Passenger Claims Airline Said His Dog Was Too Heavy To Fly

An American Airlines passenger claimed on social media that he wasn’t allowed to bring his dog on board his flight from Reagan National Airport in Washington DC to Miami because it was too heavy. Lachlan Markay took to Twitter on July 3 complaining about the incident along with a photo of his beloved dog, Lou.

“Super cool of American Air to destroy our holiday travel plans because Lou is five pounds over the weight limit,” tweeted Markay, a reporter at the Daily Beast. “Never had a problem on AA or any other airline, so I sure know which one I'm never booking with again.”

However, a spokesperson for American Airlines told Fox News that Lou’s weight wasn’t the problem. In a statement, the airline said, "American has policies in place to protect pets that travel on American Airlines. Our policy states on aa.com: Pets must be able to stand up, turn around and lie down in a natural position in their kennel (without touching any side or the top of the container).”

“Lou was unable to comply with those requirements, which was reiterated to Mr. Markay. Lou's weight was never the concern, but it was the size of the kennel," the airline said.

Despite the controversy, Markay and his dog were allowed to board the plane together. Markay later provided an update saying the airline “decided to make an exception” and allowed Lou to fly.

American Airlines confirmed to Fox News that they had “one-time exception” for Lou. However, Lou would need to “utilize a different kennel” for any future travel.

In May, a woman accused American Airlines of losing her dog as she was flying from San Francisco to Raleigh, North Carolina. The dog, which was supposed to reach Raleigh, arrived in Philadelphia, hundreds of miles away from its owner. Amber Dalton told local media at the time that she was boarding a flight in San Francisco when an American Airline employee pulled her out of line and told her the connecting flight to Chicago couldn’t carry animals on board. She was then booked on a different connecting flight, through Dallas. The airline told her that her dog, named Beast, would be on the same plane as her to Dallas. However, when her flight landed at the destination, she learned that the airline sent her dog all the way to Philadelphia on a non-stop flight.