Community Chat

[Moonchilde]

 LOL - since we've had sooo many past threads about the rights of those who must fly when there are animals on the plane, I thought this was eye-opening (and who knows, perhaps this woman is someone we used to know... 👹)

The lesson is, if you think claiming an allergy will get you your way about having the animal removed - think again. If you plan to do that, you need to bring a doctor's letter with you on the plane. Otherwise, if you just say you have a severe allergy with no other info, you are the one they will get rid of. So...don't use it as a gotcha.

It sounds to me, from what I've read, that the airline did nothing wrong, and they were forced to call security because the woman was uncooperative. She was doing push/shove and lost. It sounds to me like the airline was following policy and the woman badly miscalculated how far she could carry the whole thing.

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CBS News - A woman was forcibly removed by police from a Southwest Airlines flight Tuesday after saying she had a life-threatening pet allergy with two dogs on board.

A fellow passenger, Bill Dumas, recorded the incident, which occurred ahead of a flight from Baltimore to Los Angeles. The woman stated she had a pet allergy but was unable to provide documentation that she could safely fly with the animals on the plane, Southwest said in a statement.

"There was one emotional support animal and one pet onboard the aircraft," the company said. "Our policy states that a customer (without a medical certificate) may be denied boarding if they report a life-threatening allergic reaction and cannot travel safely with an animal onboard."

The video shows police officers grabbing the woman's arms and holding her by the chest as they push her down the aisle of the plane. Southwest said crew members asked the woman to exit the plane several times before asking law enforcement to remove her from the aircraft.

Dumas, who filmed the incident, said he believed officers were following protocol. He said the woman's behavior was "odd" and officers were doing what needed to be done.

Southwest said it was sorry for how the situation was handled.

"We are disheartened by the way this situation unfolded and the customer's removal by local law enforcement officers," the airline said. "We publicly offer our apologies to this Customer for her experience and we will be contacting her directly to address her concerns."

[SharkE]

I just now saw this on Inside Edition and I wasn't aware that people can drag on their own animals. If I"m understanding right ? I know service animals are OK and I'm all for these working animals, but, now days can anybody bring in their cats, dogs, birds, snakes, fish, rabbits, calves, etc. ?

I don't fly any more. Has it gotten this bad ?

[Sugipine]

Oh dear. Pretty soon being on a plane will start looking like those buses you see in other countries carrying chickens, pigs and goats...amongst other animals and passengers..

[jaxs mom]

Bottom line, don't be uncooperative with security at airports or law enforcement. Period. 

[CrazyDaisy]

While not condoning this ladies behavior, how many people with allergies carry doctors notes with them concerning a variety of situations.  The vast majority of flights are pet free,  why would anyone think of getting a note in order to fly.  

[sunshine45]

you can pay for your dogs to be on the plane.

when that woman knew that two dogs were on the plane she should have told the flight attendant immediately, asked to be booked on another plane that did not have dogs on it, and she should carry some type of doctors note that states she has a severe allergy. if it was THAT life threatening she should have left the plane immediately.

[jaxs mom]

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@CrazyDaisy wrote:

While not condoning this ladies behavior, how many people with allergies carry doctors notes with them concerning a variety of situations.  The vast majority of flights are pet free,  why would anyone think of getting a note in order to fly.  

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If you have an allergy that is so serious that anaphylaxis is a real possibility then you should be carrying an epipen and the appropriate documentation to travel with it. And yes I have allergies and yes I have people close to me that have life threatening allergies ( in this case peanuts). 

She should have just gotten off the plane the first time she was asked. 

[Moonchilde]

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@jaxs mom wrote:

Bottom line, don't be uncooperative with security at airports or law enforcement. Period. 

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And yet people never seem to get this message. There will always be those "special" people who think the airline should cater to them. Being disruptive or causing a disruption on an airplane just doesn't fly any more (pun intended).

[Sassealassea]

Southwest is customer and pet friendly but there are rules.  Yes, passengers may travel with animals in a carrier that fit beneath the seat.  Pets are not allowed out of carriers and there are other requirements.

The woman who complained of pet allergy certainly should have had medical documentation in my view.  SWA was simply abiding by their policy.  

Yep, I am a pet lover and fly SWA frequently on long non stop routes.  Often there are multiple pets on board and I have never observed commotion.  

[Moonchilde]

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@jaxs mom wrote:

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@CrazyDaisy wrote:

While not condoning this ladies behavior, how many people with allergies carry doctors notes with them concerning a variety of situations.  The vast majority of flights are pet free,  why would anyone think of getting a note in order to fly.  

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If you have an allergy that is so serious that anaphylaxis is a real possibility then you should be carrying an epipen and the appropriate documentation to travel with it. And yes I have allergies and yes I have people close to me that have life threatening allergies ( in this case peanuts). 

She should have just gotten off the plane the first time she was asked. 

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Exactly. If a person has an allergy of any kind that is actually, truly, anaphylactic life-threatening, i.e. an extremely serious allergy, they carry both documentation of some type and an epi-pen. If it's that serious people are prepared and forearmed.

Claiming one has such an allergy when they indeed do not is self-serving and dishonest. Pet dander might make you sneeze or itch or might trigger an asthma attack, but there are medications that can be taken before a flight and during to mitigate this. If a person might have an asthma attack so severe they're afraid it might kill them, from any cause, should they be flying at all and should an airline need to be responsible for them?

The bottom line, I think, is that if an allergy you have IS life-threatening, you always come prepared because it is life or death for you. But most people will say whatever they think will get them what they want, whether it's true or not. I'm thinkin' this news story might discourage that in the future.