Rules are there to be followed, also for passengers carrying Chihuahuas with them. A Belgian couple from Hofstade, Aalst, has received a three-year ban on TUI fly Belgium for disobeying the instructions of the cabin crew. “We took our dog Pippa from her dog bag, but we were not allowed.”
“Last December we took a TUI flight towards Alicante, Spain. After a delay of nine hours, we took our Chihuahua from the bag, the penalty seems very severe,” the couple told.
“After a technical problem on the aircraft, we had to board another one, which departed nine hours after its original schedule. Pippa got distressed, so we took her out,” the couple continued, adding that they were frequent TUI customers and that they paid €100 to carry the dog with them on board.
“Normally, cabin crew allows this. This time the flight attendant refused and said that Pippa had to go back into her bag. We believe that the treatment is out of proportion.”
The non-compliance with the safety rules resulted in a verbal altercation. The couple was subsequently banned from flying with the airline until the end of 2025 and was forced to book a return flight with another airline.
“We are not taking this measure lightly,” said Piet Demeyere, spokesman for TUI, “shouting and ranting at the staff and thereby disturbing the flight is really not acceptable.”
So, they weren’t banned for taking the dog out of the bag. They were banned for failing to comply with flight crew instructions and their subsequent aggressive behaviour. Seems fair enough to me.
[…] O descumprimento das regras de segurança a bordo de aviões é uma questão séria e deve ser tratada de forma apropriada. Uma proibição de três anos sem embarcar em voos da TUI fly Belgium foi a consequência para um casal de belgas que desrespeitou as instruções da tripulação, segundo relatou o site Aviation24. […]