BRADENTON, Fla. — A Manatee County family says Allegiant Airlines ruined what was supposed to be a special family trip with their disabled daughter. They claim they were traumatized after a flight attendant ordered them off their plane home, even though they say they were following the rules.
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Sherry and Jerry Cordero of Bradenton had flown to Colorado with their daughter Gianna, who has cerebral palsy, to visit elderly relatives. The couple has been married for 45 years and said the trip meant everything to them.
“It’s very hard to travel and we don’t have the funds usually either. We both battled cancer. I battled an aggressive breast cancer,” Sherry Cordero said.
Their daughter, Gianna, traveled with her service dog, Brigette, who the family said helps prevent seizures.
“She calms her down,” Jerry Cordero said. “She lets us know if she’s going to have a seizure. So, we can get her to safety so she won’t fall.”
The family reported no problems on the Allegiant flight from St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport to Colorado Springs. But on the way home, the Corderos said a flight attendant confronted them about Brigette, who had been registered as a pet with the airline rather than as a service animal.
They said they followed Allegiant’s pet-in-cabin rules, which require animals to remain in an approved carrier under the seat in front of the passenger.
“The flight attendant walked by and goes, ‘she doesn’t belong in your lap. She’s gotta go underneath you know.’ I said, ‘yes, we know that.’ But we are still trying to get in our seats. We are still trying to get situated, set our daughter down so she doesn’t fall,” Sherry Cordero said.
They said Brigette was tethered inside the case but whimpering. Moments later, the family said they were told to leave the aircraft.
“That was it. The end. We were shocked because we said we didn’t do anything,” Cordero said.
The family was stranded in Colorado for three extra nights and said they had to find a hotel and scramble to buy basic items.
“No luggage. No clothes. No diapers. No dog food. No medicine. We have nothing. We are diabetics. I have thyroid, her seizure, everything. We have nothing. Absolutely nothing,” Sherry Cordero said.
The Corderos filed a complaint with Allegiant. The airline confirmed the family was removed from flight 1019 on Sept. 26th.
“Passenger Sherry Cordero and her family were removed from flight 1019 on Friday, September 26 for failing to comply with crew member instructions regarding a pet-in-cabin,” Allegiant Media Relations spokesperson Stephanie Garibay said in an email. “While at the airport terminal and onboard the aircraft, pets must remain entirely in the carrier and only be handled by the traveler. The pet may be denied boarding for future flights if a passenger does not comply.”
Garibay said the family was rebooked on the next flight from Colorado Springs to St. Pete–Clearwater on Sept. 29, and at that point identified the dog as a service animal. She said passengers traveling with service animals must complete a two-step process, including notifying the airline and providing documentation such as vaccination records and training information.
“The passenger did not notify Allegiant of traveling with a service animal, and instead listed their pet as a pet-in-cabin,” Garibay said.
Allegiant said the family traveled without incident on the rebooked flight and that its decisions regarding pets and service animals are made in the interest of passenger and crew safety.
According to federal rules, passengers traveling with service animals must notify the airline in advance and submit proper documentation. Pets that are not service animals must remain in carriers that fit under the seat in front of the traveler and cannot be removed during the flight.
The Corderos are back home in Bradenton, but said the experience left them shaken.
“What they did was horrific to us. It’s hard enough what we go through,” Cordero said.
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