Delta Turns Plane Around Over Unauthorized Dog, Then Lets It Fly Anyway—Refueling Delay Keeps Passengers Grounded

I flew Delta from New York JFK to Austin on Tuesday. Leading up to the long holiday weekend there was only one staff member working ‘Sky Priority’ check-in. Unfortunately I ran into an issue with check-in and had to make a stop there.

There was a long line, but I had given myself plenty of time. It seemed everyone seeking priority agent assistance was there with a dog. Some of the dogs were yapping. Others looked like fake service animals but were clearly ‘real’ because they wore vests that said service animal. It was just that kind of travel day.

After picking up the needed boarding pass, clearing security, and making the trek to gate A11, Delta flight 1167 boarded on time. And we pushed back on-time for our 1:30 p.m. departure. During our taxi out I heard a confrontation between a flight attendant and a passenger seated a few rows behind.

The passenger had a dog in her lap. They hadn’t paid a pet in cabin fee (in which case, the dog would have been required to remain in a carrier underneath the seat in front of her). And she hadn’t completed paperwork for bringing a service animal on the plane.

Gulp. The woman said she informed the gate agent about her dog, and was told it was fine to board. The flight attendant said that the unauthorized pet meant we’d have to turn the plane around and return to the gate.

We sat and waited for operations to find us a new gate to return to. Once we were back and the aircraft doors were opened, a Delta red coat supervisor came on board. It was explained she’d need to come off the aircraft to discuss the situation. She gathered her belongings and got off the plane.

Plot twist: a few minutes later, the woman and her dog returned to the aircraft. She was being allowed to fly, after all.

A half an hour delay, though, turned into two hours because the taxi out and return meant we’d need to add more fuel. And refueling was delayed by a shift change. A clearly frustrated captain made several announcements along the way, expressing disbelief about the inability to gas up and go.

A Delta spokesperson confirms,

Flight attendants noticed one additional pet in cabin than their paperwork showed. Dutifully, they alerted the Captain as this is a deviation from procedure.

To ensure correct paperwork/procedural compliance, [the] Captain returned to the gate to have our JFK airport team address.

The customer who deplaned said to our team that they had service animal paperwork for their dog but did not present it at check-in or prior to boarding.. [and] produced service animal documentation and was permitted to reboard.

Further delay ensued as timing for call for additional fuel by Captain came right at shift change for fuelers.

The extra fuel and payroll, of course, is a lot more money than the $95 pet in cabin fee for sure! And since the woman in 21D had the dog out on her lap, petting it through much of the flight, it appears this was treated as a service animal after all even though a service animal request form is supposed to be completed prior to flight.

You must complete and submit the U.S. DOT Service Animal Air Travel Form prior to your flight attesting to the animal’s health, training and behavior.

Apparently the published rule that service animal paperwork must be completed prior to flight is… at a minimum not enforced, despite significant cost to the airline.

Moreover, petting a dog in one’s lap is not typical for a service animal so it seems likely there was a rules violation in any case even though she “had paperwork” which I’ve been saying for years is all that’s required.

  • There is a common myth that emotional support animals are no longer accepted for travel in cabins. That is not true – it is only true that the passenger must fill out a form attesting to the pet being a service animal.

  • This does cut down on the number of fake service animals, but only because most people that would bring them on board aren’t great at completing paperwork.

  • Here we learn that the paperwork does not even need to be submitted to the airline prior to boarding!

The issue was significant enough to force us back to the gate, but not significant enough to be stopped. Instead, everyone on the flight got delayed and everyone on the aircraft’s next flight did too. Here are five easy ways to spot a fake service animal on your flight.

So-called service animal violations seem especially common at Delta, where I’ve recently covered one of their Detroit lounges becoming a Dog Café with rules collapsing at the buffet as well as a dog eating off plates at a table in the new Delta One business class lounge at New York JFK.

There was the Delta passenger demanding a seat for her pit bull and vaping inflight and the Delta passenger who brought two dogs with them into coach, not to mention the airline booting a first class passenger to accommodate a plus-sized woman with an emotional support dog and four carry-on bags.

About Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

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Comments

  1. American culture is driven by envy more than any other factor. This person has something we don’t have – love and companionship – and she must therefore be punished, and a minor issue turned into a major catastrophe to be laid at her feet.

  2. Happy Thanksgiving Gary.

    No an ESA is NOT a Service Animal.
    https://www.transportation.gov/resources/individuals/aviation-consumer-protection/service-animals

    And here is some more current information:
    https://esadoctors.com/airlines-allowing-emotional-support-animals/

    We were volunteer service dog trainers for 20 years and it’s very distressing for us to see people claiming they have a service animal, when they don’t. The people who need these animals are getting a bad rap by people with untrained animals.

    No service animal I’m aware of would ever be on someone’s lap.

  3. There was an especially large, cuddly looking dog on my Delta flight this AM, boarding right behind me. Probably about 50lbs in a service animal vest, accompanied by a woman that looked about 110lbs. As I boarded, the flight attendants remarked on how cute the dog looked – so the FAs approved of this do this morning.

    At the end of the day, in the eyes of the law, there doesn’t appear to be any real restrictions on what a service animal is (no matter what people claim “real” service animals are). So the only way to get rid of these apparent “fake” service animals is to alter the law. Anything else is just whining and moaning. Maybe Delta should have handled this particular situation differently, but they also don’t want to catch a lawsuit or a bad social media post of this passenger follows the current flimsly law.

  4. Delta has been sued over this issue by a passenger who was mauled in the face by a veteran’s support dog.

    Jackson v Delta Air Lines, et al

    This case resulted in changes to the ESA policy by the federal government.

    Having said that, Airlines must be very careful for liability reasons.

  5. Silly. At the point of taxiing to the runway does it really matter whether the dog is a “real” service dog or not? At the end of it all, the airline still can’t really deny it unless the passenger admits to it being a fake. What have we learned here?:
    1. Return to gate inconveniencing 100+ paying passengers who may now misconnect and be stranded.
    2.Cost DL money to reaccommodate those people.
    3. Cost DL money by taking on additional fuel
    4. Negativity affect aircraft utilization and affect additional flights downline.
    5. Spend more money reaccommodating those passengers on future flights that the aircraft or crew were assigned to.

    For what really? A d**k measuring contest because some aisle donkey thought she “caught one”?
    The passenger was allowed to board anyway so not even the flight attendant’s justice b**er was satisfied.
    What a waste of resources. Resources that should come out of that flight attendant’s next paycheck.
    Happy Thanksgiving….except for that skyhag.

  6. Mak’s comment proves he is weak-willed and soft, unable to face life without a captive animal (“pet”).

  7. The whole story seems odd to me. I remembered that I had to registered when I purchased the ticket online and checked-in in person for the 1st time and only time I brought my puppy on flight. So in this scenario, every employee works for this flight should know about it. You can play blaming the victim trick like most ppl like to, however, when flight attendants on duties they are supposed to notice anything unusual and report to the supervisor. I don’t like the inconvenience to everyone on that flight, including the Pom and his/her owner. Would it be different if the dog owner asks more or the flight attendants could do their jobs better?

  8. Is it just me or is Delta continually embroiled in paperwork and procedural kerfuffles usually followed by tedious apologies to the masses they inconvenience. I heard a rumor that Delta FAs may unionize. There is a saying that companies get the unions they deserve. Good luck, Delta.

  9. I have been lucky I guess by never having been seated next to a dog and an irresponsible owner on an airplane. From owners letting their dogs poop on my yard, my guess is that most are irresponsible, though some are responsible and clean up the mess. I don’t dislike most of the dogs, just most of the owners.

  10. Delta has been sued in Marlin Jackson, Plaintiff vs. Delta Airlines, Inc., and Ronald K. Mundy (19ev002876 Georgia) but no outcome of the lawsuit has been published as far as I can find.

  11. At least the dog’s leash didn’t get caught and tangled under the seat cushion requiring maintenance to come on board, as I witnessed this past July on United. It was a metal chain leash that somehow lodged around a screw or bolt and couldn’t simply be removed. Luckily it was a hub (DEN) and maintenance responded very quickly.

