Page 18 - IAV Digital Magazine #460

iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine
Woman With ‘Emotional Support Squirrel’ Removed FromPlane at Orlando Airport
By Sophia Rosenbaum, Associated Press
Police at a Florida airport removed a passenger who refused to get off a Cleveland-bound flight after she was found carrying an "emotional support squirrel."
Passengers had already boarded Frontier Airlines Flight 1612 at Orlando International Airport on Tuesday night when they were told there was a "situa- tion" and everyone needed to get off the plane, according to passenger Brandon Nixon.
"Everyone was a lit- tle panicked. You expect the worst when they say something like that," the 24-year-old Ashland, Ohio resi- dent said. "A lot of people were asking questions. People wanted to know what was going on."
As he exited the plane, Nixon said he
asked a flight atten- dant if she had any other information. "All she said was ‘a squirrel,’" he said.
But once they were back in the terminal, "word spread pretty quickly" about what was happening.
Frontier says the passenger had noted in her reser- vation that she was bringing an emo- tional support ani- mal with her on the
flight, but she did not indicate it was a squirrel. Rodents, including squirrels, are not one of the emotional support animals allowed on Frontier flights, according to its website.
The airline says police were called when the passenger refused to leave the plane. Nixon cap- tured video of the moment the woman was escorted
through the termi- nal, pumping her fist in the air as she clutched her carry- on bag with the squirrel on her lap.
"I knew I had to capture that moment just to show it. It’s such an odd thing. Something you don’t see every day," Nixon said.
The passengers boarded the plane 15 minutes later,
taking off about two hours late. It arrived at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport at 11:57 p.m. EDT. But Nixon said most of the passengers didn’t mind the delay because it was such a unique situation.
"This is going to be a story to remember for the rest of our lives," he said
iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine