Air Canada diverts international flight because of chilly dog

[RooFlyer]

I expect this may bring mixed reactions:

An Air Canada pilot diverted an international flight to rescue a pup in peril.

The Toronto-bound plane departed Tel Aviv on Sunday when the pilot noticed one of the cargo hold heaters had malfunctioned.

Inside was a dog identified in media reports as Simba.

"The captain grew rightfully concerned for the dog's comfort and wellbeing," Peter Fitzpatrick, a spokesman for Air Canada, told CBC in an email. "With the altitude it can become very uncomfortable, and possibly the situation could have been life threatening if the flight had continued."

Air Canada rules state that ambient temperatures need to be at a minimum of 10 degrees when dealing with canine travellers.

The pilot decided to divert the flight to Frankfurt, where Simba was transferred to another plane.

The Tel Aviv flight arrived in Toronto just 75 minutes behind schedule.

Air Canada pilot diverts Tel Aviv-to-Toronto flight to ensure dog's safety - Toronto - CBC News

 

[Cool Cat Phil]

My parents own two frenchies & my sister owns another two frenchies & they are a breed of dog that are certainly prone to breathing issues when it comes to long distance flying.

Many airlines won't fly Frenchies full stop as a result of their breathing issues.

The pilot made a courageous decision who showed enormous heart.

So this story gets a big thumbs up from our family

 

[Brisbane Flyer]

This happened to me on a United ORD-LAX flight in the mid 90's, we diverted to Lincoln Nebraska to deplane the dog. Then waited for a few hours because the airport didn't have the right fuel equipment for our Airbus (not sure which model). It was a small regional airport and a newer Airbus model.

No one on the flight complained.

Cheers
BF

 

[UP4014]

It was the right thing to do, it is someones pet. If mine I might have told the pilot to keep going but it might have been the pet of someone with a disability.

Good on the crew, there isn't enough of this sort of thing in the world.

Matt

 

[harvyk]

Air Canada rules state that ambient temperatures need to be at a minimum of 10 degrees when dealing with canine travellers.

Nuff said. The rules seem to be pretty black and white, so the cap't did what he needed to IMHO.
I would certainly be annoyed being on a plane which was diverting, but I would also put it down to a "these things happen whilst traveling" experience and leave it at that.