  12. This exact same thing happened to me with. My service dog on Delta of course from SLC to SNA. I had to de board while my flight left and they had to put me on a later flight. No apologies nothing. Eventhough I had informed them I was traveling with a service dog. I now no longer fly Delta due to 2 incidences with my dog Eventhough I had the proper paperwork. I fly Southwest and it’s never a problem. Sorry Delta you lost a customer. The Gaye agents always have different rules regarding service dogs.

  13. People need to get a grip. You don’t need to bring your dog everywhere.

    Yes, a few, a true few do need to. But the vast majority do not and this attitude of “I need my comfort dog” is detrimental to those who actually do need it.

    Nervousness, Stress, Fear, etc. These are a part of life.

    Kennel your dang dog.

  14. Delta Air Lines is the premium global airline within the United States,
    Infants or children under two can travel on an adult’s lap for free.
    However, tiny dogs are forbidden to travel on an adult’s lap, and the passenger must pay an extra one-way fee of $95 US/CDN for the dog, cat, or bird.

  15. “Infants or children under two can travel on an adult’s lap for free. However, tiny dogs are forbidden to travel on an adult’s lap.” I agree that pets shouldn’t be allowed. That was your point, right? You were suggesting pets have rights equal to humans?

  16. @Ken A
    My guess is the additional $95 dollars is to cover insurance in case the animal bites someone…or something

  17. I think the owner of this article and this website in general should start making dog cooking recipes because they absolutely hate dogs.

    This view from a wing should say view from the kitchen while they’re cooking dogs.

    Every single time. Google sends me this website. It’s always about how much people hate dogs, especially the ones that are on this website .

    I learned to fly a plane with my instructor and eventually bought a Cirrus sr50 for my dog. But there are so many people especially not just men, but a lot of women who have serious anxiety issues and the dog helps them. If they’re not doing anything wrong. Why this amount of hate from this author and especially this website.

    If you look at any of the articles on this website, it is so anti-dog.

    I strongly suggest that this website should be called view from the kitchen and how to cook dogs. That is my honest and very very humble opinion

  18. Oh stop with the dog bashing already. Reality is most dogs travel better than humans with their whining.

  19. The misinformation and ignorance being shown here is apalling. First, under Dept of transportation and ADA, if a service animal is small enough to fit on a lap and trained, then it IS allowed. Second, if you are not familiar with the person who needs a service dog, you are absolutely not qualified to pass judgement. Service dogs are used for Many disabilities, and the skill is much more important than the size of the dog. Three, The person using a service dog does not need to answer to you, and you may not interfere with their function. Fourth, Anyone, business owners, airplane employees, uninformed people looking for a reason to judge and hate.. under ADA LAW, you are allowed 2 questions. Is this a service dog and needed for your condition, and what is the dog trained to do. Thats It! You are Not entitled to anything else! A service dog out in public, on an airplane, anywhere that they are needed are Working animals. Don’t interfere with them. Whether you agree or disagree, it doesn’t matter. It’s Federal Law. Fifth, There is NO federal or state certificate that needs to prove that this animal is trained. Every disability is different, and every person needing one is different. It is not a one size fits all. It is also Federal Law that a person can train their own service animal to perform the tasks that are necessary for their particular need.
    And last but not least, Stop the Hate!! A person with a disability has all the rights that you do, with the extra rights for them to live, work, and enjoy independence the same as you and as equally as possible. Your ignorance of.the law doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. Please, show a little kindness to people for the things you don’t understand. Heaven forbid that anyone of you ends up with a disability that can use a service animal to help them navigate and enjoy the world more independently.

  20. Silly people. I own a small fluffy dog (Kyi Leo). He is a certified service animal trained for me in Germany. My medical condition isn’t obvious so my guess is that some of you would (mistakenly) judge me as not having a legitimate service animal. Step back, mind your own business and stop freaking out. And we do fly business class and I pay for him.

