Snake delays Virgin Australia flight at Melbourne Airport

MELBOURNE: In a strange event, a Virgin Australia Flight VA337 that was set to Brisbane at Melbourne Airport got delayed due to the presence of a snake on the plane.

The incident took place on July 1, 2025, when crew members found a snake near the landing gear of the aircraft during passenger boarding.

Wildlife officials and snake catcher Mark Pelley, who is also known as “The Snake Hunter,” were instantly called.

The snake was later discovered to be a harmless green tree snake on the plane, which had crawled into the cargo hold and was slightly concealed behind a panel.

Mark Pelley cautioned that if the snake ran away deeper into the aircraft, a complete evacuation and dismantlement of the plane might be required.

Fortunately, Mark Pelley somehow caught the snake on his first attempt, avoiding further disruption. The flight, scheduled initially to depart at 4:10 PM, finally took off at 6:23 PM.

Officials doubt that it may have arrived on the aircraft via a traveller’s luggage during the inbound flight from Brisbane.

Due to isolation regulations, the snake on the plane caught cannot be released into the wild and has been handed over to a licensed snake keeper.

This Virgin Australia flight delay indicates the criticality of comprehensive protection, inspections and fast response protocols at airports, especially in regions where wildlife encounters are common.

During the snake-catching process, the passengers were kept in the airport lounge, with many stating surprise at the unusual delay.

Virgin Australia staff were admired for their rapid action and collaboration with wildlife experts to ensure safety without panic.

From 2000 to 2018, Tim Friede allowed himself to be bitten by snakes more than 200 times, injecting himself with their venom over 650 times.

Tim Friede was feeling particularly down on the day after the September 11 attacks, so he went to his basement and let two of the world’s deadliest snakes bite him.