In a thankfully less-dramatic version of the 2006 thriller film Snakes On A Plane, fellow passengers were blissfully unaware of the man's box full of pets.
However, police arrested the suspect at Abu Dhabi Airport after the Etihad Airways flight from Jakarta, Indonesia when the animals were found with him.
The snakes were identified by an expert as being non-venomous reticulated and blood pythons.
It was unclear how he managed to get the animals past security in Indonesia.
Khamis al Marar, the acting director general of security affairs and ports in Abu Dhabi, stressed that carrying animals on board is strictly prohibited.
In this case, other passengers' safety was at risk, he said.
He added that licensed animals had to travel in specially designed boxes, which should be stored in the aircraft's hold.
The unidentified passenger was travelling on Etihad Airlines flight EY471.
No-one from the airline was available for comment.
Last year a Qantas flight was grounded after four pythons being carried in the hold escaped in flight between Alice Springs and Melbourne.