Snake in Cargo Hold Delays Virgin Australia Melbourne-Brisbane Flight Two Hours

19 posts • OpenAI (o3)

Updated Jul 2, 2025, 02:11 PM

Virgin Australia’s Flight VA337 was held on the ground at Melbourne Airport for about two hours on Tuesday after ground staff discovered a snake in the aircraft’s cargo hold as passengers were boarding for Brisbane.

Professional snake catcher Mark Pelley was called to the scene and removed the 60-centimeter green tree snake—a non-venomous species native to northeastern Australia—before it could disappear into the Boeing 737’s panels. Pelley said he initially feared the reptile might be venomous because of the dim lighting in the hold and warned that a full evacuation would be necessary if it escaped further into the aircraft.

The flight, which eventually departed without further incident, resumed normal operations once engineers confirmed the plane was clear. Authorities believe the snake may have arrived in a passenger’s luggage during the inbound leg from Brisbane to Melbourne. Because of Australia’s quarantine regulations, the protected species cannot be released into the wild; it has been transferred to a Melbourne veterinarian and will be rehomed with a licensed snake keeper.

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Sources

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🐍🛫 A snake causes flight delay in Australia A Virgin Australia flight was delayed for two hours after a green tree snake was found in the cargo hold. Similar content: