Two Cats
Afeez Adeleke/Pexels

A festive journey turned into a high-stakes airport confrontation on Christmas Eve when a passenger was barred from her flight. The dispute centred on a strict interpretation of pet safety protocols that left the woman stranded at the gate, desperate to get home for the holidays with her fur babies.

While fellow travellers navigated the holiday rush, this passenger found her travel plans halted due to the contents of her pet carrier. The incident has sparked a fierce debate regarding airline authority and passenger entitlement during the busiest travel season of the year.

Airlines Pet Rules Ruin a Passenger's Christmas?

Alexandra Compton, 35, was about to board her Alaska Airlines flight from Las Vegas to Portland to reunite with her family for the holidays when the crew stopped her because her two cats, Phoenix and Blaze, were in the same carrier. She argued that she had done it many times before and did not encounter the issue.

Compton asked the crew to show her the pet policy, and when they did, she argued that it wasn't on the website when her mum booked her flight, saying the website wasn't 'user-friendly.' One of the staff members told her that she did not even have a pet reservation, so she should have called them.

Compton said she had travelled with them before and she had never called them. The confrontation continued and at one point, she asked them, 'Why are you ruining Christmas right now?'

'There's a policy that says, "the cat needs to have full range of motion" and they don't because they're two bigger cats. If they were too baby cats, they would be able to move around,' the crew member said.

'Your company doesn't decide if my cats are comfortable or not,' Compton replied, arguing that her cats would just sleep anyway during the flight. The crew explained that 'If you had another carrier, we wouldn't have this conversation.' However, she argued that two carriers couldn't fit under one seat, so that was out of her options.

'Where would the other carrier go?' she asked, and the crew told her, 'under another seat.'

Despite her pleas, the crew remained firm in their refusal to allow her to board with the animals in that configuration.

Crew Member A Dog Person?

Compton spoke with TMZ after her airport video went viral. According to her, the crew 'didn't even look at the cats' and he was giving her the vibes that he was a 'dog person', not a cat person like her.

'He made the decision I needed to book another seat and get another carrier or I couldn't fly with them,' Compton told the outlet. 'Because he didn't look at the cats, it made me think he was a dog person. It was giving, he had a golden retriever at home.'

Compton ended up spending another $400 to fly successfully with her two cats. She argued, however, that her concern 'wasn't about the money' but she was 'stressed about my cats.'

The passenger, now dubbed '2 Cats Karen,' added that the cats being away from a litter box for 13 hours is already animal abuse.

Compton also called out Alaska Airlines on social media for their 'policies' and 'lack of customer service.'

Carrier Rules and Pet Fees

Alaska Airlines is widely recognised as one of the more pet-friendly carriers in the industry, though they maintain specific guidelines for animal transport. The current policy allows small cats to travel in the cabin for a fee of approximately £79 ($100) each way.

These animals must be housed in an approved soft-sided carrier with maximum dimensions of 17" x 11" x 9.5". Generally, the airline allows one adult pet per carrier, but also allows two young puppies or kittens in the same carrier if they are similar in size.

The airline upholds the safety standards to ensure the animals have adequate ventilation and space during the flight. Also, the carrier must fit under the seat.

Alaska Airlines also requires passengers to make a reservation for their pets, whether travelling in the cabin or as cargo, because there's a strict limit on the number of pets allowed per flight.

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