Air India flight: Pet denied entry despite clearance. What the airline said

Twitter user named Sachin Shenoy posted the video on his Twitter account and said that the pilot of the airlines did not allow the pet dog inside the plane despite having a boarding pass.

Shenoy and his family were going for a 12 day vacation to Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. He was going to board AI 503.

In a video message, he said, “We were suppose to board the Air India flight AI 503 at 17.10 to Delhi and then to Amritsar. We were suppose to be on our 12 day trip to Amritsar, Dharamshala, and Dalhousie. We had booked this ticket about 3 months back. We have been constant touch with the Air India authorities on process for travel with pets.”

“Our pet weighs 4.2 kilograms and with the bag she is hardly five kilograms heavy. As per the rules, she can fly inside the cabin. She got all checks done and was issued a boarding pass,” the Shenoy said.

“The pilot, Captain Chopra, denied entry to us or that is what was told to us.”

“We were told that you can leave your pet and go…It is as good as leaving your kid and flying,” he further shared.

“Is this what travel in India is all about? Is this what the Modern India is all about?” He added that he had paid for the hotels and transfer for his 12 day trip. He said the situation is pathetic as despite all the rules and regulations followed, still they were denied entry. 

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 highlight this to our concerned airport team to look into this on priority.”

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

Series of twitter conversation followed between the airline and Shenoy.

“However, 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,” the airline said.

To which Shenoy said that this was blatant lie. He wrote, “The commander never saw the pet or the cage, he refused to speak or come and see the per or the cage. That’s a blatant lie.”

The airline further added, “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.”

As a goodwill gesture, the airline revalidation of the tickets for the entire journey for the next day.

“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.”

“While I appreciate ur gesture, give me the above assurances and also need clear details of the itinerary in the next 30 minutes to see if we can still travel based on what ur options are… If not its a waste. Look forward to your response,” Shenoy replied.

On 18 December, Shenoy further tweeted in the thread and said that he recieved a call from Air India Bengaluru but he was not given any assurance on the travel of his pet. “Just recvd a call from airindiain Blr, Poovanan. He said he cannot give any assurances on the pets travel, and again will be decided by the pilot. Looks like the sham continues…” 

Shenoy also went on and started a petition on this incident. The petition has garnered support from 328 people.