The stowaway was discovered on November 1 when an alarm went off at JFK’s checked baggage screening point. According to TSA spokesperson Lisa Farbstein, 16. Agents looked at the X-ray image and saw the clear outlines of an animal.
“The bag was opened by a TSA officer who was shocked to see a vibrant orange cat inside,” Farbstein wrote in an email.
We take the cat out of the bag with a hiss-toric finding. This CATch had our baggage screeners @JFAirport Saying “Come on meow”! Cats like you have travel-related questions, reach out to our friends @AskTSA. They are available daily from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm (ET). pic.twitter.com/LpIkLbAgzC
— TSA (@TSA) 22 November 2022
Farbstein said TSA agents contacted the passenger’s airline Delta and then called the passenger en route to Orlando. The passenger said that the cat did not belong to him, but to another person in his house.
The cat returned home safely, but missed the passenger plane as a result of the cat debacle. He was able to rebook “without the cat” for the next day! Farbstein added it.
Tuesday, Farbstein tweeted A photograph from the incident showing a slightly unzipped black suitcase with a clear orange fur inside.
AND @TSA The officer was shocked to find an orange cat inside a checked bag. @JFAirport after going through the x-ray unit. The traveler said that the cat belonged to someone else in his house. The good thing is, the cat got out of the bag and got home safely. pic.twitter.com/5XZVJLaZNm
— Lisa Farbstein, TSA Spokesperson (@TSA_Northeast) 22 November 2022
This wasn’t the first time in recent years that an unknown pet was about to board a plane. In October 2021, Kristi and Jared Owens were checking their luggage at Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport in Texas, when the Southwest Airlines ticket agent informed them that the bag was overweight.
When the couple opens the bag to repack and free of charge, Shocked when he discovered IckyTheir 5-pound chihuahua is tucked into one of Jared’s cowboy boots.
“It was surreal,” Kristi told The Washington Post at the time. “Are we really seeing our dog in our luggage right now? Is this happening?”
With the help of Southwest employees, the Owens called a relative to pick up Icky and scramble to fly to Las Vegas.
Both Icky and the Orlando-bound cat are lucky to be found before being placed on the plane with the rest of the potentially fatal checked baggage. Luggage storages on passenger flights are pressurized, but can drop to correspondingly low temperatures. Weather Canada.
Small dogs, cats and housebirds can travel in a car in the Delta. carrier in the cabinbut for larger pets that need to travel in the hold, special arrangements It must be done via Delta Cargo.
According to the TSA’s tips page, at the security checkpoint, pets must be removed from their carriers and passed through the screening machine.Getting your human on a plane: What every pet should know”
“Don’t get me into the X-ray tunnel. Seriously, it’s not fun for me,” says the agency. “Take me outside, pack my EMPTY travel bag on my belt, and drop my X-rays at the vet.”
