French bulldog escapes travel crate and frolics around plane cabin after owner falls asleep

Passengers on a Southwest Airlines flight were tickled but confused when they spotted a cute French bulldog sniffing about the plane’s aisle on Wednesday.

After reporting the adorable roamer to cabin crew, there was a period of confusion where staff could not seem to locate the owner, despite making several announcements asking them to come and claim their pet.

A fellow passenger, Amanda Dukes, tweeted a video of the incident, saying: “This is hysterical! On my @SouthwestAir flight a #frenchbulldog was roaming the aisles.”

She posted a clip of a brown Frenchie sniffing under passengers’ seats, jumping up to their armrests and exploring the plane freely.

“Despite flight attendant announcements, no one was claiming him. Finally, his owner woke up from a nap and we were directing this pup back to his seat.”

In the video, seemingly delighted passengers help encourage the puppy back up the plane’s aisle to where its owner had been found snoozing towards the back.

The aircraft had been travelling from Orlando, Florida to St Louis, Missouri.

Pets including dogs are allowed in the cabin by some airlines - though in most cases the owner needs to pay a “pet fare” as well as their own ticket price.

Southwest Airlines says it “welcomes small vaccinated domestic cats and dogs in an appropriate pet carrier in the cabin on domestic flights,” adding “Carriers must be stowed under your seat.”

Many social media users were heartwarmed by the clip, with one tweeting: “Will this amenity be available on all flights? This is the exactly the kind of in-flight entertainment I want.”

“That doggie could sit with me the whole flight,” wrote Marlisa Marlow.

But not everyone thought the situation was cute.

“Since they don’t serve peanuts on planes when somebody has a peanut allergy, why do they allow dogs on planes if someone is allergic to dogs?” one follower asked.

Another said: “1) They were lucky it seemed to be mostly dog-lovers 2) Was the dog supposed to be out of his travel kennel 3) Luckily it was a nice dog - someone could’ve been bitten (yes, even by this type of dog).”

It’s not the first time a dog has caused chaos around a commercial flight. In May a video of a small dog making a bid for freedom at a Mexican airport went viral after the canine was filmed dashing around beneath the aircraft.

Meanwhile, in 2021, one greyhound got a taste of luxury many of us will never experience when he flew business class on a Singapore Airlines flight from Melbourne to Italy.