- Frank, a 4-year-old French bulldog, died of heat stroke at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu.
- The family said they had flown with pets on Alaska Airlines before, but the flight attendants usually turned the air conditioning up high.
- Traveling by plane with pets can be tricky, whether they’re in the cabin or cargo, and different airlines and airports have different pet policies.
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When Angie and Gary Engelgau moved to Oregon from Hawaii earlier this month, they never expected the tragic death of their French bulldog, Frank.
Frank died of heatstroke at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu while his family was waiting to board a flight.
“My first call was to ask my brother if I could stop by on my way to southern Oregon the next day, but I was actually calling a pet crematorium,” Angie Engelgau told USA Today.
The family arrived at the indoor/outdoor Honolulu airport around 10 a.m. to catch an Alaska Airlines flight to Portland. The couple and their 18-year-old son were accompanied by their three dogs, Frank, Charlie and Fawn.
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Honolulu Airport regulations prohibit all dogs, except service dogs, detection dogs, and dogs in transport or carriers, from being allowed inside the terminal. There are several outdoor pet toilet areas available for restroom breaks.
The family said they’ve flown with pets on Alaska Airlines before, but the flight attendants usually turned on the air conditioning. According to the Alaska Airlines website, there is a $100 fee per pet, and cats and dogs that fit in a carrier under the seat in front of you are allowed in the cabin. Frank, 4, is a brachycephalic breed that is prone to overheating and difficulty breathing, so he was not allowed to travel in the cargo hold and had to stay in the cabin.
Travelling with pets?Here’s what you need to know:
“Hawaii is not a dog-friendly state, and especially not at the airport,” said Angie Engelgau, who said that when the family previously flew from Portland International Airport and San Francisco International Airport, the dogs stayed cool in the indoor, air-conditioned terminals.
On the hot morning of June 30 in Hawaii, Angie Engelgau said it was hard to give the dogs any cooling relief. “We broke the rules,” she said. “We let the dogs out of their carriers for about 45 minutes and gave them cold water and shade.”
When it was time to board, the family headed to the gate with their three dogs so they could board the plane early, hopefully with air conditioning kicking in. Frank stayed in his carrier while the family waited at the gate, but the gate was hot, too, he said.
“The passengers were hot, but imagine how hot it was for the dog,” said Angie Engelgau, who said she repeatedly asked gate agents if she could take Frank out of his carrier but was denied her request.
“It doesn’t make sense to me that it’s illegal to leave a dog in a hot car, but we have to put them in a hot carrier,” Angie Engelgau said. “It doesn’t make sense to me.”
The family waited about 30 minutes to board the plane, and when they finally did, they said the cabin felt warm. That’s when they heard Frank gasp loudly. “We all wondered what that noise was,” Gary Engelgau said.
His family opened his carry-on bag to fan him and repeatedly asked flight attendants for ice. By the time the ice arrived, it was too late: Frank was already dead.
“This could have been 100% completely avoided if Alaska Airlines had brought the ice sooner,” Gary Engelgau said. “I understand the situation is crazy, but if you can hear an animal in distress, you can hear it outside the plane.”
In a statement to USA Today, Alaska Airlines said: “We take the care of pets on board our aircraft seriously and are saddened to hear of the death of this passenger’s pet. Our crew followed in-flight pet protocol and took special care of the passenger during the flight.”
Frank died before the plane even took off, leaving the family heartbroken, traumatized and frustrated by the treatment that led to his death. The Engelgau family was moved to the back of the plane and spent the six-hour flight grieving. “My son was sitting a few rows behind us and he thought Frank had thrown up, but we’re holding a dead dog,” Angie Engelgau said. Two flight attendants were also crying, she said. The Engelgau family’s other dogs, including Frank’s sister Charlie, are devastated by the loss of their brother.
“He was a very sweet, loving person,” Angie Engelgau said. “We don’t want Frank to die in vain. We want to change the rules for animals.”
Angie Engelgau said she would like to see the Honolulu airport relax its rules on pets, for example by allowing pets on a leash with a muzzle or by allowing passengers to purchase seats for their dogs. “I understand that some people don’t like dogs,” she said. “But just because someone doesn’t like dogs doesn’t mean your dog should risk its life to get on a plane.”
Is it safe to fly with a dog?
Traveling with pets on an airplane can be tricky, whether they’re in the cabin or cargo, and every airline and airport has different pet policies. “It’s logistically difficult, and while, for the most part, animals travel very safely and the airlines do a great job… the system isn’t perfect,” Dr. Kenyon Conklin, a veterinarian who helps military families relocate with their pets, told USA Today.
The Department of Transportation’s Air Travel Consumer Reports revealed that of the 188,223 animals transported by U.S. airlines in 2022, seven died.
Airplane travel can be even more challenging for breeds like Frank: “What makes them so cute and charming is that they have a really hard time regulating their body temperature and heat,” she says. These breeds, in particular, have a hard time tolerating hot weather and humidity.
With limited carry-on items, it can be hard to provide comfort for your pet: “You can’t just dip your pet’s feet in cold water, because if you take them outside or unzip their cage and reach into them, you have a right to stop them from traveling in the future, and you have a right to ask them to leave the plane,” says Dr. Conklin. “There aren’t many good options in these situations.”
Flying with pets in the cargo hold can be nerve-wracking for passengers, too. Airlines limit the number of animals allowed in the hold, and it can get too hot or too cold depending on the season, says Dr. Conklin. The hold is also pressurized to about 8,000 feet, which can cause changes in blood pressure. While this may not be a big deal for a young, healthy animal, it can pose a serious health risk for an animal with undiagnosed heart problems. A health certificate from a licensed veterinarian is usually required to fly with pets in the cargo hold.
“The nature of air transport means that no matter how hard an airline tries, there will always be times when pets are unsupervised,” she says. Sometimes, certain restrictions mean owners can’t fly with their pets.
“Pets are in a dangerous situation and they’re not as resilient as humans,” Dr. Conklin says. “They can’t say, ‘Hey, something’s wrong.'”
