Bengaluru family's year-end trip goes for a toss after pilot refuses pet to fly

Bengaluru: The vacation plans of a Bengaluru family went haywire following the adamant stand taken by a pilot to not allow a pet dog to board a flight.

The family of HR professional Sachin Shenoy, his wife Uma and daughter Aarya was to leave for New Delhi by 5.20 pm on an Air India flight on Saturday. They had an 18-month-old pet dog with them and were in constant touch with the airline officials on the presence of the pet dog.

Sachin in a social media post said, “I was told that Air India was a pet-friendly airline and that I could take it in cabin with me and I booked through them.”

The pet was issued a ‘Fit to Fly’ certificate and the fitness was okayed by an airline staffer and not a vet. The pet ‘Fluffy’ was also given a boarding pass.

Sachin said, “When we were waiting at Gate No. 17 of Bengaluru airport for boarding, the staff there told us that we could board the flight and leave the pet behind.”

He said the airline staff told him that the commander of the flight was not okay with the pet being on board and refused permission.

Sachin also took a video of the matter and posted it on social media.

Air India responded through its Twitter handle and said, “The commander of the flight was not fully satisfied with the cage and the muzzle of the pet, which is why he could not allow it to be carried in the cabin. 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.”

 

(With IANS inputs)