Thomas Cook apologises over dog death on Gatwick plane
An airline has apologised to the owner of an English bulldog which died on a flight to Gatwick Airport.
The dog, Buster, owned by a member of the armed forces returning from duty in Cyprus, was found dead in a container on the Thomas Cook Airlines flight.
The airline was fined £6,500 and ordered to pay £12,000 costs by magistrates after pleading not guilty to causing unnecessary suffering.
It said it was considering whether to appeal against the decision.
West Sussex County Council (WSCC) said its trading standards officers were called to the airport after Buster's body was found.
Mid Sussex magistrates were told at a three-day trial in Haywards Heath that snub-nosed breeds such as English bulldogs were more susceptible to breathing problems in times of stress.
They were told Buster's container was too small and likely to have caused him unnecessary suffering during transportation.
'Take welfare seriously'
The court was also told that before the flight was loaded at Larnaca airport, unauthorised personnel had been permitted to move Buster's container in order to take photographs of him for personal purposes.
WSCC said the defence acknowledged that this may have contributed to Buster's stress.
Thomas Cook Airlines was found guilty on Friday of causing unnecessary suffering, using a transport container that was not of the correct size and two counts of incorrect labelling of the transport container.
A spokesman for the airline said Buster's owner was a witness for Thomas Cook at the hearing and did not hold the company responsible.
It said it had carried more than 3,000 animals on its flights in the last three years without incident.
"We'd like to reiterate our sincere apologies to Buster's owner for the distress caused," the spokesman said.
"We are disappointed with the rulings made by the court as we take the welfare of animals very seriously and work with our suppliers to meet all required standards."