The European Union’s top court ruled Thursday that a dog traveling in an airplane’s cargo hold counts as baggage, meaning airlines are not required to pay higher compensation if the animal is lost.
The ruling stems from a dispute between Spanish airline Iberia and a passenger whose dog, Mona, went missing before a flight from Buenos Aires to Barcelona in October 2019.
The dog, which had to travel in a pet carrier in the aircraft’s hold due to its size and weight, escaped while being taken to the plane and was never seen again.
Mona ran across the airport runway while being chased by three vans, according to her owner, Grisel Ortiz, who said her mother watched the scene from inside the plane.
“Many people laugh because they don’t understand what Mona means to me,” Ortiz added during an interview published in Argentine daily Clarin 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 seeking information on Mona’s whereabouts and offered a cash reward for the dog’s return, but her efforts yielded no credible leads.
She also sought 5,000 euros ($5,400) in damages from Iberia.
“Very disappointed”
The company accepted responsibility but argued that compensation should be limited to the lower amount set for checked baggage under the Montreal Convention, an international agreement that covers airline liability.
The Spanish court handling the claim referred the question to the European Union Court of Justice, which sided with the airline.
“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,” the Luxembourg-based court ruled.
An animal can be considered “baggage” for liability purposes “upon the condition that full regard is paid to animal welfare requirements while they are transported,” the court added.
The court noted the passenger had not made a “special declaration of interest” at check-in, an option allowing higher compensation for an additional fee with carrier approval.
Ortiz’s lawyer, Carlos Villacorta Salis, told AFP this is a “false argument,” saying “no airline in the world” would agree to such a declaration for a pet transported in a plane’s hold.
He said he was “very disappointed” with the ruling, calling it a “missed opportunity to give visibility to the rights of animals and the people who care for them.”
The judgment is advisory and leaves the final ruling to the Spanish court handling the compensation claim.
Other incidents
Dogs have gone missing on airport runways in other parts of the world — with happier outcomes.
In 2024, a dog whose escape from a plane caused the closure of two runways at France’s biggest airport was reunited with its owner after nine days at large. Authorities had closed two runways at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport on Tuesday while officials tried to capture Amalka the dog.
In September 2023, a similar incident unfolded at one of the busiest transit hubs in the U.S. when a Chihuahua mix named Maia escaped from her carrier and ran onto an active runway at Atlanta’s airport. The incident occurred while the dog was being transferred between Delta Air Lines and the airport after her owner was detained for not having the proper documents to enter the U.S. Maia was eventually found by a Good Samaritan after 22 days on the tarmac.
