A United Airlines flight attendant is facing public backlash after a passenger was forced to put their dog in the overhead baggage area on the plane. The dog died while stored in the overhead bin.
The owner of the dog was traveling on a flight from Houston to New York City when the flight attendant asked her to stow the dog in its crate overhead. Another passenger posted a photo to Twitter after they landed.
“I want to help this woman and her daughter,” the passenger wrote. “They lost their dog because of an @united flight attendant. My heart is broken.”
I want to help this woman and her daughter. They lost their dog because of an @united flight attendant. My heart is broken. pic.twitter.com/mjXYAhxsAq
— MaggieGremminger (@MaggieGrem) March 13, 2018
This should never have happened. How did this happen? I am not sleeping tonight. @nytimes @washingtonpost @WNYC pic.twitter.com/5x5bckI7EU
— MaggieGremminger (@MaggieGrem) March 13, 2018
According to travel website The Points Guy, the woman was carrying her dog in a TSA-approved crate and heard the dog barking mid-flight. A United spokesperson responded to the claims.
“This was a tragic accident that should never have occurred, as pets should never be placed in the overhead bin,” the spokesperson said. “We assume full responsibility for this tragedy and express our deepest condolences to the family and are committed to supporting them. We are thoroughly investigating what occurred to prevent this from ever happening again.”
This is the biggest outrage involving United Airlines since that man was dragged out of his seat and suffered a broken nose and teeth in order to make room for more passengers.
United has had a really tough time in the PR arena and they can’t afford to take any more hits. It hurts to lose a dog, but I can’t imagine landing on the tarmac only to find my dog was killed by a careless flight attendant. There will almost definitely be a lawsuit coming out of this. And there should be.
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