of 1.2 metres (4ft), had been euthanised "as exotic reptiles of this kind can harbour pests and diseases not present in Australia".

The department said the snake had arrived aboard the jet in a flight a day earlier from Singapore.


In January a large python hitched a ride on another Qantas flight
"The Department of Agriculture is looking into how the snake came to be on the plane, but isn't able to speculate at this time," it said.

The mildly venomous Asian snake was about the width of a pencil and did not pose a threat to humans, but it had the potential to cause ecological havoc in the Australian environment if it had escaped the plane with a mate, Canberra Reptile Zoo herpetologist Peter Child said.

A replacement flight was scheduled to leave on Monday morning for the delayed travellers.

One of the stranded passengers, Noah Harris, told Australia's Channel 7 news: "We got a night in a nice hotel and we lose a day of our trip to Tokyo, but what are you going to do? It's a good story."

It is the second "snakes on a plane" drama for Qantas this year.

In January a three-metre python hitched a ride on an early morning flight from Cairns to Papua New Guinea.

The reptile was spotted trapped on the plane's wing and did not survive the journey

[img]http://www.nairaland.com/attachments/1322288_snake1-1-252x337_jpg979ff35b4791bb95ddc076df64d7f4e4[/img]

emmanuelson20: A 747 jet is grounded after the reptile stowaway was discovered just minutes before boarding was due to begin in Sydney.

Mhn, the END TIME wahala now trying to fly reach the sky.

Stowaway boy in Naija, stowaway snake in Sydney! Na wa o! Later it will be stowaway bird. All these are SIGNS we all know of anyway.

If na Nigeria, the plane could have probably proceeded on its journey and allowed to die in freezing temperature of -40 C degrees.

Or the reptile is captured and sent to school with heavily armed security guard.

In some State, the snake can even be adopted in the government house.

2tc by the way!

end time things. The serpent is trying to send spies to heaven but he can never succeed *The Devil is an aboki*

Snakes cant even handle low pressure at high altitudes.
They would be paralyzed.

wetin i want comment sef...ok..."hmmmmm"karashika snake

ok

Snakes on a plane Reality or is it part 3?

well.

Australia and snakes... Oyibo and controversies:...

bringing d movie to reality

Snake in a plane part 2

Chineke meee!!!!

snake

that snake must be a citizen of benin- infant call am stow-away serpent.why everything one escape benin na?

thaught the film has ended

mysticgal: snake

no.. Antelop

What have we not heard pointing to just --- end time tinz

This news just reminded me of the snake i saw inside my bedroom last week

fr3do: Snakes cant even handle low pressure at high altitudes.
They would be paralyzed.

U never watch snake on the plane before?

mysticgal: snake

Nah!! Grass cutter it is.

just passing by

Size of a pencil?? How does that affect the passengers...lol

*in Samuel L Jackson's voice* I'M TIRED OF THESE GOD DAMN SNAKES ON THIS GOD DAMN PLANE

Mtchewwwww wot kind of snake is it male or female... Mtchewwwww wot kind of snake is it male or female...

LOVELY!

if na naija e happen NL go deh Cap careless

the snake was just only trying to port to a better environment, na only MTN we go dey port to?

tolurainbow: Mtchewwwww wot kind of snake is it male or female... Mtchewwwww wot kind of snake is it male or female...

Enter google and ask!!!!!!!!!!!
Mtchewwwwwwww end time questions