by Donald Wood
Last updated: 3:15 PM ET, Thu February 25, 2016
A family is reporting that the other passengers on an Allegiant Air flight cheered when their 7-year-old son Giovanni was kicked off the plane due to an allergic reaction to one of the emotional support dogs onboard.
According to Natalie Swaby of KING 5 News, Giovanni and his parents, Christina Fabian and George Alvarado, had boarded Allegiant Air Flight 171 from Bellingham, Washington, to Phoenix when the young boy began to break out in hives and started scratching all over.
A crew member then reportedly told the family that they would have to leave the plane due to their son's condition. The flight was delayed as the parents gathered their son's possessions, but as they began to leave, the passengers on the plane responded by applauding the airline's decision to remove them.
What the other passengers didn't know is that Giovanni's father George has stage four throat cancer and only has a few months left to live. The purpose of the trip to Bellingham was to see family and for the boy to spend time with his father.
The family was en route back to their home in Phoenix when the incident took place. Giovanni told KING 5 News, "My dad's sick with Stage 4 throat cancer, and that made me really sadder when I was already sad. I'm sad this has to be a memory with my dad."
In response, Allegiant Air formally apologized to Giovanni and his family, and booked them on a new flight home to Phoenix on Wednesday.
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