Chihuahuas are considered the smallest dogs in the world. An adult animal weighs just two to three kilos. So you can take them with you anywhere. Even when traveling, one would think. But it’s not that easy, as a woman from Munich found out. For New Year’s Eve 2021, she had booked a flight to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates for herself and her three family members.
When booking, she had expressly stated that she also wanted to take her two Chihuahuas in the passenger compartment of the plane. However, the New Year’s Eve party in Dubai fell through for the family and led to civil proceedings before the Munich district court.
The flight that the woman had booked began in Munich and was to continue to Dubai after a stop in Zurich. However, when she checked in and checked in her luggage at Munich Airport on December 30 last year, she learned from an airport employee that her dogs from Zurich were not “registered” in the cabin.
The family left anyway. When she wanted to transfer to the onward flight in Zurich, she was informed that no animals were allowed to enter the emirate by air in passenger planes. The woman broke off the trip and was promptly sued. Because she refused to pay for the tickets she had ordered.
The court ruled that the travel agency should have clarified whether animals were allowed in the passenger compartment
The travel company had advanced the costs totaling 3743.20 euros in order to be able to book the Chihuahuas on the computer at all. But since they were ultimately not allowed to fly to Dubai, the Munich native did not pay. The result: the travel agency sued them, but lost out in court.
According to the judgment of the district court, the travel agent with whom the defendant had booked the tickets “should have clarified beyond any doubt that the carriage of the animals in the passenger compartment is permissible and possible”. But that hadn’t happened.
In addition, according to the verdict, the employee of the travel agency “violated her obligation to provide information and advice to the defendant by not clarifying without a doubt before booking the flight whether dogs are allowed in the passenger compartment on all sections of the route to Dubai”. The defendant only found out in Zurich that she was not allowed to take her Chihuahuas with her on the plane to the emirate for legal reasons.
In addition, the court ordered the company to pay a further 194.88 euros to the woman from Munich. The costs were incurred for a Covid 19 antigen test for her underage daughter at Zurich Airport and for transporting her two Chihuahuas back to Munich. (Az. 114 C 8563/22)