City family not allowed to fly with pet dog

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: A Bengaluru-based family has accused the Air India airline of not allowing their pet dog onboard. The family of three had planned a trip with the airline. However, things didn’t go as planned as an Air India pilot refused to allow their pet poodle on the flight.

The family has claimed that their pet had cleared all necessary qualifications before the flight and had a boarding pass issued in its name too. After the scuffle, Sachin Shenoy, the pet doodle Fluffy’s dad, shared details of the incident in a video on the social-media website Twitter.

The family had planned a 12-day trip and was travelling from Bengaluru to Amritsar via Delhi by Air India. Sharing his agony, Sachin can be seen in the video saying, “Our pet weighs 4.2 kilos, with the bag she is hardly five kilos. As per the rules, she can fly inside the cabin.

We got all the checks… certificates done. She was issued a boarding pass by Air India today and then we waited for 4 hours… She (the pet) waited peacefully…without creating issues…she was petted by at least 250 people in the airport (lounge).” The video has now gone viral on social media and many users have sympathised with the family over the incident and have condemned Air India as an “anti-pet” airline.

“Finally…the pilot, Captain Chopra denied entry to us, or that is what was told to us,” he said, adding that the flight appeared to be “overbooked” and that may be why they were refused to board,” Sachin explained in the video. Responding to the video, Air India has said, “Sir, we love our furry friends as much as you do. Our Bengaluru Airport team has extended all support to ensure your Fluffy could fly with us on board.”

It further explained, “Our laiddown 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 airline said, adding that the commander of the flight “was not fully satisfied with the cage and muzzle of the pet which is why he could not allow it to be carried in the cabin”.

However, Sachin has reacted to the statement 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.”