Snake missing on plane: Urgent search for venomous reptile after sighting grounds aircraft

An urgent search is underway for a venomous snake that has gone missing on a commercial plane.

The snake was spotted on a Tui Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner after it travelled from Mexico to Gatwick, with the 345 passengers onboard somehow not noticing the reptile slithering underfoot.

A cleaner made the terrifying discovery on Friday, spotting the red scaly snake on board the plane after passengers disembarked.

A ground crew worker later snapped a photo of the snake before it went missing.

The snake is believed to be a mock viper, which is considered “mildly venomous”, and has brought the plane to a standstill.

Experts have been brought in to search for the reptile, however, as yet, there has been no luck in locating the snake on the plane.

The airline is believed to be under the impression that a passenger smuggled the snake onto the plane before it broke free and slithered away.

“It beggars belief that a passenger brought the mock viper on board,” a source told The Sun.

“It’s not known what damage the snake could do to the mechanics of the plane.

“The sight of the snake almost gave the airline cleaners a heart attack. But by the time they had raised the alarm the animal had disappeared.

“There was no way the airliner could be allowed to take off again.

“If passengers had seen the snake at 30,000ft there would have been blind panic and pandemonium on board.”