An autistic woman was left in tears after her assistance dog was confiscated at Glasgow Airport and held in a 'disgusting' room for several hours.
Emma Carmichael was flying with easyJet from Charles de Galle in Paris back to Glasgow Airport with her six-year-old pooch last month when the distressing incident took place.
The 28-year-old from Paisley relies on her Basset-Beagle Theo to enable her to leave the house since she developed agoraphobia three years ago after a car accident.
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For their first foreign trip together, Emma decided to book a trip to the Parisian city. After booking the flights for herself and her partner, she emailed the airline to advise them that she would be travelling with an assistance dog.
While they were able to get to Paris without any issues, on the way back they were told that there was no note of Theo being on the flight.
Emma told Glasgow Live: "On the way back, easyJet said they weren't told that there was going to be a dog on the flight but I had the email I had sent to them advising that he would be travelling with me.
"We were stuck at check-in for an hour and a half before they eventually let us board the flight and we assumed that was everything sorted and that Glasgow would've been told that we were on our way.
"But when we landed in Glasgow we were told that they didn't have any record of the dog and that a form to confirm him travelling with us hadn't been signed. They mentioned he wasn't trained by a recognised organisation but in Scotland, the law states independent organisations can also be approved.
"He then got confiscated and we were taken into a holding room, I was in bits.
"I didn't want to leave him because I knew he was distressed and I could hear him upset in the room."
After waiting over an hour while having to listen to Theo crying behind a locked door, Emma was told to pay £315 as an "import charge" before he would be released to them.
Luckily her partner had the money to pay in full and they were eventually given their dog back but were left in the dark about what the issue had actually been.
Emma has now submitted a complaint with easyJet and is hoping to recoup some of the money she believes they paid unnecessarily.
She added: "I've given easyJet the chance to apologise and they've just tried to put the blame on me.
"If I had known there would be issues, I would have made other arrangements for him because the whole experience caused a lot of stress.
"I don't understand why we had to pay an import charge as Theo is from the UK."
easyJet confirmed to Glasgow Live that Emma did in fact provide them with certification so she was able to fly with her dog both to and from Paris.
A spokesperson added: "easyJet welcomes passengers travelling with recognised assistance dogs and carries hundreds every year.
"While Ms Carmichael was able to fly with her assistance dog to and from Paris, we are sorry to hear about her experience in Glasgow Airport after her flight. We advise customers travelling with assistance dogs to ensure they check all relevant requirements for the countries they are travelling to and from before they fly.”
The Home Office said Border Force has no powers to levy fines or request payments relating to passengers and their pets. They added that they can't comment on individual cases.
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