With all the hype about the current movie “Snakes on a Plane“, I thought I’d pass on this real life story.
On August 25th 2003, passengers on a British Airways flight travelling from Heathrow to Cairo, were terrified to see a real live snake slitthering around in their cabin. There was a mild panic as crew members tried to capture the snake and calm down worried passengers. The snake was ultimately captured and its owners – a group of passengers travelling under diplomatic immunity – fessed up that the snake was theirs. The plane carried on towards Cairo, and the snake and its owners were ultimately re-united.
This scan is the telex (telex??) sent between airline staff discussing the incident. It’s quite amusing.
It reads…
ATTENTION ALL / (NAME WITHELD) CUSTOMER SERVICE SUPERVISORS CAIRO
RE SNAKE INCIDENT FOR BA155 / 25AUG KINDLY FIND THE FOLLOWING:
CABIN SERVICES DIRECTOR INFORMS ME THAT THERE IS 6 PASSENGERS IN BUSINESS CLASS AFFECTED BY THE SIGHT OF SNAKE BUT THEY ARE OK NOW.
PASSENGERS NAME AND ADDRESS AS FOLLOWS: (WITHELD)
ALL AFFECTED PASSENGERS MET AND ASSISTED AT AIRCRAFT AND PASSENGER RECEIVED HIS SNAKE FROM THE CABIN SERVICES DIRECTOR AT THE END OF THE FLIGHT.
CAPTAIN ISSUED AIR SAFETY REPORT WITH WHOLE INCIDENT.
THANKS AND BEST REGARDS.