A video is gaining popularity online of a woman being kicked off a Southwest flight for petting her dog on board the plane.
A TikTok account with the nickname Sara Price posted a video with the caption “Southwest Airlines kicked a woman off a flight for petting her puppy.”
According to the author of the video, she picked up the puppy in Colorado and was taking him to a new home in California. During boarding, the animal whined, and crew members warned her that she would be ejected from the plane if the dog was not quiet. In addition, the flight attendants asked to fasten the carrier with the puppy and put it under the seat.
The woman did everything as she was told, and the plane began to taxi onto the runway. The puppy whined again, so she leaned over and began petting the outside of the carrier, right on the mesh. The crew members then grouped at the front of the plane and decided that the woman needed to be removed from the flight.
The video has received more than a million views. In the comments, people are outraged by the behavior of the flight attendants and support the woman.
“I’d like to pet my dog too to check on him and make sure he’s okay.” “The crazy thing is that sometimes the pet fee costs more than our flight fee. My child flies free and can cry the whole flight, but my dog can’t?”, “Thank you for supporting her and not standing aside!” – they write.
In the footage, you can hear the other passengers supporting the woman: “You didn’t even let the dog out, you were just petting it.” The puppy’s owner refused help from a crew member who wanted to help her remove the bag.
“I won’t let you touch my things. You’re rude. You’re a mean person. And I’ll never fly Southwest again,” the woman said as she disembarked.
Foreign media reports say that the passenger and her dog managed to get to California on the next United Airlines flight.