A miniature horse was spotted joining her owner on a one-and-a-half-hour flight from Chicago to Omaha, Nebraska, thanks to the new regulations.
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s revised ADA regulations, airlines are now required to accept miniature service horses on the plane just as they have to do with service dogs.
Speaking of service animals, it is important to understand that emotional support animals are not the same as service animals. The latter are trained and certified to support owners who are dealing with disabilities and require assistance.
Based on the new regulations, only service animals including dogs and miniature horses must be allowed boarding. As per other species, it is up to the airline to decide on the case-by-case basis.
The miniature horse in this story goes by the name of Flirty The Mini Service Horse and belongs to Abrea Hensley who was visiting her aunt on the day she flew together with her horse.
“Flirty and I took to the skies, yesterday! It was a great experience and I learned a lot. Flirty was FANTASTIC and handled it all like a pro,” Ms. Hensley tweeted after the flight.
“That being said, I’m going to keep traveling by car, it’s just easier on Flirty. Flying will be reserved for emergencies and such.”
“Because my airport is smaller, the planes are smaller and don’t have solid bulkheads. Flirty couldn’t help jostling the seat of the person in the last row of first-class every time she moved,” the woman later added.
“Once we got up to cruising altitude, she took a nap and was very quiet. But she had to rebalance quite a bit while ascending and descending and kept bumping the back of their seat through the curtain ‘bulkhead.’ She did such a good job of handling everything, though, I’m so proud of her!”
While the American Airlines staff and fellow passengers accepted Flirty with open hands, Hensley received a ton of negative and even threatening comments after her story went viral.
In an attempt to make people understand that she was allowed to do what she did, Hensley explained that the new laws mandate airlines to accept miniature service horses on their planes.
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