It was a dog-gone crazy decision.
Europe’s top court has ruled that pets in the cargo hold can be classified as luggage, precluding airlines for paying more in compensation should the pet go missing.
The decision harks back to dispute between Spanish airline Iberia and a passenger whose dog, Mona, went missing in 2019 just before a flight from Buenos Aires, Argentina, to Barcelona, Spain, the Guardian reported.
According to the court hearing, the pup had been placed in a special crate due to its size and weight, but reportedly broke loose while being ferried to the plane.
While inside the plane, Ortiz’s mother reportedly watched Mona run across the tarmac while being chased by three vans, the owner recounted, according to CBS.
Despite their efforts, the pooch could “not be recovered” and has not been seen since, according to papers filed by the European Union Court Of Justice (ECJ).
“Many people laugh because they don’t understand what Mona means to me,” Ortiz said during an interview published in Argentine media in January 2020. “Since she went missing, all I do is cry and stay glued to my phone, waiting for a miracle.”
Ortiz created a Facebook page to try and glean information on Mona’s whereabouts and even offered a monetary reward for her fur baby’s return, but the campaign has yet to yield any leads.
Ortiz also filed a claim seeking €5,000 ($6,704) for “non-material damage” against Iberia, which led to a six-year court case.
The carrier accepted liability for the loss of the pet but not the size of the claim, which they felt should be capped at the lower amount set for checked baggage under the Montreal Convention, an international agreement that covers airline liability.
This claim was subsequently handed to the ECJ, which ultimately sided with Iberia on the grounds that pets could be classified as baggage.
“Even though the ordinary meaning of the word ‘baggage’ refers to objects, this alone does not lead to the conclusion that pets fall outside that concept,” they declared.
They also decreed that the passenger didn’t make a special declaration while checking in and was therefore only entitled to $1,842.87.
The girl’s lawyer in Madrid, Carlos Villa Corta, said he opposed the Luxembourg court’s ruling on the ground that“no airline in the world will accept a special declaration of value” for a pet in the hold.
“I believe that a great opportunity has been missed to continue raising awareness of the rights of animals and the people who care for them,” he said. “Ultimately, the ECJ considers that pets do not deserve special or enhanced legal protection compared to a simple suitcase.”
Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time a canine has gone missing in transit. In 2024, a dog named Moose was accidentally left off a flight from North Carolina to Seattle and later escaped the airport, the airline said.
It was supposed to depart aboard an Alaska Airlines flight out of Raleigh-Durham International Airport with its owner on Tuesday night, but a “misstep in the loading process” left the dog off the plane.
Thankfully, following an extensive search, the airport’s fire rescue team retrieved the pooch and reunited it with its owner.
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