  21. Haters will always be haters. My service (NOT) emotional support dog is smaller, cute and fluffy- so he probably won’t pass your visual judgement. He is a certified service animal, a Kyi Leo trained in Germany. He sits on my lap in business class and other passengers don’t mind him- if he sleeps on the floor – upon deplaning I get comments about how they didn’t know he was there! If you saw me- you would not “see” my chronic medical condition. Stop being a cretin.

  22. Service animals on commercial aircraft transporting passengers are governed by the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA), not the ADA. Quoting rules of the ADA will not make them applicable. The “U.S. Department of Transportation Service Animal Air Transportation Form” is available online in a pdf version. It is interesting to read. It also has this warning at the top: “Warning: It is a Federal crime to make materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statements, entries, or representations knowingly and willfully on this form to secure disability accommodations provided under regulations of the United States Department of Transportation (18 U.S.C. § 1001).” I wonder how many have been charged under that Federal crime.

  23. So many reasons pets should NOT be in passenger compartments. Buy an approved kennel/crate and ship your pet if you cannot be without it. I did it, you and Fifi can too. The only exception is the real Service Dog the “seeing eye dog.” And Mak . . . who made you the arbiter of American Culture?
    @ Amy Meneely . . . never mind, you wouldn’t understand.

  24. Dumb ass pilot should have departed
    Speaks to today’s culture: Don’t improvise. Do what you’ve been told in past or else. Don’t think on your own.

  25. I have small service dogs, when they fly with me. They go in pet carriers for this reason, too many about nothing. I have all the airlines all the documents they needed. To many complaints about allergies, mine are none allergic. They serve their purpose. I don’t really need to hear any negative comments, get a life.

  26. This seems a uniquely American thing. I’ve never seen a dog on a plane in Europe or Asia and I fly regularly. I guess in part because of the increased domestic travel over long distances. Otherwise I can only assume it boils down to culture

  27. Well,

    FYI: my fully trained (cost $8,000+) service animal…..loves to sit on my lap and be pet and loved on.

    Not sure what planet you live on. Oh, by the way I also am 100% line of duty service connected disabled vereran for broken bones…..and so sorry, im over weight!!!!!

  28. I love all dogs except fake service dogs. And then of course it’s the human owner that’s at fault.

  29. How about no pets in the cabin, unless it is a real actual service dog and professionally trained?? Enough of the fake little vests.
    If you can’t fly without having a pet in your lap, it might be better to take your car and not inconvenience others. Or pay to board or pet sit your animal.
    Let’s have separate flights to accommodate owners with pets and an extra service fee for cleaning the aircraft afterwards.

  30. Airlines need to crack down on the two things:
    1. Fake disability boarding
    2. Need to take animals not only onboard but in the lounges

    To do this passengers should provide evidence of a disability or evidence of the need for a physical support animal. Not emotional support animal. You’re an adult not a five year old child.

  31. People need to get a grip over things that don’t affect them. What difference does it make if it’s a “real” service dog vs. a pet people paid to bring on? As long as it’s not causing a disturbance, it doesn’t affect you in any way. Countless pets have died in carriers on planes so I don’t blame anyone who will go to great lengths to bring their pets into the cabin. It’s none of your business why people need to fly with their pet, just as it’s no one’s business why someone “needs” to fly with their newborn.

    And complain all you want about comparing people to pets but at the end of the day, 99% of people would much rather sit next to a dog than someone’s crying baby or messy toddler. Your screeching crotch fruit is the real nuisance and you know it. I’ll happily support separate pet-friendly flights as soon as we have separate kid-friendly flights so that people can choose to avoid any kind of disruptive ill-behaved nuisance.

  32. That entitled woman should have been at least subject to a penalty for causing this obvious disruption. These idiots with their EVA’s need to be banned. This is out of control still. When I worked for Veterans Affairs we would give people the BOOT if their “service dog” did not perform a function.

  33. @Intlmom4

    You started your.post complaining about ignorance amd misinformation. Several chapters later, you managed to add your own confusion and contradiction to the mix. i’ll elaborare.

    So according to you, my dog is “trained” to not poop in tbe house” and that would therefore qualify him as a “service animal”?

