SA Panel: Passenger with autism seeks injunction to take emotional assistance dog on flight

An autistic young man went to court to get the right to travel by plane in Brazil accompanied by his emotional assistance dog.

According to lawyer Ricardo Nacle, from the Ferraresi Cavalcante office, the passenger had been prevented from boarding Gol with the dog on a flight from Brasília to São Paulo this Thursday (13).

“It is an exclusively therapeutic need, with a medical prescription”, says the defender, who will also ask for compensation for moral damages to his client.

The passenger suffers from social phobia and, since November 2020, he has been with the dog to perform routine tasks, such as riding the bus and subway and going to restaurants, according to him. The airline’s decision, for Nacle, is a consequence of the misinterpretation of the legislation, which cites the monitoring of guide dogs only.

In the lawsuit, the defense also claims that Gol’s denial is contradictory, considering that, on international flights to the United States, the airline admits the boarding of emotional assistance dogs.

Gol says that an internal assessment concluded that it was possible to board, maintaining the safety of the customer, the pet and other people on board.

“Every passenger who needs special treatment during a flight for health reasons must fill out a form called MEDIF before boarding,” says the airline, which says it will continue to evaluate requests on a case-by-case basis.

with Andressa Motter e Ana Paula Branco