A passenger on a Southwest Airlines plane was removed from the aircraft for making the mistake of comforting her puppy as it sat in a pet carrier beneath her seat, according to a fellow flyer. And in a twist of fate, the witness to the incident was also removed from the flight, along with her husband, for criticising the decision of the crew.
Warning
Sara Price was on board an unspecified Southwest Airlines flight due to depart from Colorado Springs, according to the Tiktok account where she posted a series of video clips documenting interactions between air crew and a flyer seated nearby with a dog.
This was on our flight with @SouthwestAir yesterday. She was literally petty her new puppy through the mesh of the completely zipped carrier, and they booted her off. pic.twitter.com/HeuMR4jzJ4
— Sara (@_Sara_Price_) October 21, 2023
Price describes the dog showing some signs of distress, while the owner held the box on her lap. The owner is told the dog must be on the floor and is warned by a crew member that “if your dog doesn’t be quiet, you may not be able to fly,” Price wrote in a caption.
The woman obeys staff instructions, places the dog carrier on the floor and reaches down to comfort the animal through its mesh.
At this point, says Price, “All the attendants got in a group at the front of the plane and decided we needed to return to the gate and that she should be removed from the flight.”
“Mean”
The woman is filmed wearing an Oregon Beavers top. As she gathers her belongings, she can be heard telling the crew member in question, “I’m not going to have you touch a thing of mine. You are rude. You are a mean person. And I will never fly Southwest again.”
Price’s husband, who was also on board, is heard reassuring the dog owner: “It’s not like you even had the dog out — you were petting it.”
Unpopular
Southwest Airlines rules specify that pets are permitted only on domestic U.S. flights and must fly in “an appropriate carrier”. If they cause disruption, their website says, they risk being refused carriage. No mention of “petting” animals is made.
This is Sitka, the puppy that caused all of us @SouthwestAir to get kicked off the plane. Totally worth it! #JusticeforSitka #southwestairlines pic.twitter.com/f6vgEgMrhS
— Sara (@_Sara_Price_) October 23, 2023
With almost a million views, Price’s video clips make unwelcome advertising viewing for Southwest, with the majority online defending the pet owner and outraged at the airline’s treatment of her.
“Ridiculous”
Price and her husband reportedly spoke to the crew and called the decision to have the pet and its owner removed “ridiculous”. The crew then removed Price and her husband from the flight too.
Price later said they had been refunded for the flight and posted screenshots of messages from Southwest purporting to show the airline’s “regret” that the couple were “unable to travel with us”. This is unverified.
All three flyers ejected by Southwest were flown to California by United Airlines instead – an outcome Price said was “fantastic.”