    You see, while you are attempting to defend “service animals”, you are minimizing and degrading the value that these special dogs happen to have and all the training needed to become a “service dog”.

    Furthermore, you stated that Federal law does not require that an animal be trained as a service dog and yet you also stated that the ADA (which is FEDERAL LAW) mandates that 2.questions are.asked: is this a service animal and (2) what is it trained to do?

    What would be the purpose for mandating a question about training if training is not required?

  34. Wow, complaining about someone petting their service animal, which was most likely a psychiatric service animal. For heavens sake, if it’s not affecting you, MYOB.

  35. I have a service animal and want to combat the misconception that a service dog would never in your lap: when I fly my dog absolutely *does* sit in my lap and is trained to do so. In my experience this is common for small service animals. I agree that fake service dogs are a problem but the assumption that lap = fake service dog is just incorrect and I don’t want to spread that misconception further.

  36. I retired as an airline refueler in 2015 after 35 years. I’m pretty sure someone would’ve been held over to work the flight — mandatoried if necessary. That’d be faster than waiting for next shift to do their pre-shift truck inspection, sumping, etc. That being said, operations loved blaming delays on refueling issues.

  37. Something has got to be done. We need to certify or have these pets registered.

    It’s people like this that give us who really need a service animals a bad name.

    I have no problem having to register my pup

  38. Not happy about the delay, but the story will carry weight with those attempting to scam the system. You will be challenged if no paper work.

    As noted above, if the animal had attached another passenger and no paper work, DL would be the one holding the bag.

  39. Anyone can get a certificate saying their animal is a service animal and get a vest. There is no governmental process for this. They are provided by companies for a fee and there is no law against it, or against pissing as, and saying it is a service animal when it isn’t. This gives legitimate service animals a bad rap they don’t deserve. It is just people using the system for their own selfish reasons knowing most employees don’t know what to do and companies not wanting the problem and being sued. Emotional support animals (regular pets) are not service animals. Shame on those who try to pass them off as true service animals just to avoid the pet fee.

  40. Delta has been getting more aggressive with service dogs recently. As someone who travels with a service dog, I can relate. It turns out that each carrier has is own rules. I don’t usually fly Southwest but last year I flew on points to Aruba. I had filled out the required DOT form, but the gate agents denied that my dog was a service dog because she was in a kennel. I not only paid the $100 to take her, but I was also forced to buy another kennel from them. And this was all in addition to the USDA stamp $800 fee to get her into Aruba. For those not in the know, service dogs are registered with the DOT and have an ID number which the airlines can checkout anytime. At any rate this woman’s mistake was to put the dog on her lap. Most airlines will turn a blind eye to a dog in the kennel under the seat. Unfortunately the rules are not the same from carrier to carrier, so even the most experienced of us gets stopped and hassled.

  41. Hey cupcakes. Emotional support animals? How about getting a grip. I know all the triggered Folks who didn’t get their apple sauce as a child feel they need to drag an animal around to get through their day but really? On a plane? Unless you had an IED go off under your Humvee or the equivalent leave you mutt at home. Americans the softest, neediest tampons on the planet.

  42. This comment section is why flying sucks these days: people making themselves the authority on something and then throwing a fit when things don’t go their way. Some service animals are indeed trained to sit in a lap of they’re small (also service animals & emotional support animals aren’t synonymous). People who need service animals shouldn’t “just drive to not inconvenience others” — are you serious?! 6 years as a Delta agent & I can attest that there are plenty of people who bend and outright break the rules, but those people just make it harder for those who do actually need their service animal. But it’s passengers like some of you, calling agents “aisle donkeys” and pilots “sheep” for doing their jobs who truly make flying untenable. If only we could muzzle and kennel some of you!!

  43. @DC_Consulting, can your eagle, python, and goat sit calmly throughout the flight and not bother/attempt to kill other passengers or defacate on the floor? If yes, then absolutely, they should be allowed.

  44. Start tossing anyone without documentation for a service animal in jail. Make an example out of a few, and these phonies will fall in line in a real hurry.

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