Air India Pet Dog On Flight

A very common issue pet owners face is finding a way to travel with their pets. It is not always feasible to leave one’s beloved pet behind while you are about to have fun traveling. A man from Bengaluru happened to plan a trip with his family and pet dog. But things went sour when Air India refused to allow the pooch onboard.

Sachin Shenoy revealed that he had booked the tickets in advance and was going on a 12-day trip to Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. He and his family boarded AI 503, a flight from Bengaluru to Delhi, and then Amritsar. He was accompanied by his wife and daughter.

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Air India Mascot
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The man posted a video on Twitter stating that despite having a boarding pass Air India did not allow the pet dog onboard

His words in the video went viral where he said,

“We were in constant touch with Air India regarding flying our pet dog, Fluffy, with us, as per the rules and procedures laid down by the airlines”

He also said,

“Our pet weighs 4.2 kilograms and with the bag she is hardly five kilograms heavy. As per the rules, she can fly inside the cabin. She got all checks done and was issued a boarding pass”

Mr. Shenoy also revealed that they patiently waited for over four hours and their pet did not create a fuss. Fluffy was petted by nearly 250 people at the airport.

When they were about to board the flight they were notified that

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“The pilot, Captain Chopra, denied entry to us or that is what was told to us”

He also said in the video that it appeared the flight was overbooked.

He shared his ordeal and disappointment by saying,

“We were told that you can leave your pet and go…It is as good as leaving your kid and flying”

He claimed that he had suffered significant losses as he had made all the travel and hotel bookings in his destination city three months ago.

Take a look at the video:

The airline rules state that the pet needs to be brought to the airport and a ‘Fit to Fly’ certificate is supposed to be issued. The pet’s weight needs to be less than 5 kg.

Air India responded to the video after the airline was labeled as ‘anti-pet’

After the video went viral it was shared by several netizens who called the airlines ‘anti-pet’. Air India issued a response and stated,

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“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.”

Mr. Shenoy also shared the details with a tweet,

On giving reasons on why Fluffy was denied entry, the airline further expressed that,

“The commander of the flight was not fully satisfied with the cage and muzzle of the pet”

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The Airlines also tweeted,

“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”

Shenoy responded to this and 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).

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As a ‘goodwill gesture’ Air India additionally offered the family a revalidation of their tickets and asked the family to accept the offer

The Tata-owned airline tweeted,

“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”

But no one from the airline contacted them as claimed by the distressed passenger. He said that they just posted their responses on Twitter as a response to the huge backlash. He tweeted,

“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”

Mr. Shenoy concluded,

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“This proves that the response was a sham and as of this tweet 23.27pm, I have had no communication whatsoever from @airindiain. I rest my case and they are #antipet and are #liars.,”

Sachin Shenoy also requested everyone to sign a petition to bring about a change in the pet boarding guidelines on Indian flights

Was this harassment justified? Let us know in the comments.

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Ananya Bose
A postgraduate from Jadavpur University, Kolkata, Ananya is a passionate writer with an experience of three years in Content Writing. She is known for her insightful research, in-depth knowledge, and engaging writing style. Her attention to detail and ability to capture the attention of the readers is worth mentioning. She is enthusiastic about the entertainment industry and is passionate about writing on TV, Bollywood, and celebrity gossip. She is also well-versed in search engine optimization (SEO) techniques and can adapt her writing style for the target audiences.
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