MEXICO CITY: First class passengers on a recent Aeromexico flight were confronted by a slithery stowaway, in a jaw-dropping scene reminiscent of the tongue-in-cheek action film “Snakes in a Plane”, which starrred Samuel L Jackson.

A university rector from Torreon posted video on Twitter of the unwelcome passenger snaking its way out of a an overhead bin and dropping into the cabin.

“The flying viper, HA HA HA,” he joked.

The mile-high stir was enough for air traffic authorities to give the jet – a domestic flight from Torreon to Mexico City – a priority landing.

Animal expert Juan Carlos Gomez Juarez said it was clear from the video that the passengers were not dealing with a poisonous species.

Nobody was hurt but a few passengers were upset. “It is just really common for people to panic when they see snakes,” said Gomez Juarez.

Aeromexico said it was investigating how the snake wound up on the jet.