Gatwick flight delayed after bulldogs, wearing tutus, became distressed
A Norwegian Air flight from London Gatwick was delayed when two French bulldogs – dressed in tutus – became distressed.
The emotional support dogs were travelling in passengers’ hand luggage on the flight bound for Austin, Texas.
The Boeing 787 was delayed by an hour and a half when the dogs started showing signs of distress and the Captain decided to offload them, and their owners.
Pictures on social media showed the dogs being carried in holdalls and wearing tutus.
"The safety and security of our passengers and crew is always our number one priority," the Norwegian Air spokesman said.
"Flight DI7181 from Gatwick to Austin had not yet departed when the captain took the decision to offload emotional support dogs and their two owners at the gate due to the dogs showing signs of distress in the cabin."
Other airlines, including Delta, American and United, don’t allow bulldogs and many other snub-nose breeds from flying as their smaller nose openings and elongated soft palates on the roofs of their mouths can cause breathing problems in stressful situations like air travel, especially in high temperatures.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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