Mike and Hilde used to travel several times a year to Spain with TUI. “Had”, because from now on, the Belgian couple will have to wait three years before being able to take a plane from the airline. The reason ? An argument with a steward because of Pippa, their chihuahua.
Their flight to Alicante being 9 hours late, Mike and Hilde had the possibility of taking another one. If their little dog was welcome in the first, it was obviously not at all the case in the second.
They complain to NB: “We always take Pippa with us in a special bag, adapted to her size, in which she remains very calm. We even always pay an extra 100 euros for a ticket for Pippa (…) As soon as I took Pippa out of her bag on the plane, a flight attendant came and said quite bluntly that it was not done. During the rest of the flight, he came regularly to check if Pippa was in her bag. A few gripes followed in both directions, but it wasn’t that bad. At the end, he asked us for our identity cards”.
And the surprise was great when they arrived at their destination since the couple was seen being welcomed by the Guardia Civil. Mike and Hilde were notified the following day that they were receiving a 36-month ban from flying with TUI. They therefore had to pay €600 to return to Belgium via Brussels Airlines at the end of their stay. “They will never see us there again.”