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Bengaluru family accuses Air India of refusing to allow pet dog on flight, airline responds


Mangalore Today News Network

Bengaluru, Dec 19, 2022: A much-awaited fun trip of a Bengaluru man with his pet dog and family went for a toss after an Air India pilot refused to allow the poodle to board the flight. The man has posted a video on Twitter saying that the airlines did not allow the pet dog inside the plane despite having a boarding pass.

 

Air India


In the video, the man, Sachin Shenoy, said that he took a flight from Bengaluru to Delhi and then Amritsar on AI 503 with his family. He said he along with his wife and daughter, were going for a 12-day trip to Punjab and Himachal Pradesh and had booked the tickets in advance.

 


"We were in constant touch with Air India regarding flying their pet dog, Fluffy, with them, as per the rules and procedures laid down by the airlines," he said in the video, which has now gone viral on social media.

 


He said that the dog weighed under 5 kgs and, as per the rules, she was allowed to fly inside the cabin. "She got all the checks done and was issued a boarding pass today," he said in the video, adding that the pet did not create any nuisance at the airport.

 


He said that even after patiently waiting for over four hours, their pet did not create a fuss and was petted by nearly 250 people at the airport.

"The pilot, Captain Chopra, denied entry to us or that is what was told to us," he can be heard saying in the video. He also said that it appeared the flight was overbooked.

"We were told that you can leave your pet and go...It is as good as leaving your kid and flying," he said, sharing his ordeal. He went on to claim that he had suffered major losses since he had made all hotel and travel bookings in his destination city three months ago.

The rules say that the pet needs to be brought to the airport and someone issues a ’Fit to Fly’ certificate. The pet needs to be less than 5 kg.

AIR INDIA RESPONDS

After the video was shared by several netizens with many labelling the airlines as ’anti-pet’, Air India issued a response and said, "Sir, we love our furry friends as much as you do. Our Bengaluru Airport team had extended all support to ensure your Fluffy could fly with us on board."

The airline further said that "the commander of the flight was not fully satisfied with the cage and muzzle of the pet" and hence they were not allowed to board.

Responding to this, Shenoy said, "This is false information, if this was the case your team would not have given her a boarding pass. We went through all the verification of the qualification of Fluffy"s travel eligibility and fitness 4 hours before the flight. Please stop pedalling white lies." (sic).

"Our laid-down Policy for the Carriage of Pets on Domestic Flights clearly mentions that "pet carriage is subject to the approval of the commander of the flight," the Tata owned airline mentioned in another tweet.

Air India further offered the family a revalidation of their tickets as a ’goodwill gesture’ and asked the family to accept the offer.

"However, as a goodwill gesture, we are offering you a revalidation of your tickets for the entire journey tomorrow. Kindly accept our humble offer as we would love Fluffy to fly with us," the airline said.

But the passenger claimed that no one from the airline contacted them and they just posted their responses on Twitter after a huge backlash.

"Where did you disappear, you wanted my number and details, after sharing no call nothing. This shows it was a response just to reduce the backlash," he said in a tweet.


Courtesy: India Today