Memorial Day is notorious for travel delays, but on Monday, the flight to Los Angeles landed urgently for a particularly peculiar cause – a sick dog in need of medical care.
Delta Flight 694 was transferred to Los Angeles International Airport Monday night to allow a passenger and a sick dog to disembark in Minneapolis, according to a statement from the airline.
A crew member was warned that a dog in the cabin felt uncomfortable and a veterinarian on board volunteered to provide emergency care. Rather than continuing the five-hour flight, it was decided to land the Airbus A320 as soon as possible, resulting in a 2.5-hour delay for the 181 passengers and six crew members on board.
“The safety of our customers and people is ahead of everything else at Delta,” an airline spokesperson said in a statement. “That’s why the Delta Flight 694 was transferred to the MSP to ensure that sick cabin pets are properly cared for.”
Once the plane arrives at Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport, medical staff will meet the dog and its owner. A passenger on board told KTLA News that the captain announced the pet was expected to survive.
The plane then resumed its journey and headed to Los Angeles for the remaining four hours without any incidents.
Delays on flights in Delta are somewhat unusual. In January, the airline was the highest ranked American airline, with 83% of its flight time landing, according to a report by aviation analysis company Cirium.
According to Flight Trucking website Fliefaware, the Delta Flight 694 is one of 7,691 flights, delayed on Memorial Day, from the United States and its territory. The vast majority of these delays have nothing to do with pets, but rather a series of severe thunderstorms swept across the southeast and central areas.
Among the travel dilemma at Dallasburg International Airport, 697 flights, accounting for 59% of all trips, were delayed. Denver International Airport ranked second with 565 flight delays, accounting for 53% of all trips.
By comparison, the slack situation is much better, with 153 delays accounting for 16% of all flights. According to the AAA, it is expected to travel 400,000 people by plane on Memorial Day weekend.
