by Donald Wood
Last updated: 11:01 AM ET, Thu October 25, 2018
As the emotional support animal battle continues, one passenger snuck her cat onto a British Airways flight Wednesday before it was discovered.
According to STV News, the unidentified American traveler had boarded her flight from Glasgow, Scotland, to London, England, when flight attendants asked the woman sitting in an emergency exit row to put her bag in an overhead compartment.
Crew members discovered the woman's carry-on bag contained a live cat and she was immediately removed from the plane. Security checkpoint officials revealed they knew of the cat in the bag, which is allowed on certain airlines.
The problem arose due to the female passenger not notifying British Airways ahead of time and the carrier only allowing dogs as emotional support animals.
"Cats cannot travel in the cabin but recognized assistance dogs are always very welcome and travel completely free of charge alongside their owners on board," a British Airways spokesperson told STV News. "Other animals will need to travel in the hold but will be just as comfortable in a carefully controlled environment."
Over the last several months, many airlines in the United States have been tightening their rules and regulations when it comes to service and emotional support animals, including American, Delta, Southwest, United and more.
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