A 10-foot-long snake caused a stir at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport on Friday when it was spotted near an Aurangabad-bound passenger aircraft.
The non-venomous snake was identified as an adult rat snake that could have strayed into the airport from the surrounding shrubbery. It had entered the aircraft parking area where a TrueJet passenger aircraft was undergoing maintenance checks. The snake was spotted by the crew and the Airside Operations staff was immediately alerted. The staff is on the perpetual lookout for wildlife straying into the airport and is equipped to remove them from the facility. The snake was caught and whisked away to be released into nearby forest area. About three years ago, a monkey had found its way into the airport and evaded capture for over two days despite being baited. The simian had flicked for food but vanished into an air-conditioner vent before it could be caught. Finally, forest officials were called to tranquilise it before it could be caught.
