Qantas passenger heartbroken after dog dies mid-flight

A Qantas passenger is heartbroken after he arrived at Melbourne airport and discovered his beloved bulldog had died in the cargo hold.

Anthony Balletta and his dog Frank.

A heartbroken pet owner has urged for more to be done to protect pets on planes after his beloved dog died on a domestic Qantas flight.

Anthony Balletta said his bulldog Frank, who was two days shy of his first birthday, died on QF405 from Sydney to Melbourne while travelling in a crate in the plane’s cargo hold.

Mr Balletta paid $1100 to transport Frank on the flight just before Christmas.

But he was distraught at being told Frank – who had flown on a domestic flight once before – was lifeless in his crate when the plane reached Melbourne.

“I dropped to the floor, they had to carry me out of the airport,” Mr Balletta told news.com.au.

“I never thought I could love someone as much as I loved Frank. He came into work with me every day, he used to make everyone smile.

“I’ve never experienced anything like this before in my whole life.”

Anthony Balletta and his dog Frank.

A Qantas spokesman told news.com.au a review of the incident had found Frank had not been mishandled.

“We can understand for Mr Balletta and his family that what’s occurred is very distressing,” the spokesman said.

“An investigation found there were no issues on-board the aircraft or during the journey with all procedures followed.”

Qantas customers who book their pets for travel are informed at the booking process that snub-nosed breeds, such as bulldogs, are considered high risk for air travel due to respiratory issues.

Mr Balletta has called on Qantas to do more to look after dogs on flights.

They are asked to sign a document prior to travel that acknowledges the risks associated with snub-nosed breeds.

Mr Balletta said since Frank’s death he has been horrified to discover how many snub-nosed dogs have died during air travel, and that some airlines refused to fly certain breeds.

Since sharing the news of Frank’s death on social media Mr Balletta said he has been inundated with “thousands” of messages from people sending their condolences as well as dog owners concerned about flying with their snub-nosed breeds.

“I’m telling them, don’t put (your dog) on the plane,” he said.

He said airlines that flew dogs in the cargo hold should have trained vets to check pets before flights.

Qantas said Frank was not mishandled on the flight to Melbourne.

“Why wouldn’t they have at least one vet checking over the dogs and saying ‘yep he’s good’ or ‘no he’s not fit to fly’,” Mr Balletta said.

“I don’t want money from Qantas, I don’t want a free flight to Queensland. What I want to do is create awareness for all the dog owners about what they’re in for.”

It is understood Qantas refunded Mr Balletta’s transportation costs.

Qantas and Virgin Australia allow only service animals in the passenger cabin of flights.