Southwest kicks woman off flight because of dog allergy

[Ancient-Mariner]

Southwest kicks woman off flight because of dog allergy - BBC News (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-us-canada-41421936/southwest-kicks-woman-off-flight-because-of-dog-allergy)


I remember being on a holiday flight were the passengers were asked not to eat peanuts because of a peanut allergy sufferer on board. A bit of a difference!

[IBMJunkman]

One dog was a pet and one was a service animal. The woman had no medical proof she had an allergy. She wanted SW to supply epinephrine shot.

If she has an allergy she should have her own Epi Pen.

SW asked her to get off. Apparently she did not want to.

How else do you get a person out of a place if they refuse to cooperate?

[Piltdown Man]

Is flying a right? What if I'm allergic to ugly people. What if I can't look at sunlight? How many medical problems is an airline meant to cater for? Those police officers should have brought a police dog onboard to get her off.

[edi_local]

SW seem to have made the right choice, which means the media will be all over them.

They either remove 2 people who pre-advised the airline of their dogs, one of whom relied on the dog for medical reasons (I'm assuming that's what the service animal is). The removed lady was not prepared to deal with her alleged allergy. She could have had a reaction in the air, causing the plane to divert at great cost to the airline and great inconvenience to the people on board. By removing that threat the airline did the right thing and ensured all the other passengers got on their way as intended. I am sure had the lady been more co-operative they would have moved her onto the next flight free of charge as a gesture of goodwill.

[Heathrow Harry]

Everyone in the States now has either an "allergy" or a "syndrome"

they're like fashion accesories - if you don't have one you can't hold up your head socially

all aided and abetted by the Medical Profession & Media there of course

[PDR1]

I'm allergic to economy class. I can prove this very easily - any time I find myself in economy class my eyes water and my voicebox starts making crying sounds...

[S.o.S.]

PDR1 Thank you for contributing to the jollity of nations.

[ExXB]

Again we have a situation where a little customer service might have offered a solution. I wasn't there but the lady in question should have been given options other than just sit down and shut up.

Yes the lady is to blame for getting herself into that situation but there are other options than violence.

Where were the guys from the pointy end, while all this was going on?

[Heathrow Harry]

" but there are other options than violence"

Unfortunately in the Land of the Free the default option is violence - it's a cultural setting - just listen to the Main Man.....................

[Piltdown Man]

I’m going to guess that, as ever, only a small part of the story was recorded. Until we know who said what when can we really pass any opinion. But my experience is that only the really objectionable people carry on dishing out grief and howling about how unfair things are when the police turn up. Sensible people just get off.

[edi_local]

Again we have a situation where a little customer service might have offered a solution. I wasn't there but the lady in question should have been given options other than just sit down and shut up.

Yes the lady is to blame for getting herself into that situation but there are other options than violence.

Where were the guys from the pointy end, while all this was going on?

I don't think it's right to assume this video shows the whole story. Airlines don't go straight to the forced removal option unless someone is becoming extremely disruptive. When the security guys stepped in it was already past the point of this lady removing herself peacefully from the situation she has caused.

[ExXB]

edi_local,

I agree we don't know what happened here. But I suspect that no one present from the airline had any adequate training in dispute resolution. It isn't something most people are born with*, it is something you learn. The cops obviously didn't have any either.

*Jet Blast is the perfect reflection of that!

[Heathrow Harry]

TBH airline staff aren't interested in "dispute resolution" - they want to turn the aircraft as fast as possible and see the back of the SLF. ANYTHING that gets in the way of this is likely to cause them serious angst

And when it is someone who looks normal, who has suddenly decided they have a "syndrome" and starts creating..............

People who are genuinely sick, distressed or have pre-notified issues are normally handled with a great deal of care and attention in my limited experience - even tho it is stressful for the staff - but this sort of thing ...........................

[edi_local]

What's the solution then?

2 people with dogs, pre-advised, pre-booked, maybe even pre-paid depending on the airline policy. Boarded, seated, animals secured according to policy, customers at ease and settling for the flight.

1 person who informs the crew last minute she has an allergy and as it is not possible on an aircraft to prevent allergens from the dogs from mixing with her air, there is not much that can be done to create a "sterile" environment for her. She has no medication, the crew don't have medication for her either. She refuses to leave the aircraft and causes a scene. Even if she didn't cause a scene the airline would continue knowing that at any time she could suffer an allergic reaction and cause a costly, time consuming divert or other emergency procedure.

How many times are the staff supposed to ask nicely before action needs to be taken to remove a problem passenger from a plane?

[twb3]

I have a grandson that has an actual allergy. Based on the complaining woman's behavior, she either does not have an allergy or has received woefully inaccurate medical information.

An epi pen is NOT a remedy for an allergy and is never administered in advance. It is to open the airway when a severe allergic reaction makes breathing difficult or closes the airway. The patient should then be seen in an emergency room as soon as possible.

[cee cee]

Southwest airlines passenger dragged off flight over dog allergies claims racial profiling - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) (http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-10-06/southwest-airlines-passenger-claims-racial-profiling/9021786)

Passenger is now alledging racial profiling by the airlines. Another new info that came out is that the passenger is a Muslim. A point to note is that most Muslims consider dogs to be ritually unclean (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unclean_animal#Dogs). Whether she is truely allergic, only her doctor knows.

Regardless, this has now descended into a he said/she said. She insists that she has never told the crew that her allegy is life threatening, but the airlines says that she did.

[Heathrow Harry]

Desperate attempt to improve her case IMHO - Muslims travel on aircraft that serve pork & alcohol, have mixed male and female seating (and even women drivers!!) and I've never heard of any one of them complaining anywhere

[Hotel Tango]

Everyone in the States now has either an "allergy" or a "syndrome"

they're like fashion accesories - if you don't have one you can't hold up your head socially

LOL, I like that HH.

I'm allergic to economy class. I can prove this very easily - any time I find myself in economy class my eyes water and my voicebox starts making crying sounds...

You are not alone PDR1 ;)

[twb3]

Is anyone surprised that the story changed after she lawyered up?

[Piltdown Man]

How was the airline to know she was a Muslim so they could discriminate against her? I'm also very surprised to hear she has only received hate mail and not a fat lip. She is a foul, nasty piece of work like that wretched doctor. Fortunately the nice people outnumber these :mad: by thousands to one.