Another United Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 was forced to divert. But this time it wasn’t a mechanical issue, and it wasn’t even a passenger. It was because a dog pooped in the aisle in front of first class, outside the lavatory.
The Houston to Seattle flight quickly made its way onto the ground at Dallas – Fort Worth on Friday rather than forcing passengers and crew to endure the mess and smell for the duration fo the flight. Instead they wanted to get on the ground for a quick ‘cleanup in aisle 5’ right away.
A first class passenger seated in 1E, beside the accident, shared photos of the event which rendered the first class lavatory unusable. It took cleaning crew two hours to deal with the mess. And that time on the ground led to spoilage of the first class meal service. Though I don’t know who’d be able to eat after this anyway?
Messy dog poop in aisle, plane diverted
byu/gig_wizard inunitedairlines
Recently it’s been passengers not dogs making a mess of the aisles.
Had the worst experience on my recent birthday trip with @AmericanAir Someone had a poop accident in the aisle right next to me & they are refusing to compensate ! Talk about a crappy way to celebrate! #AmericanAirlines #BirthdayBlues #customerservicefail pic.twitter.com/f9hnyPSsLc
— Fete Jen (@fete_jen) October 16, 2023
United Airlines’ policy permits the carriage of dogs and cats in the cabin, provided they are contained within an approved carrier throughout the flight. This policy extends to emotional support and therapy animals, treating them as standard cabin pets. However, service animals are exempt from this requirement. These animals are allowed to occupy the floor space in front of their handler’s seat but are prohibited from exit rows and aisles.
It really seems like the dog’s owner should be liable to the airline for extra costs – and to the rest of the passengers for the inconvenience.
This is when the bullshit of labeling a dog or other pet as a ‘support ‘ animal or a ‘service ‘ animal just because you paid $20 for some internet vest and card. The laws are crystal clear as to what a true service animal is and what staff can inquire about. Stop the myth / urban legend that you can’t ask. And notice the policy is ‘support animals’ have to stay in their containers. This animal wasn’t so if that turns out to be truly the case, then pax should be charged/ liable. It’s only going to get worse until airlines collectively say enough of this crap…true, properly tained service animals are a wonderful resource. Let’s not soil their work with imposters
So, how did the dog get there if dogs are required to be at the feet of the owner? Why the the FA crew allow it?
Another “fake” service animal. Start requiring proper documentation and not just the word of the owner, who is likely just trying to avoid the fee for bringing a dog on board.
Require all dogs to have properly fitted doggy diapers to fly.
@Gary: “It really seems like the dog’s owner should be liable to the airline for extra costs – and to the rest of the passengers for the inconvenience. ”
Agree 100%.
And banned for life.
I liked the old days. No animals unless it was a seeing-eye dog, or equivalent.
I do not understand how dog poop could have been so bad as to force the plane to turn around. Let the owner clean it up as best he can. Sprinkle the floor with coffee grounds to cover up the smell and a blanket to walk on. Have to throw it away, but that is a pittance compared to aborting a flight. Let lst class passengers use the coach bathrooms if it is that bad.
People who bring dogs on board, whether service animals or pets, should be required to have 1. Dog poop bags 2. wet wipes and 3. some kind of cleaning/disinfectant that can mitigate the odor. I suppose the biggest problem would be finding cleaning/disinfectant in a 3.4 oz bottle or smaller.
Part of the problem is caused by the ADA. The refusal to allow states to require that service dogs pass a basic requirement test, the person needing the dog have proper documentation (to get the license) from a local physician with in person visits only, and have a proper license. It’s fits the old adage “good intentions pave the road to h***”. I do agree with the poster regarding dog diapers. I have a very old large dog with some incontinence issues (due to having arthritis and not wanting to go out). When he is not in clear view, he’s in diapers. Took a little bit, but he got used to them.
All of us in steerage say keep the dividing curtain closed. For once we have the best seats on the plane. Hurray for the cheap seats. I hope the first class passenger didn’t test the meal service on his dog or that is animal abuse.
A solve would be to have all babies, very young children and pets seated in the last few rows- you could put 2 first class seats on each side in the last row and give them their own curtain so they still feel special and allow rear door exit.
Better to change the carpet to a shower pan for easy cleanup- simply hose and go.
You know, there was a time and a reason why animals used to be in the cargo hold before Pelosi screwed it all up by telling us all that the flying public were nuts and snowflakes. Geez….how did these people ever get by????
Let’s just stop pretending these are service animals. Airlines need to sell a full fare seat (with a disposable cover) for the dogs, plus add a $500 pet in cabin fee. If you want to travel with an animal it should be expensive. I love dogs but they really should not be on planes.
People with animals should sign a commitment to pay for all costs related to an accident. Or, better, post a bond to cover the accident. I understand it is a ‘mental or physical’ issue they are supporting, but it is very impactful when something goes wrong. In the meantime, poor puppy! It definitely wasn’t feeling well.
Doubt it was a true service dog. My daughter has had several and one thing they are trained to do is “hold it”. Also most people that travel with dogs (at least service dogs or trained animals) take them to the pet relief area right before departure
“Service animals” are a complete fraud. Did I say complete? How did we ever manage all these decades without them. Only “seeing-eye” dogs should ever be permitted. Of course, there exist people who have been comforted by their animals, in fact, practically everybody. And some cases are truly pathological, such as a war vet suffering from severe PTSD. But whether that individual can withstand an air-flight worse than, say, a claustrophobic or anxious person, is a difficult if not impossible medico-social diagnosis to make. All animals permitted on-board must fit in a carry-on animal carrier. That leaves out Great Danes, Rottweilers, Pit Bulls, and miniature horses, but such is life if you want to fly. After all, are animals permitted absolutely everywhere? I certainly hope not.
