Snake found on plane causes flight cancellation at Japan airport: details inside

A snake was spotted inside a plane in a domestic flight operated by Japan Air Commuter, a regional airline under Japan Airlines, that caused flight cancellation on Monday, October 19, 2026.

Japan Air Commuter Co. confirmed in a statement that the spotted creature aboard the flight turned out to be a nonvenomous Japanese snake.

The airline operator said on Tuesday, October 20, that the snake, about the length of 40 cenimetres was first spotted by a mechanic under the carpet in the aircraft at Fukuoka Airport at around 1 p.m. local time.

Japan Air Commuter, which is part of Japan Airlines, added that the snake was apprehended 24 hours later by a wildlife control expert.

The airline didn’t disclose details as to how the snake managed to get inside the aircraft.

The snake was found inside the cabin of an ATR42 aircraft scheduled to depart from Fukuoka Airport for Kagoshima on October 19, 2026, per Kyodo News.

However, the flight was cancelled after the snake was found while the aircraft was preparing for departure.

"As far as we can determine, there has never been a case of a snake getting into the cabin," the airline said on Tuesday, October 20, 2026.

The aircraft landed at Fukuoka Airport earlier that morning after takeoff from Izumo Airport in Shimane Prefecture.