Boliviana de Aviación (BoA) lost a cat called Tito on a domestic flight between Tarija International Airport (TJA) and Santa Cruz International Airport (VVI). The owner of the cat, Andrea Iturre, was shocked and appalled when the kennel that was supposed to be carrying her pet arrived empty.
What happened?
Andrea Iturre, a Bolivian woman, was flying between Tarija and Santa Cruz onboard Boliviana’s flight OB 1555. She was flying with Tito, her gray and white cat. The flight took place on Thursday, December 8. Andrea and her cat were supposed to leave Tarija at 21:30 local time.
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According to the impacted passenger, she requested to carry her cat onboard the cabin with her. The airline denied the request. Therefore, inside his kennel, Tito was sent to the belly of the aircraft, most likely a Boeing 737. Andrea added,
“The flight was delayed for over two hours. During this span, I requested the crew to allow me to have my cat with me because it was taking too long, and he was sedated. I even requested to be changed to another flight to avoid keep on waiting. Nonetheless, they kept telling me we would depart within the next 20 minutes and that I should be patient.”
When the flight finally landed in Santa Cruz, Andrea found out in shock that her cat was lost. The kennel arrived empty, and there was no trace of Tito. Andrea immediately requested information from the airline. A Boliviana de Aviación agent told the passenger that the airline had lost the cat in Tarija before departing. She asked for support at the Tarija International Airport, but the airport had already closed (it was already 2:00).
A week and a half later, Tito remains lost. Andrea said yesterday that the airport had launched a search employing search and rescue dogs.
What has the airline said?
Boliviana de Aviación released a statement a few days ago, acknowledging that Tito was lost. The airline said the search is ongoing at the Capitán Oriel Lea Plaza Airport in Tarija. The firefighter team at the airport joined the search, and Boliviana flew Andrea back to Tarija so she could help in the pursuit of her beloved pet.
“Boliviana de Aviación deeply regrets this situation and will continue giving all the necessary help to facilitate the search of Tito,” the airline added.
Through the Telecommunications and Transportation Authority, the Bolivian government has launched an investigation to find out how this happened and apply sanctions if needed.
Andrea has since shared the following statement to Simple Flying:
"There was no consistent communication with BoA, and I demanded that they give me a flight back to Tarija to look for Tito. They did not support me until I made a public complaint."
Whenever a pet is lost while traveling in a plane is awful. Most often than not, it becomes a widely publicized story. Earlier this year, a cat went missing in Boston following a Luftansa flight.
As of December 2022, Boliviana de Aviación operates 737 weekly domestic flights. The carrier has a fleet of 27 aircraft, including one Airbus A330-200, nine Boeing 737-300s, four 737-700s, seven 737-800s, four 767-300s, and two CRJ200LRs.
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Source: La Jornada, Noticias Fides.