United Flight Rerouted After Airline Realizes Mid-Flight They Put a Dog On the Wrong Plane
United Airlines is in the middle of another dog drama, after loading a dog on the wrong plane again.
This is the third strike against the airline in one week when it comes to handling passengers’ pets. On Tuesday, news broke of Kokito’s death. The black French bulldog died on an United flight from Houston to New York City after a flight attendant insisted that the owner of the dog, Catalina Robeldo, stow the dog’s carrier, with the canine inside, in an overhead bin for the entirety of the flight. The following day animal lovers learned the airline confused two dogs, a great Dane and a German Shepherd, and erroneously sent one of the pets to Japan when he was supposed to take a much shorter trip to Kansas City.
The most recent incident also involves United putting a pet on the wrong plane. According to Today.com, a dog leaving from New Jersey’s Newark airport on Thursday destined for Akron, Ohio, via United was accidentally loaded onto a United plane heading to St. Louis, Missouri.
When the airline realized their mistake mid-flight, the plane was re-routed to fix the error. This decision delayed the arrival of the plane, and all of its passengers, to St. Louis, reports Today.com.
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United Airlines spokesperson Natalie Noonan provided PEOPLE with the following statement about the incident.
“United Express flight 3996 from Newark to St. Louis diverted to Akron to drop off a pet that had been loaded onto this flight mistakenly. The pet has been safely delivered to its owner. We provided compensation to all customers on board for the diversion.”
