Smuggled dog delays BA plane in Israel

Dogs are relatively common at Ben Gurion airport and are allowed to travel on some other airlines, but BA has a clear policy not to allow dogs in the main cabin on flights.

The Airbus A321 had taxied as far as the runway on Sunday night when a passenger alerted cabin crew that there was a dog on board and the plane turned back to the stand. It’s been reported that the passenger had heard a squeaking noise from under a seat.

BA cabin crew staff questioned the woman, believed to be American, before removing her, the dog and her luggage.

This incident caused a delay to the flight. The BA flight 166 from Tel Aviv to London Heathrow had already been delayed from its original take-off time of 7.00pm (local Israeli time) but was on time for its re-scheduled slot at 8.40pm.

Cabin crew had already given passengers their safety briefing when the dog was discovered.

A British Airways spokesman said the passenger would have passed through all the relevant security and immigration points at Tel Aviv.

The spokesman said: "We did not allow a female customer to travel on board our service from Tel Aviv to Heathrow today after it was discovered that she was carrying a small dog in her handbag. We apologise to our customers who experienced a delay to the departure of their flight as a result of this incident."

For more interesting articles to help you improve your Aviation English please visit http://aviationenglish.com and LIKE our Facebook Page