An emotional support peacock amassed the sympathies of social media after being denied a seat by United Airlines. The bird remained grounded on Newark Liberty Airport for almost six hours, but it didn’t see a green signal by United Airlines.
Dexter- The Emotional Support Peacock
According to media reports, a New York-based artist and performer, booked Dexter, the emotional support peacock on United Airlines for a trip from New Jersey to Los Angeles. But authorities denied a seat to the peacock by not allowing him to board.
According to an Instagram post by Dexter the Peacock, the pet and his human friend will take her across the country on a road trip. The post said, “Spent 6 hours trying to get on my flight to LA (after following all required protocol). Tomorrow my human friends are going to drive me cross country! Keep an eye out for us.”
Reason for the Denial of Seat
The emotional Support Peacock of the New York-based artist was not denied a seat for merely being a bird. Reports suggest that United Airlines refused a seat to the emotional support peacock for the reasons like size and weight. The pics reveal the Dexter to be a gigantic bird. So, it is apparent to raise the question of how come such a massive animal could fit into the limited space of flight cabin.
According to regulations people who have a particular psychological disability can fly with their emotional support pets. Hence, air travelers accompanied by dogs, cats, birds and another kind of pets are a common sight. Facility of flying with the animals while not paying for them is not available for all the pet groomers.
Travel themed Facebook page The Jet Set also shared the picture of Peacock. After seeing the picture users came up with different opinions; few of them said that the artist was selling it, and many also criticized the Airline.
Airlines Looking to Regulate Flying of Emotional Support Animals
Till now, there are no restrictions on flying with the pets after they fulfill the criterion of being an emotional support animal. But, reports suggest that Airlines like Delta might be looking to introduce stringent regulations in this regard. Therefore United Airlines had also reexamined its rules. But reports didn’t indicate that Airline denied Dexter a seat because he didn’t qualify for an emotional support animal. The bird didn’t get a seat for not meeting the standards of weight and size.
Critics are also raising the question on how owner booked a seat if peacock didn’t meet the required weight and height criterion.