I am not surprised, the airlines need to get back to the basics. Proper attire, proper vocabulary,proper carry on’s & proper boarding protocols. Group 1 is one example. The Corporate leadership needs to enfy this issue.
Yup – make the owner pay for the cost incurred, by everyone.
When dogs take a dump on Delta planes, it smells like roses. All part of the premium experience which discerning customers are willing to pay for, earning Delta premium revenue.
Decades ago we had to put our dogs in crates in the baggage hold. Sad, but that was the law. No pets at all were allowed except if the person was blind.
Marc is the reason I hate people.
Dogs as all living beings have to have bodily functions you ogre.
Last week a dumb animal hooman took a shit in the aisle on a plane.
Now that American relaxed its rules on bringing dogs on board, you’re going to have a lot of doggy-poo-diversions like this one.
Lots of American women use dogs as replacements for children. This is why you see these women in their 40s treating their dogs like their “babies”. It’s another negative side effect from feminism, sad thing is these foids will end up old and lonely and most likely will kill themselves. The fastest growing suicide demographic is middle-aged women and 30% of women are some kind of anti-depressant.
@andys, they are depressed because of neanderthal MEN like you.
@ Paul
Thank you.
@ paul, it turns out AndyS / Andys / andys is a Chinese or Russian bot. You can tell by its awkward word choices. Please don’t respond to it.
AA craps on pax all the time. It’s no big deal.
@AC “Doubt it was a true service dog. My daughter has had several and one thing they are trained to do is ‘hold it’.”
I only have experience with my own dog, but that looks like the poop of a sick dog to me. You can’t train a dog not to get sick.
@Lawrence Morrow “ How did we ever manage all these decades without them?”
Yes, how did you manage? Or were you among the majority of Americans who don’t know anything about what it was/is like to live with disabilities? The truth is “we managed” because it was much easier for us abled-bodied types to make no accommodations.
I’m laughing tears reading these comments!
It seems like this can be remedied by a cleanup get. A couple of sponges and some carpet cleaner, Much easier than diverting a plane.
@Jake-1
Lol always with your conspiracy theories.
@paul
@Jake-1
@Maryland
The fact that you three clowns got so mad so quickly shows me and everyone else that my initial observation was correct.
Lol, bot logic
I’m with AndyS. Feminism is a big cause for women not having children and trying to subsistute with something else, very often a dog ([wo]mans best friend).
On the other hand, why was the whole flight diverted because of this? No one can clean it up? Where were the FA’s?
“It really seems like the dog’s owner should be liable to the airline for extra costs – and to the rest of the passengers for the inconvenience.” Agree 100%. Decades ago dogs had to be put in the heated and pressurized baggage hold. Why is it so difficult for people to do that now? Why is it so tough for flying passengers to dress and behave with civility?
This is insanity. ‘Emotional support’ animals are largely BS. If you can’t handle life without your pet in sight all the time, please stay home.
I’ve been on a flight where a dog crapped in the aisle and a few folks stepped in it and smeared it down the aisle.
The owners of these pets should pay up for losses and cleaning and be banned from the airline. Enough is enough.
@Moe
There is also a growing trend of white women having sex with their dogs.
This service animal CRAP is all BS, well in this case it’s DS and Marc was spot on. By the way what the Hell were they feeding this dog anyway ?
Glad to finally see comments other than “I’d rather fly with dogs than people/mah babbies/I have rights!!” Beyond this obvious problem (and you know the owner wasn’t held responsible at all – they photoed and posted their cute incident) is just ignoring people who are deathly allergic or who’ve been mauled by dogs and have deeply held legit trauma.
I have a great idea. No Dogs on airplanes.
i get sick of the maga partisans posting their political diatribes here – this isn’t a political forum!
Airlines need to make up their minds. Either be in the people hauling business or in the animal hauling business.
No such thing as animal support…if that were true these adults OR CHILDREN could never leave the house to go to school or work a job.
Can adults bring their animal to their job? Can children bring their dog or cat or miniature horse to school with them? I doubt that. HOW COULD THEY SURVIVE THE DAY WITHOUT FLUFFY?
Airlines need to think…..let’s see….it’s the beginning of summer and children are going to Grandma’s house for vacation. Call Fluffy or Bear an emotional support cat or dog. Children enjoy their pet at Grandma’s house. Parents go on private little vacation. And somebody else feeds the animals besides parents or kids. Animal hotels lose money, PARENTS SAVE MONEY and AIRLINES ARE STUPID TO LET THIS GO ON AND ON……
All of these fake service animals should be permanently grounded. If they don’t fit in a cage they don’t belong on the plane.
The Law in Texas.
According to the ADA, service animals are limited to dogs. Any other species of animals, including emotional support or therapy animals, are not recognized or protected by ADA laws. This means that a customer cannot bring just any type of animal into your restaurant, grocery store or inside any other establishment that serves or sells food where food could potentially contaminated.
Health & Safety Code § 437.025
Probably needs to be revised to include airports and airplanes.
And yes, send the owner a bill for the inflight diversion.