81-Year-Old Woman Stranded In Another Country After Airline Refuses To Let Emotional Support Parrot On Board

An 81-year-old woman appears to be stranded in another country after refusing to leave her beloved parrot behind. The New Yorker is stranded in Puerto Rico after an issue with Frontier Airlines.

The airline forbid her from flying home with her emotional support parrot. So, Maria Fraterrigo refused to leave her African Gray Parrot named Plucky behind.

"I got no more tears. My mind is blank. Just want to go home. That's all; I don't ask for much," Fraterrigo told ABC7. She said that she flew to Puerto Rico with her parrot without incident. She boarded the Frontier flight with the bird in a TSA-approved case. However, when she was leaving the country, airline staff refused to let the board on board.

This comes despite her having it approved as a service animal.

Parrot Not ALlowed

"You won't be able to make the flight. Get rid of your bird and give it to somebody," her son Robert Fraterrigo said the airline staff said. Representatives provided no help online, only offering to refund the price of the ticket.

"My mother did nothing wrong and she just needs to be taken care of and sent home," he said. "She didn't want anything else but to go home and no one wants to help."

Unfortunately, she hasn't been able to fly home with the bird. She's had the parrot after her husband died from cancer. The two have frequently flew to and from Puerto Rico without incident.

"He kept me going, talking to me, making me laugh when I was down," she said of the bird. After the story blew up, the airline is now trying to get the woman back home. However, it sounds like the incident shouldn't have been an issue to begin with.

"We are currently investigating the matter and are in contact with her family to assist her in returning home," a spokesperson for the airline said. Here's hoping that the woman and her bird are able to fly home soon and safely.