Snake on a plane grounds Emirates flight to Muscat

An Emirates flight from Dubai to Muscat was cancelled after baggage handlers discovered a snake in the aircraft’s cargo hold.The animal was found before Sunday’s flight from Dubai International, the airline said in a statement, adding that the aircraft was returned to service after being thoroughly searched.

“Flight EK0863 from Muscat to Dubai on 8 January 2017 was cancelled due to a detection of a snake in the cargo hold prior to passengers boarding. Engineering and cleaning teams are working to clear the aircraft to re-enter service. We apologize for the inconvenience caused,” a spokeswoman said.

First class passengers on an Aeromexico flight in November were confronted by a snake that fell from an overhead storage compartment. Nobody was hurt in the incident but a few passengers were rattled.