When Pigs Fly, The Sequel

Back in May I posted an account of the time a flyer brought a pig on an American Airlines flight on the pretext that the pig was a “service animal” like a seeing eye dog.  It didn’t end well.  That was back in the year 2000.

It has happened again just a few days ago, this time on US Airways (which is currently in the process of merging with American).  This time the passenger claimed the pig was an “emotional support animal.”  But apparently the pig became, surprise-surprise, “disruptive” before takeoff.  Here’s the story from ABC News:

Jonathan Skolnik, a professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a passenger on the flight, told ABC News today he thought the woman with the pig was carrying a duffel bag when she got on the plane and headed straight for the empty seat next to him.

“But it turns out it wasn’t a duffel bag. We could smell it and it was a pig on a leash,” he said. “She tethered it to the arm rest next to me and started to deal with her stuff, but the pig was walking back and forth.”

“I was terrified, because I was thinking I’m gonna be on the plane with the pig,” Snolnik added, saying he guesses the pig weighed between 50 and 70 pounds.

But the flight didn’t take off with the pig. The woman and the animal eventually deplaned.

American Airlines, the parent company of US Airways, confirmed to ABC News that a passenger brought the pig aboard as an emotional support animal. After the pig became disruptive, she was asked to leave, a spokesperson said.

Deplaning pig.

Deplaning pig.

 

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