Emotional support animals are stirring up a commotion in the skies. With the ease of just a few clicks, passengers are able to print out emotional support certificates for their animal and save big on traveling with their beloved pet.
Earlier this week an emotional support dog bit an American Airlines flight attendant en route from Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas to Greensboro, North Carolina on flight 3506. The flight attendant had to receive five stitches for the injury once he returned to Dallas. The breed of the emotional support dog was not released.
The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA spoke out after the incident saying "what happened on yesterday's American Airlines flight is completely unacceptable and inexcusable."
But the incident once again brings up the question if emotional support animals should be more regulated?
This isn't the first time that an emotional support animal attacked someone while in flight. Earlier this year a passenger on Delta Air Lines filed a lawsuit against the airline after being attacked multiple times and needing twenty-eight stitches for their injuries. Another lawsuit was filed earlier this year in response to a five-year-old girl being mauled by an emotional support animal at the Portland Airport.
With more incidents occurring, some airlines are taking a stronger stance against emotional support animals. Delta Air Lines has banned the animals from long flights, and it will not allow on any of their flights any service or support animal that is younger than four months old.
The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA is calling for stricter guidelines for emotional support animals. 2018 reports show that 61 percent of nearly 5,000 flight attendants surveyed have seen an emotional support animal cause trouble on a flight. And 53 percent of those incidents "included aggressive or threatening behavior by the animal, including a dog snapping at a flight attendant's heel and another biting a flight attendant as they attempted to set a beverage on the tray table".
Traveling with pets is becoming more and more common. And as such, more incidents like the one on Monday are likely to occur. As the debate over emotional support animals heats up, it's important for those abusing the system to look at who they're really hurting - those who actually need the animals.
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