Archive · 5 Oct 2026
Snake Sightings Alarm Staff at Calcutta Airport’s Old ATC Building
Snakes have been appearing inside an old airport control building more often than before.
The building has nine floors, and one snake was found between the seventh and eighth floors.
An expert identified that snake as a common bronzeback, which is not venomous.
It may have climbed in using a cable, pipe, or vent, but the expert could not tell for sure.
Another snake was found on the second floor in August.
Airport staff call the forest department when they find snakes.
The snakes are caught and released in a nearby thicket or forest.
A forest official said the area used to include wetlands where snakes lived.
Snakes have been spotted three times in recent months inside the nine-storey old air traffic control building.
On September 30, an airport employee found a snake on the landing between the seventh and eighth floors.
A herpetologist identified the September snake as a non-venomous common bronzeback, which can climb trees and rough surfaces.
A snake was also found on the second floor on August 2 and was caught and released outside the building.
Airport staff contact the forest department to capture snakes; a forest official said the animals are released in nearby thickets or forests.
- Who
- Airport employees and air traffic control staff, with help from the forest department and herpetologist Anirban Chaudhuri.
- What
- Snakes have been found repeatedly inside the old air traffic control building, including on a landing between the seventh and eighth floors.
- When
- Three sightings occurred in recent months; reported examples include August 2 and September 30, with no year specified for those dates.
- Where
- The old nine-storey air traffic control building beside the old domestic terminal at Calcutta airport.
- Why
- The route the snakes use to enter the building is unknown. An expert said the September snake may have used an overhead cable, pipe, or vent.
- Building height
- Nine storeys
- Reported sightings
- Three in recent months
- September 30 location
- Landing between the seventh and eighth floors
- Species identified
- Common bronzeback
- Species status
- The identified common bronzeback is non-venomous
- Earlier reported sighting
- A snake was spotted on the second floor around 3.30am on August 2
- Building construction
- The old ATC building was constructed in 1971