Pets on Aircraft: Snakes on a Plane?

It’s usually rare that I see pets on-board aircraft. The typical pets brought on-board aircraft tend to be cats and dogs, however I’ve seen others, like parrots. It was just last week that I saw a very young kitten on-board, with its face measuring roughly 2 inches in length. I’m writing about pets today because of yesterday’s news of missing snakes on-board a Qantas Airways jet. I’ll fill you in with the details below:

United Press International (UPI) has the full story:

MELBOURNE, April 16 (UPI) — An Australian airline said two flights were canceled due to the escape of four baby pythons from a container in a plane’s cargo hold.

Qantas bosses said workers discovered that a shipment of 12 non-venomous Stimson pythons in the cargo hold of a plane that arrived in Melbourne from the city of Alice Springs was light four snakes, Britain’s The Daily Mail reported Thursday.

Officials said the Boeing 737 was grounded after staff members were unable to locate the escaped pythons.

“At first we were not sure what had happened to the other snakes,” Qantas Corporate manager David Epstein said. “A reptile expert suggested that some of the baby pythons had eaten the others because apparently it is not uncommon for baby pythons to eat each other.”

“But the only conclusion we could draw was that four of them had broken free of the packaging,” he said.

Epstein said the plane was returned to service after fumigation.

So, what do you think? Is it just me, or would it bother you too if a few snakes got loose in the cargo area? Precisely, I’m concerned about the strength of the packaging for reptiles. Most common pets, as you may be aware of, are flown inside the cabin. However, last month was not too good for pets. The February U.S. carrier statistics, the latest statistics released, showed two incidents involving the loss or death of pets. In January, there were no incidents reported. What happened?

The FAA has a nice web page with frequently asked questions – dedicated to flying pets. Here are the official rules about flying pets:

What are the FAA rules regarding traveling with pets in the passenger cabin?
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) allows each airline to decide if they will allow you to travel with your pet in the passenger cabin. If an airline does allow you to bring your pet into the cabin, we consider your pet container to be carry-on baggage and you must follow all carry on baggage rules (14 CFR part 121, section 121.589):

* Your pet container must be small enough to fit underneath the seat without blocking any person’s path to the main aisle of the airplane.
* Your pet container must be stowed properly before the last passenger entry door to the airplane is closed in order for the airplane to leave the gate.
* Your pet container must remain properly stowed the entire time the airplane is moving on the airport surface, and for take off and landing.
* You must follow flight attendant instructions regarding the proper stowage of your pet container.

Not all airlines allow pets on-board. It is recommended to contact the airline you’re flying prior to the flight to alert them that a pet will be on-board. Pets are screened through the use of the metal detector. Pets are never allowed through the X-Ray machine. However, if the pet is unable to go through the metal detector, the pet can simply be inspected by TSA officials.

That’s it for pets on aircraft. Pretty simple, right? Unfortunately if you have allergies, airlines cannot ensure that there will not be a pet on-board your flight. Sometimes flying the airlines that do not allow pets is helpful. Typically, there aren’t many pets on-board aircraft. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a problem with a pet being on-board an aircraft.