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Australian Disney star Andre Rerekura pulled a snake from his flight, earning him a free drink as a reward.
Talking to Australia ABC NewsRerekura shared that before his Virgin Airlines flight from Broome to Perth took off on November 21, a passenger shouted that there was a snake on board. The initial takeoff time was eventually delayed, as the crew tried to figure out how to handle the situation.
“They pretty much locked down the entire plane and were going to disembark everyone and kick them off the plane, which we weren't very interested in because everyone wanted to go home,” he recalled. ABC News.
He added: “It was a bit of a strange story to think it was true, to hear that there was a snake on the plane, so I don't think many people believed it.”
However, Rerekura, who starred in Disney Plus Shipwreck Hunters Australia miniseries – said he noticed the “crazy cute” Stimson's python, a non-venomous snake, next to his seat.
“As soon as I saw it, I identified it pretty easily… so I knew it was safe. [and] “I knew she was just scared and very shy,” he explained, noting that he had no problem picking up the snake and getting it off the plane.
He shared that everyone on the flight was so grateful for his bravery that the flight crew even gave him a token of appreciation: a free drink.
“I think everyone was relieved that they didn't have to get off the plane and then a lot of people were happy that the snake was safe,” he explained, adding that the flight was only delayed 20 minutes because of the incident. “The staff was amazing, they gave me a complimentary drink, I had a soft drink.”
Another video of the flight posted on Instagram by 7News Australia showed passengers applauding Rerekura, as he was seen reentering the plane after removing the snake.
“There is never a dull moment in aviation, but that certainly takes the cake,” a flight attendant said over the intercom. “We have a gentleman on board who got him off the plane safely.”
Stimson's pythons, which are not venomous, have a “pattern of large reddish-brown spots along their body with a paler background,” according to the Australian Museum.
This is not the first time a snake has boarded a plane. In January, passengers on a Thai AirAsia flight from Bangkok to Phuket were shocked when they saw a snake in the cabin overhead bin.
At that time, the small snake was seen slithering over the cabin lights of an AirAsia Airbus A320 plane. One of the cabin crew members reportedly tried to capture the snake inside an empty plastic water bottle. The snake was later dragged into a garbage bag using a plastic bottle.
In May, a passenger traveling from Miami International Airport in Florida was detained by security after he was found with a bag of snakes hidden under his pants. A TSA spokesperson said the independent that the passenger was trying to catch an international flight but had “basically admitted he had snakes in his pants” when the alarms went off.
The man was later banned from boarding his flight, the spokesperson said, adding that such incidents were “not common.”
