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Survey: 61 percent of flight attendants say emotional support animals have caused trouble midflight

ADR Home Civil Rights Air Carrier Access Act Survey: 61 percent of flight attendants say emotional support animals have caused trouble midflight

Survey: 61 percent of flight attendants say emotional support animals have caused trouble midflight

September 15, 2018
Air Carrier Access Act, Civil Rights, Emotional Support Animals (ESA), Medical Assistance Animals, News, Pets, Service Dogs (SD), Stop Disability Fraud

Association of Flight Attendants Survey

Worked a flight with at least one emotional support animal onboard in the last 24 months 98%
Agree DOT needs to release more clarified policy on requirements 82%
Emotional Support Animal, midflight disturbance, last 2 years 61%
Aggressive or Threatening behavior by the animal 53%
ESAs failing to fit in designated space, wandering during flight, barking 43%
ESA defecate or urinate in the cabin 26%

Association of Flight Attendants

Survey 5,000 respondents from 30 airlines.

From Janine Puhak, Fox News

A searing new study reports that 61 percent of flight attendants say they have seen an emotional support animal cause a disturbance midflight within the last two years.

The survey was conducted by the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) among 5,000 flight attendants employed by 30 different airlines.

AFA is calling on the Department of Transportation (DOT) to regulate the “rampant abuse” that lax rules on emotional service animal designations is reportedly fostering, as the issue is said to be escalating into a “safety, health, and security issue” that is “negatively affecting all passengers.”

“The rampant abuse of claiming a need for emotional support animals in air travel is negatively impacting all passengers. It’s a safety, health, and security issue.”

– Sara Nelson, President, Association of Flight Attendants

AFA reported earlier this week that 82 percent flight attendants surveyed agree that the DOT needs to release a more clarified policy on the requirements for emotional support animal in the high skies, while continuing necessary support for travelers with disabilities and veterans.

“The rampant abuse of claiming a need for emotional support animals in air travel is negatively impacting all passengers. It’s a safety, health, and security issue,” said Sara Nelson, AFA’s president.

According to the findings, 53 percent of the reported disruptions included aggressive or threatening behavior by the animal, including a dog biting a flight attendant distributing beverages. Meanwhile, 43 percent of disturbances included emotional support animals “failing to fit” in their designated spaces, and proceeding to wander around the cabin or bark through the flight.

The airline staffers polled also mentioned that the animals often get loose in the cabin if their owner falls asleep on the plane.

Furthermore, 26 percent of respondents said they have had an emotional support animals defecate or urinate in the cabin.

Unfortunately, 20 percent of flight attendants polled also said they have seen passengers “express a bias against passengers traveling with service animals,” as they incorrectly assumed the service animals were in fact “fake” service for emotional support animals.

Neverthless, the AFA president told The Washington Post that the revised “common sense” policies the AFA is lobbying for have no relation to trained service animals.

“I will you tell that, actually, some of our favorite animals are service animals,” Nelson said. “You wouldn’t even know that they’re there. They’re trained to almost make themselves invisible and to give their owners the care and the guidance that they need. But these emotional support animals are not trained to be in these spaces.”

Discussion surrounding emotional support animals on planes has proven to be one of the biggest travel news topics of the year, ever since an emotional support peacock named Dexter and his owner were rejected from boarding a United Airlines flight in January.

Ever since, various carriers have been tightening the leash on their respective rules on the subject as well.

Tags: AFA aggressive Association of Flight Attendants defecate Department of Transportation Dexter dog biting DOT health peacock rampant abuse safety Sara Nelson security service animals threatening United Airlines urinate
Previous Story
Ole Miss banned a PTSD service dog from the classroom; now, advocates are fighting back
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University of Wisconsin Green Bay sees increase in emotional support animals on campus

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Service Dogs

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    The Department’s investigations found that Deerfield and Landmark discriminated against veterans with PTSD when they refused to honor reservations for hotel rooms because the veterans were accompanied by their service dogs.

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    Kylie is a 3-year-old black Labrador-greyhound mix O’Brien received in August 2016. He and she received training from a nonprofit organization called Mutts Mending Mankind based in Bantam.

