Crappy landings.
A woman named Alex claims she was booted off a Southwest Airlines flight to Los Angeles after her kitten pooped in its carrier, forcing her to spend the day in a random city. An X post detailing the scat-astrophe currently boasts over 20 million views at the time of writing.
The user, who goes by @barelyalex, wrote: “Put a finger down if ur kitten pooped in his carrier on the plane bc he got scared of a rough landing & the crew was so angry about the smell that they kicked u off ur next flight and left u in a random city for 12 hrs and now ur rationing cat litter & food in a family bathroom.”
In a follow-up post in which she tagged Southwest Airlines, the flyer claimed that her seven-month-old kitten, named Oni, had pooped in his carrier after becoming startled during the turbulent landing.
As she had a tight connection, Alex chose to clean up the mess in the lavatory. However, the frantic flyer decided to throw the soiled towels in the trash as she didn’t know if they’d flush and assumed that the garbage cans would be emptied regularly.
“I realize I need to change tactics and ask flight attendants for a garbage bag and explain what happened,” she recalled. “They are very sweet and understanding and I finish cleaning up and put the rest of the trash in the garbage bag for them to easily get rid of.”
This may have been the fatal error because they apparently didn’t take out the trash between flights, preventing the smell from dissipating in time for the next trip.
To make matters worse, Alex learned from said crewmembers that her upcoming leg was slated for the same plane.
The new crew was far less sympathetic toward Oni’s fecal fiasco and decided to raise a major stink.
“I reboard and see the crew has changed but clearly they informed the new crew what happened and they have had to close that bathroom due to the smell of the trash,” the passenger recounted. “I go and sit in the back. [The] flight attendant approaches me in a hostile manner saying they are agitated because they had to close that bathroom for the flight and questions me.”
At one point, they even told her that the “bathroom is not your litter box,” reducing the traveler to tears, per the post.
Unable to tolerate the stench any longer, the flight crew ultimately decided to remove Alex and Oni from the connecting flight.
The one consolation was that an understanding Southwest Agent provided her with a $200 voucher toward a future flight and she was eventually rebooked on another plane with a connection.
After an interminable unplanned layover in an unspecified city, the flyer and her pet finally made it to LAX — hours after they were originally slated to touch down.
Alex said the stopover was especially distressing as she’d only packed for a short flight and was therefore forced to ration her supplies for her kitten.
X posters took pity on Alex over the odiferous flight plight with one writing, “Wait, the smell was contained in the bathroom and they were still pissy about it??? Worse things happen in those bathrooms!!!!!”
“Also it’s ridiculous that they don’t take the trash out between flights?” wrote another.
A third defender declared, “PLEASE COMPLAIN TO THE AIRLINE THAT’S RIDICULOUS!!!
“And a 200-dollar voucher is ridiculous for over a 6-hour delay,” they added. “I’m so sorry that happened to you and your kitty.”
In a similarly poopy incident in September, a transatlantic Delta flight had to be diverted to New York City after a passenger experienced an apparent bout of diarrhea in-flight.
