RAWALPINDI: The spotting of a snake in the apron area, or the tarmac, of the Islamabad International Airport (IIA) sparked panic among the ground handling staff on Tuesday.

A snake which was about a 1.5 metres long was spotted close to the baggage containers which had been parked near the airplane. Duty staff were concerned that it will be dangerous and difficult to kill or catch the snake if it entered a baggage container.

A video was also circulating on social media, showing the snake crawling on the tarmac while staff members look on.

A senior Civil Aviation Authority official said the snake was a small one and was found in an area to which only staff have access. He said the snake was killed and removed from the airport area.

He said the airport trauma centre, located on the premises of the new airport, is equipped to deal with animal and reptile bites.

However, an official of the Airport Security Force said the force’s staff had started a search for the snake as soon as it heard but could not find it.

Another security official said the appearance of reptiles is not unusual at the airport as it is spread over a large green area and that snakes and other reptiles can often be seen inside the airport boundary.

On Oct 1, a bat was seeing flying over passenger seats inside a Karachi bound flight at the same airport. The bat was spotted inside a Boeing 777 flight for Karachi when passengers started boarding and catering staff were loading the catering carts on to the plane.

Published in Dawn, October 17th, 2018