I had a similar thing happen about six years ago. Since then, I only travel by train, cars, or boat. Works well, and it is far less stressful.
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The video didn’t throw a lot of light on the reason the police were wrestling this woman off the plane.
The part I found the most interesting was where the stewardess kept using the PA to tell passengers to put their phones away and stop recording.
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I noticed that as well. Maybe a good time for some quiet introspection if you ever find yourself saying, “stop recording this.”
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She claimed to have a life-threatening medical problem and then was unable to produce documentation from a doctor indicating that it was safe for her to fly. It is a universal airline rule that patients with serious medical conditions require a doctor’s note in order to fly – the fact that she claimed an allergy is incidental.
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I’m sympathetic but it sounds like she wasn’t prepared for a situation with dogs on the plane or to deal with her allergies. She has no right to order others or their pets off the flight. She should have gotten off and onto another flight or dealt with it if possible. I don’t see this as a case where she is going to look like a martyr.
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I’m a professor, and loudly announcing that fact rarely improves any situation. Except sex.
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What about cowbell?
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I’m not going to judge this individual case. But I am frustrated with pet owners acting like their pets have the same rights as people. Whether its the ubiquity of dogs on restaurant patios, or the no-documents-required “comfort animals” on airplanes, some pet owners take what I consider too much liberty in inflicting their dogs upon the rest of us.
Remember when dogs used to fly in the cargo area? Those days are gone because many pet owners are so needy and just love their dogs SO MUCH that the dog’s comfort and safety is now more important than the comfort and safety of the actual human beings on the plane. I love dogs, but if we could all try to put people first it would be appreciated.
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“Under United’s policy, customers can take pictures or videos with small cameras or cellphones “provided that the purpose is capturing personal events.” Filming or photographing other customers or airline employees without their consent is prohibited. American, Delta and Southwest have similar policies.” USNews
I couldn’t find specific SW policy on the matter.
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So what was the altitude when she was ejected?
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Maybe it was a food allergy…
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Same rights or not those owners paid for their pets to be on the flight. The airline took their money for a service. They didn’t ask to be put on a flight with this person.
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Oh, come on. Most people are trying to be reasonable and say if she was that allergic perhaps she could’ve had her own epipen or medical certificate in advance. There’s no winning scenario here. If they kicked off the multiple pet owners, they’d be the victims instead. If they let her fly without an epipen and goes into shock, she could’ve died or caused the entire plane to be diverted. Once you make the claim that you’re deathly allergic to something, you’re putting the airline in a legal bind where they can’t proceed unless sufficient protections are taken, lest they be sued for wrongful death after-the-fact. I don’t know what magical solution you think there is here.
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Federal law also requires airlines to reasonably accommodate “emotional support animals,” and a huge percentage of pet owners have figured out that it’s a lot cheaper and easier to pay an online therapist $50 one time to give them a letter saying they need an “emotional support animal” than to pay the airline $100 or more every time they get on a plane with their pet.
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It’s because airlines kill pets in cargo holds:
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Oooh! Oooh! Is it Zeppelins? Fancy schmancy Zeppelins with space to walk your dog?
(it’s never Zeppelins 
)
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It also vastly decreases the probability that the airline will kill their pet.
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include your own and we’re all on the same page here.
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I submit that you’re applying a generally reasonable metric to a situation rather unsuited to it. None of the passengers control who or what gets on the plane, when and where. And we all know why.
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