Woman kicked off Southwest Airlines flight over pet cat’s ‘smell’

A woman claimed in a viral social media post that she was kicked off a Southwest Airlines flight after her cat defecated due to stress during a rough landing.

Newsweek reached out to Southwest Airlines via email and the woman, Alex, via social media for comment.

Why it matters

Over 1 million pets travel by air each year in the United States, according to the International Pet and Animal Transportation Association, and 22 percent of cat and dog owners reported taking their animals on at least three flights in the past year.

Many airlines have implemented policies to maintain pets in the cabin, including size restrictions and designated seating, to maintain hygiene and accommodate passengers with allergies as the demand for pet travel increases.

What to know

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, viewed over 20 million times at the time of publication, Alex said Oni, her 7-month-old cat, had an accident in her carrier during a hard landing. She cleaned up the cat in the plane’s bathroom before a connecting flight.

She said she thought it was just urine at first, then realized there was also feces. She said she wrapped up the soiled paper towels and disposed of them in the bin, saying she thought it would be emptied between flights.

She then asked the flight attendants for a garbage bag to better deal with the mess, finishing cleaning the Oni and the transporter, saying that she had left no smell behind. She said the staff were very nice and understanding.

Alex wrote on X that when she boarded the same flight, she discovered that the trash had not been removed, leading to an “odor” that prompted the crew to close the bathroom.

She said a new flight attendant was hostile and accused her of treating the bathroom like a “trash bin”, and she said the flight attendants had made her cry. She claimed she was escorted off the plane.

She said she then waited for several hours before reaching her destination. She also said the attendant who escorted her off the plane told her she had done nothing wrong and gave her a voucher for a future flight.

In guidelines on its website, Southwest Airlines states that any pet exhibiting what it describes as “disruptive behavior” may be denied boarding. This includes “urinating or defecating in the cabin or port area.”

What people say

After explaining the series of alleged events at X, Alex wrote in a post: “WE LANDED! Checked my bags at 9:45am PST and finally landed at LAX and have my bags in hand at 2am”

Southwest Airlines does not appear to have publicly commented on the alleged incident at the time of publication.

What’s next

As pets traveling by air increase, it’s important to stay up to date with the different rules airlines have for pet travel and make sure you have the supplies you need.

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