While the 2006 movie "Snakes On A Plane" forever etched the scene of reptiles all over the cabin in many people's imaginations, a similar situation recently unfolded on a flight with other types of animals.
One low-cost airline's flight from Bangkok to Taiwan was thrown into chaos when two otters, a marmoset, and 28 tortoises all came loose and started moving through the cabin mid-air.
Related: TSA says 'too many' people accidentally x-ray their pets when going through security
As first reported by airline industry site Simple Flying, a Vietjet flight from Bangkok to Taipei was about halfway through the journey when a passenger went to the lavatory and discovered a rodent with "red eyes" near the toilet. She alerted some flight attendants and, when they started searching the cabin, discovered an otter underneath a seat and a rat scurrying around the floor.
Smuggled rodent and otter spark chaos when they escape mid-air on flight to #Taiwan 😮
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'He said 'pet rat, pet rat,'' passenger recounts
"I was confused so he said again 'pet rat, pet rat, it has a white body and it's not small," one passenger recounted to Thai news outlet ViralPress. Footage from the flight also shows an otter crawling around the plane floor as some pull their feet up on their seats and others try to catch it.
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Another passenger observed a flight attendant trying to pick up and bring the marmoset to the back of the plane only to get bit on the hand.
After the flight landed in Taipei, officers from Taiwan's Animal Inspection Bureau entered the plane and discovered a box containing several otters, rats and unidentified rodents and 28 star tortoises.
A woman is currently being investigated on suspicion of smuggling the animals from an animal market in Thailand and could face a penalty of up to $1 million New Taiwan Dollars (approximately $31,000 USD) for violation of the country's infectious disease and animal declaration laws.
A quick reminder on how (not) to transport animals on planes
The entire box of animals has been confiscated and they are currently being quarantined at Pingtung University of Science and Technology while they get examined for infectious diseases.
While transporting such a large number of live animals undeclared will go against almost any country's customs laws as well as flying rules, the issue of animals at airports also recently came under the spotlight in the U.S.
Most U.S.-based airlines cracked down on emotional support pets back in 2021 but trained service dogs as well as smaller pets such as rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters and certain birds are generally permitted for domestic flights. Cats and dogs under a certain size are also allowed to travel with the passenger in the cabin so long as they can fit and stay inside a carrier of certain proportions.
The problem is, as the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) recently reminded travelers, many forget to take the animal out of the carrier when passing through the metal detector.
"Too many travelers have been leaving their pets inside their travel bags and placing their pets through the X-ray unit," New York's Buffalo-Niagara branch of the TSA said in a note reminding travelers to take the animal out of the carrier and either walk or carry it with them through the metal detector.
