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UK regional airline Loganair has refused to transport a rabbit named Romeo, who needed urgent veterinary care due to a life-threatening condition called gastrointestinal stasis. The rabbit's owner is now petitioning for a change in the airline's pet travel policy.
Romeo lives on Papa Westray, one of the Orkney Islands in Scotland, where there are no local vets. Normally, his owner uses ferries and buses to reach vet appointments on the mainland. However, stormy weather had canceled most ferry services, leaving flights as the only available option. Loganair's current policy allows only cats and dogs on its flights, even in exceptional situations like this.
Daryl McLeod, Romeo's owner, stated that "Our plane is functionally a bus for the community... It is regarded as a lifeline service." Despite contacting Loganair about the emergency, their policy did not permit transporting Romeo. The Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander aircraft used by Loganair seats just eight people and restricts animal carriage to cats and dogs only. The airline cited concerns about "opening the floodgates" to all animals if exceptions were made.
