A woman claimed a four-foot long boa constrictor was in her luggage because it is an "emotional support" snake.
Back in December, airport security workers found the lengthy snake coiled up in a woman's bag at Tampa International Airport in Florida.
An X-ray of her hand luggage clearly shows the 1.2 metre reptile wound up in a figure-of-eight shape in the bag.
According to security officials the woman claimed that the snake, who is called Bartholemew, was her “emotional support animal” and had to travel with her.
Posting the x-ray on Instagram, the TSA wrote: “There’s a danger noodle in that bag…”
“Our officers at Tampa International Airport didn’t find this hyssssssterical! We really have no adder-ation for discovering any pet going through an x-ray machine.
“Do you have asp-irations of taking a snake on a plane? Don’t get upsetti spaghetti by not understanding your airline’s rules.”
Snakes are not allowed in hand luggage on planes leaving or arriving in the US.
There are a few exceptions for those put in checked bags, so long as the animal is declared and carried properly.
Officials said that Bartholemew was released unharmed and returned to the owner’s home.
While US airlines are much more lenient when it comes to allowing animals onboard than their UK counterparts, rules around emotional support animals have been tightened in recent years.
To legally be considered an emotional support animal, pets needs to be prescribed by a licensed mental health professional.
A therapist, psychologist, or psychiatrist must determine that the presence of the animal is needed for the mental health of the patient.
In 2018 a passenger was removed from a Frontier Airlines flight when they tried to bring an “emotional support squirrel” onto the flight.
It is up to individual airlines whether they allow emotional support animals other than dogs onto flights, which are the only critters now covered by criteria set out by the US Department of Transportation in 2020.
Carriers can allow different types of animals on as pets.
