B’luru couple says pilot denied permit to carry pet dog

In the video, which has been widely circulated on Twitter, the duo claimed that they followed all regulations laid down by Air India, but were told that the pilot denied entry.

A Bengaluru-based family on Saturday alleged that Air India didn’t allow their pet dog inside the aircraft despite having all the documents.

A Bengaluru-based family alleged that Air India didn’t allow their pet dog inside the aircraft despite having all the documents. (Representative use/Agencies)

In the video, which has been widely circulated on Twitter, the duo claimed that they followed all regulations laid down by Air India, but were told that the pilot denied entry.

The family was travelling from Bengaluru to Delhi and then Amritsar on a 12-day vacation on AI 503 on Saturday.

“Our pet weighs 4.2 kilograms, and with the bag, she is hardly five kilograms heavy. As per the AI rules, she can fly inside the cabin. She got all checks done and was issued a boarding pass,” said Sachin Senoy in the video shared on social media.

“The pilot, Captain Chopra, denied entry to us, or that is what was told to us,” Shenoy said. “We were told that you can leave your pet and go...It is as good as leaving your kid and flying,” he further said.

Responding to Shenoy’s query on Twitter, the airline said, “Dear Sir, we regret the discomfort caused. It’s never our intention to cause any inconvenience to our passengers. Please share your booking details and pet EMD details via DM for us to highlight this to our concerned airport team to look into this on priority.”

Shenoy then posted a letter, which said he was denied entry because the pilot in command did not permit him to travel along with a pet in the cabin.

The airline further said 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.”

“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,” the airline said.

Responding to the airline, Sheny 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.”

“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,” it added.

Air India then said that a team will get in touch with the couple for further assistance. However, the family claimed that no one from the airline contacted them regarding assistance.

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