A pet parent, who was travelling from Ahmedabad to Bengaluru, with a Shih Tzu on an Akasa Air flight has alleged that he had a “horrible” experience due to the “indifferent attitude” of the airport, airline staff, and CISF personnel. The airlines, meanwhile, clarified on some of the allegations.
Lakshya Pathak, who had booked the flight on January 26, with his wife and pet shared his experience on Linkedin. In his post he wrote: “...The flight that was intended to leave at 10.20 p.m. left at 1.40 a.m. Being our first travel with our pet, we reached the airport 3 hours in advance. So with the delay, we had spent over six hours at the airport. The attitude of the ground staff and CISF could not have been less helpful.” Mr. Pathak said he paid ₹5,000 to enable his pet’s comfortable travel. However, he alleged that despite the delay, the airport staff was adamant about not letting the pet out of the container.
“The airport security told us thrice not to even let him lie on the floor. There is no provision for pets to relieve themselves. All washrooms in the airport have blowers that make a lot of noise so there is no chance pets would pee. The ground staff told us that the pet could use the flight’s washroom,” he wrote.
He alleged that the instructions were very different from what was advertised by the airline and there was no special seat for pet travel.
“Boarding took 40 minutes during which my pet got heated up, we were also sweating because the ACs were not yet switched on. For the first 45 minutes of the flight my dog kept crying so to console him I placed his container in my lap ,so that he is able to breathe I just let his head out for a while,”
“During the whole flight, I had to forcefully shove my crying pet’s head inside the container multiple times. The steward kept threatening us that if he took the matter to the captain, there was a chance he might turn the flight around,” he wrote.
Airline responds
Akasa Air stated: “At the outset, we sincerely regret the inconvenience caused to the passenger and their pet, as customer centricity is one of our core values.” However, it clarified that its airport team provided assistance and gave the passenger the option of taking the pet outside the terminal. It said that the passenger did not opt for this since he did not want to go through the check-in and security process again, as per CISF protocols. “The delay was on account of weather conditions, which is beyond our control,” it said.
While on board the auxiliary power unit was activated during the boarding process, maintaining the cabin temperature at an optimal level. No issues were reported by other passengers regarding the air conditioning. However, upon pushback, the passenger expressed discomfort with the temperature,” the airline said. It added that the cabin crew addressed this request by communicating with the cockpit crew and adjusting the cabin temperature accordingly.
Pet parents briefed
The airline said that prior to departure, its cabin crew conducted a comprehensive briefing for pet parents, emphasising the importance of ensuring both the safety and comfort of their pet during the flight. The pet parents acknowledged this information, and throughout the flight, there were no additional requests for assistance from them.
“After take-off, our crew observed that the pet container was not in compliance with our safety procedures. Specifically, the container was placed on the passenger’s lap, with the pet’s head protruding from it. In line with mandatory safety protocols and keeping in mind the convenience of other passengers on board, the crew immediately requested that the container be properly secured and returned to its designated position in front of the assigned seat,” the airline stated.
