September 2, 2019
American Airlines passenger takes miniature HORSE onto flight
Evan Nowak said he noticed the animal, which had been brought on board by a fellow traveler while flying on a service from Chicago to Omaha.
He posted the footage to Twitter, which showed the horse calmly sitting near the front of the plane in an aisle seat.
He added: âAt this time we would like to begin boarding with any active duty military, families traveling with children under the age of 3, and horsesâŚâ
Another passenger, Amberley Babbage, also spotted the animal at check-in, tweeting: âThere was a small horse in line at the airport today and Iâm so curious about it. #ORDâ
The horse was later revealed to be called Flirty â and even has its own Twitter and Instagram account.
âThat being said, Iâm going to keep travelling by car, itâs just easier on Flirty. Flying will be reserved for emergencies and such.â
They added: âItâs just too difficult to make sure Flirty doesnât inconvenience other passengers.
âBecause my airport is smaller, the planes are smaller and donât have solid bulkheads. Flirty couldnât help jostling seat of the person in the last row of first-class every time she moved.
âOnce we got up to cruising altitude, she took a nap and was very quiet. But she had to rebalance quite a bit while ascending and descending and kept bumping the back of their seat through the curtain âbulkhead.'â
What is a service animal?
According to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a service animal is classed as one which is âindividually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disabilityâ.
This can include:
Assisting individuals who are blind or have low vision with navigation and other tasks.
Alerting individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing to the presence of people or sounds.
Providing non-violent protection or rescue work.
Pulling a wheelchair.
Assisting an individual during a seizure.
Alerting individuals to the presence of allergens.
Retrieving items such as medicine or the telephone.
Helping individuals with psychiatric and neurological disabilities by preventing or interrupting impulsive or destructive behaviors.
This is not the same as an emotional support animals which are not trained for any specific tasks.
Instead the job of emotional support animal is to be present for their ownerâs wellbeing, especially to help with anxiety or depression.
According to the American Airlines website, trained miniature horses are permitted on flights as service animals.
In mid-August, the US Department of Transportation announced that miniature horses still were allowed to fly as service animals in all cabins of commercial planes, in a statement aiming to define the guidelines regarding protections for emotional support and psychiatric service cats, dogs and the tiny equines.
The announcement didnât bind airlines to fly all service miniature horses by law, but did allude to penalties if carriers violated the new rule, WWJ reported. The Department of Transportation had not banned mini horses previously.
According to the American Miniature Horse Association, the animals often stand between two and three feet tall and weigh between 150 and 250 pounds, with an average life span of at least 30 years.
Comments