Workers at the Tampa International Airport discovered a 4-foot boa constrictor inside a passenger’s luggage, authorities said Friday.
The coiled reptile was discovered as the luggage was going through an X-ray machine, the Transportation Security Administration said in a statement.
Images published by the agency. he showed the animal near a pair of shoes and what appeared to be a laptop.
«Our officers at Tampa International Airport didn’t find it hysterical!» the agency said.
The agency He says routinely screens pets, but animals should never be placed in an X-ray machine. It’s up to the airline whether it will allow a pet on board, the agency says.
In 2019, a loose 15-inch ring-necked snake was discovered near a TSA checkpoint at Newark Liberty International Airport when a passenger apparently left him behind, the agency said.
The year before, at Miami International Airport, TSA workers found a wrapped python in what appeared to be a sock that was hidden on a computer hard drive. The passenger, who was bound for Barbados, was fined and the snake confiscated.