  • Amid pit bull debate, service dogs prove life-changing for Sioux City veterans

    “The biggest problem is you have people that do not have a trained dog. They’re taking untrained dogs out there and they’re causing problems,” Brodie said. “They’re saying they’re service dogs, but they’re not.”

  • His first job was training service dogs in prison.

    It takes more than $50,000 to breed, raise, train, match and support a service dog trained through America’s VetDogs. After the puppies graduate from the prison training, they receive an additional three months of formal training, O’Brien said. The group then flies the veterans in and houses them for two weeks while they work with their new puppies. Veterans are never charged for the service; the organization relies largely on donations.

Service Dogs in Training

  • Families claim they paid thousands for service animal and got expensive pet

    The families paid Canines 4 Hope between 8 to 13 thousand dollars.

    Each contract said there is no guarantee the dog would early detect a seizure or a sudden change in blood sugar.

  • Norwich man says car dealership denied him job because of service dog

    Kylie is a 3-year-old black Labrador-greyhound mix O’Brien received in August 2016. He and she received training from a nonprofit organization called Mutts Mending Mankind based in Bantam.

  • Amid pit bull debate, service dogs prove life-changing for Sioux City veterans

    “The biggest problem is you have people that do not have a trained dog. They’re taking untrained dogs out there and they’re causing problems,” Brodie said. “They’re saying they’re service dogs, but they’re not.”

  • His first job was training service dogs in prison.

    It takes more than $50,000 to breed, raise, train, match and support a service dog trained through America’s VetDogs. After the puppies graduate from the prison training, they receive an additional three months of formal training, O’Brien said. The group then flies the veterans in and houses them for two weeks while they work with their new puppies. Veterans are never charged for the service; the organization relies largely on donations.

  • Department of Transportation Will Let Airlines Ban Emotional Support Snakes And Rodents

    DOT listened to all of the stakeholders, reviewed the law, and laid out guidelines that will allow airlines to balance their operational needs, the comfort needs of all passengers, while ensuring that restrictions put in place don’t preclude having mental health needs met.

    While that may not mean the end of passengers getting bitten by poorly controlled and vicious animals, it allows some controls to be put in place that may reduce the frequency and severity of incidents.

Emotional Support Animals

  • Amid pit bull debate, service dogs prove life-changing for Sioux City veterans

    “The biggest problem is you have people that do not have a trained dog. They’re taking untrained dogs out there and they’re causing problems,” Brodie said. “They’re saying they’re service dogs, but they’re not.”

  • ESA Gator

    People Are Taking Emotional Support Animals Everywhere. States Are Cracking Down.

    More Americans are saying they need a variety of animals — dogs, ducks, even insects — for their mental health. But critics say many are really just pets that do not merit special status.
    The vast majority of emotional support animals are dogs, but some Americans turn to a wide variety of other species. Wally the alligator was approved by his owner’s doctor in York, Pa., as an alternative to taking medication for depression.

  • DOT Pit Bull Delta Ban

    DOT disallows Delta ban on pit bulls as service animals

    The DOT said in a guidance document on how it plans to enforce regulations of service animals in aircraft cabins that it “views a limitation based exclusively on breed of the service animal to not be allowed under its service animal regulation.”

  • Department of Transportation Will Let Airlines Ban Emotional Support Snakes And Rodents

    DOT listened to all of the stakeholders, reviewed the law, and laid out guidelines that will allow airlines to balance their operational needs, the comfort needs of all passengers, while ensuring that restrictions put in place don’t preclude having mental health needs met.

    While that may not mean the end of passengers getting bitten by poorly controlled and vicious animals, it allows some controls to be put in place that may reduce the frequency and severity of incidents.

  • Can a Service Dog Help with Your Anxiety?

    Service dogs differ from regular pets. To be legally recognized as a service animal, these dogs are trained to perform tasks that can help someone with a disability. Depending on the person’s needs, this can mean anything from bringing a person their medication during times of crisis to finding help during a medical emergency.

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