A 
Southwest Airlines passenger at 
San Diego International Airport has taken to social media to vent her upset at the world’s largest low-cost carrier, after her service dog was barred from a flight. The passenger, known as Erinn Hoyt, suffers from cystic fibrosis, diabetes and has undergone a double lung transplant.
The airline is alleged to have barred the service dog from the flight, due to reports of it defecating at the service desk; however, there has been no evidence or video footage that supported this claim, and Hoyt has accused the Dallas-based airline of ‘gaslighting’ her.
Your Dog Defecated
In a report by the Daily Mail, it appears that on Monday, November 24, at 08:36 pm, Erinn Hoyt was preparing to board a flight out of San Diego. She was accompanied by her service dog, which is are specially trained animals that support people with varying disabilities. Hoyut had provided the service animal transportation form to Southwest before the flight.
Hoyt claims that she had her dog with her the entire time throughout the airport experience, including check-in, security screening, and while waiting at the gate. For the 90 minutes she was at the airport, Hoyt has alleged there was no incident. However, just before boarding was to commence for her flight, her name was called over the intercom.
Simple Flying reached out to Southwest Airlines for more context and a statement on the incident; however, they did not immediately respond by the time this article was published.
An ‘Incident’ At Check-In
A Southwest Airlines worker then explained that they were required to deny the service dog, due to the alleged incident where the support animal ‘defacated’ at check in, something that Hoyt strongly denies ever happening.
Hoyt made it clear that the service dog had been accompanying her the entire time at the airport are continues to deny that the defecating incident ever occurred. Requests from Hoyt to Southwest Airlines for evidence of the defecation are yet to be provided. The passenger has taken to social media to express her frustration with the airline, noting she would’ve recalled an incident such as this: “He went to the bathroom, and I just don’t see it? Didn’t smell it? Nothing? Just he took a s***, and I walked away?”
The passenger was eventually charged $150 for the dog to board the flight, but not as a service dog, and was required to place the animal into a carrier. Hoyt claims that she has taken the support animal on more than 25 flights already this year and has never had any issues to this magnitude. Hoyt has requested a refund for the flight.
Southwest Airlines Reportedly Boots Passenger Off Flight After Cat Defecates
The traveler states that the flight crew told her “bathroom is not your litter box” and decided to remove her and the cat from the plane.
Removed As An Companion Animal
Hoyt allegedly contacted Southwest Airlines the day following the incident for more context as to why the denial of boarding for her service animal occurred. The airline has claimed that she checked in at 7:01 pm; however, it was only brought to her attention at 8:36 pm that the service dog had allegedly defecated.
It is also claimed that the low-cost-carrier has removed the service dog as a companion for future flights, meaning the animal would need to travel container if it were to accompany her in the future. However, Erin has fought this and been able to re-add the service animal.
Southwest’s operations at San Diego see the airline as the airport’s largest carrier, maintaining a 33.4% market share according to the airport’s website. The airline operates non-stop flights from the airport to 42 destinations across the United States and two in Mexico.
|
Airline |
Market Share |
|---|---|
|
Southwest Airlines |
33.4% |
|
Alaska Airlines |
18.3% |
|
United Airlines |
12.4% |
|
Delta Air Lines |
12.1% |
Southwest Airlines has launched an internal investigation into the incident to fully understand what had happened. As per the airline’s policy, it is outlined that all service dogs must be able to sit on he passenger’s lap, or by their feet. Dogs are the only type of service animal permitted by the airline.
