Emotional support animals will no longer be considered service animals on flights
The U.S. Department of Transportation will define a service animal as ‘a dog that is individually trained to do work for the benefit of a person with a disability’; Claudia Cowan reports.
A baby kangaroo was spotted hopping down a cabin aisle of a PSA Airlines flight.
Video captured by a PSA Airlines, Inc., flight attendant, Bobby Weston, was shared to the AA Stews Instagram page – an account dedicated to highlighting flight attendants from American Airlines, PSA’s parent company.
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The brief clip shows the small marsupial being led down a mostly empty cabin while a masked man dangles a bag to encourage the kangaroo to follow him.
"He’ll follow you. Just go ahead and go," a voice from behind the camera can be heard saying as the kangaroo makes his way down the aisle.
"You can go much farther, see," the voice added. "Keep going. He wants to hop."
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The intriguing video has attracted more than 26,580 views and more than 2,770 likes as of Tuesday afternoon.
AA Stews described the event as a "wildlife conservation effort" that moved the joey from North Carolina to Virginia, which a spokesperson for American Airlines confirmed to be true to Fox News.
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"As part of an animal conservation effort, the baby kangaroo flew on American Airlines flight 5626, operated by PSA Airlines, from Charlotte (CLT) to Newport News, Virginia (PHF) in the cabin along with his handler," American Airlines spokesperson wrote via email.
Kangaroos are marsupials that are native to Austrailia. (iStock)
PSA Airlines is a regional commercial airliner that operates an all-jet fleet to nearly 100 destinations.
The airline’s parent company, American Airlines, made headlines earlier this month for aligning its animal travel policies with new orders from the U.S. Department of Transportation.
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Starting Feb. 1, only service animals that perform a task will be allowed on flights with disabled passengers. Emotional support animals and pets shall be allowed in cabins as a carry-on if they meet Department of Transportation requirements, according to an American Airlines press release. Transporting animals and pets in a plane cargo hold is another available option.
It is not immediately clear why the baby kangaroo was allowed to board the cabin of the PSA Airlines flight, and whether there is an exception for wildlife conservation animals versus emotional support animals and pets.
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American Airlines did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment on the differences between the animal categories.
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