Overview

• Cabin crew discovered a 60 cm non-venomous green tree snake in the cargo hold of Flight VA337 as passengers boarded in Melbourne.
• Crew locked the hold and called snake catcher Mark Pelley, who took around 45 minutes to clear security and then captured the reptile in under a minute.
• No passengers were at risk and the flight resumed operations, departing Melbourne and safely landing in Brisbane after the two-hour delay.
• Australian quarantine rules bar returning protected species to the wild, so the snake remains under veterinary care in Melbourne.
• Once it completes quarantine, authorities will place the reptile with a licensed snake keeper in compliance with conservation regulations.