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You could see every detail of the snake’s head in Kapil Siliwal’s photograph. Image Credit: Kapil Siliwal

There was no sign of Samuel L Jackson, but a snake on a plane led to the cancellation of a flight from Muscat to Dubai on Sunday.

“Emirates can confirm that flight EK0863 from Muscat to Dubai on 8 January 2017, was cancelled due to a detection of a snake in the cargo hold prior to passengers boarding,” an airline spokesperson said.

“Engineering and cleaning teams are working to clear the aircraft to re-enter service. We apologise for the inconvenience caused.”

As soon as the news hit, social media users were quick to make references to the 2006 action thriller Snakes on a Plane, starring Jackson.

In November last year, a metre-long snake was found aboard a Mexican airliner flying from Torreon to Mexico City.

The snake has since been retrieved and the aircraft as re-entered service, Emirates said on Monday afternoon.