The most common difficulty pet owners face is finding a hustle-free to travel with their pets. Because it is sometimes hard to leave one’s beloved pet behind while you are about to have fun on vacation. And recently, a pet owner faced the same issue. Recently, a man from Bengaluru planned a trip with his family and pet dog. However, things turned out chaotic when Air India refused to allow the dog onboard.
Sachin Shenoy, the passenger 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.
The man posted a video on Twitter claiming that despite having a boarding pass Air India did not allow the pet dog onboard
His 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 bags, he 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”
https://t.co/lEVEHbEybU…@PMOIndia @JM_Scindia @Manekagandhibjp @tv9kannada @republic @WIONews @timesofindia @TimesNow @MirrorNow @AnimalRightsCom @RNTata2000 pic.twitter.com/VSsUbzh16i
— Sachin Shenoy (@SachinShenoy7) December 17, 2022
Mr. Shenoy further explained 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
“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 expressed his 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.
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.
As soon as the video went viral, the Air India 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,
“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,
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. 1/n
— Air India (@airindiain) December 17, 2022
On giving reasons on why Fluffy was not allowed to board on the flight, the airline further expressed that,
“The commander of the flight was not fully satisfied with the cage and muzzle of the pet”
Dear Mr. Shenoy, we've been making consistent efforts to offer you and Fluffy to fly on the next available flight since yesterday, after Fluffy could not fly in the cabin as our Commander had some reservations about its cage and muzzle. 1/n
— Air India (@airindiain) December 18, 2022
The Airlines also tweeted,
“Our laid-down Policy for the Carriage of Pets on Domestic Flights mentions that “pet carriage is subject to the approval of the commander of the flight”
Our laid-down Policy for the Carriage of Pets on Domestic Flights clearly states: “pet carriage is subject to the approval of the commander of the flight.” We believe the situation was explained to you by our team. 2/n
— Air India (@airindiain) December 18, 2022
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 pedaling white lies.” (sic).
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
— Sachin Shenoy (@SachinShenoy7) December 17, 2022
Later, 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”
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. 4/4
— Air India (@airindiain) December 17, 2022
But no one from the airline contacted them as claimed by the distressed passenger. He revealed that they just add their responses on Twitter as they started facing massive criticism. 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,
“This proves that the response was a sham and as of this tweet at 11.27 pm, 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
— Sachin Shenoy (@SachinShenoy7) December 18, 2022
Was all this justified? Let us know in the comments.