KUALA LUMPUR: After an AirAsia flight from Kuala Lumpur was diverted from Tawau, Sabah to Kuching, Sarawak on Friday, many took to social media to voice their concerns over the incident.

A video shared on TikTok by user @edal8808, showing a snake moving its head above airline passengers has been viewed more than two million times since Thursday.

Netizens’ responses have been a mixed bag of emotions.

Mimi tweeted that the episode was reminiscent of a scene from Snakes on A Plane in real life






Some also shared quotable quotes of Jackson’s from the movie, Snakes on A Plane released in 2006.


AIRASIA’S RESPONSE

AirAsia chief safety officer Captain Liong Tien Ling who confirmed the incident, cited the incident as “very rare and can occur on any aircraft from time to time.”

"AirAsia is aware of the incident on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Tawau on Thursday.

"As soon as the captain was aware of the incident, he made the decision to divert the aircraft to Kuching as a precautionary measure to fumigate the aircraft," he said in a statement.

Liong added that appropriate action was taken to get the reptile out of the aircraft before the aircraft was rerouted to Tawau.

He also said that the safety and wellbeing of passengers and crew members were of the airline’s priority.