A Vietnam vet with a golden retriever service dog was kicked off a US Airways flight. The Internet is definitely going to take this well.
The YouTube uploader states the case for why the man shouldn’t have been removed from the plane:
“After the man was escorted off of the airplane the police officer came on board (not shown in the video) and said to the people on board the aircraft “Folks we are going to see how you feel the situation was handled. Do you think it was right for this man to be escorted off of this aircraft?” The individuals on the airplane replied with a thunderous (shaking me in my seat as I yelled) NO!!! My arguments…. 1) Parents are allowed to hold their children unbuckled in their lap for take off so why shouldn’t this man be allowed to hold on to his working dog for take off? (The Government gives veterans with PTSD service dogs that are trained to help calm the veterans in stressful situations). 2) The airlines policies should be written to act as a guide and not a hard and fast rule. I am a pilot myself and to my knowledge the FARs do not prohibit an animal from sitting in a passengers seat.(Ref: FAR 135.85).
As you can see in the video this man stands up and apologizes to the passengers on board while waiting for the police to arrive.
My opinion is that U.S. Airways needs to re-visit their “policies” and reimburse this man his money at the minimum.”
According to Fox News, the man was cited for trespassing, though US Airways did pay for a hotel for him that night while airport police booked him another flight for the following day.
I’m pretty sure that no one at all will be tweeting @USAirways with their complaints. If there’s one thing people respond well to, it’s shoddy treatment of our veterans and one of our most adorable breeds of dog. Definitely no problems at all here.