Latest news with #Fraterrigo
New York Times
10-04-2025
- General
- New York Times
Flight Ban on Parrots Leaves Bronx Grandmother in Limbo for 4 Days
Maria Fraterrigo, a grandmother from the Bronx, was booked in seat 4A on a flight from San Juan to Kennedy International Airport on Saturday night. But when she got to the gate for her return flight to New York, she said, an agent for Frontier Airlines stopped her. Her companion, an African gray parrot named Plucky, which Ms. Fraterrigo has claimed as an emotional support animal and can say the names of her grandchildren, was on a no-fly list. Despite being allowed to bring Plucky on her outbound Frontier flight without incident in January, she said, the agent told her that parrots were among several types of birds and other animals prohibited by the airline. She said that rule essentially left her stranded. 'This guy from the counter yells at me and tells me, 'You're not going to make this flight,' ' Ms. Fraterrigo recalled in a phone interview on Wednesday. ' 'Give it to somebody. Get rid of it.' I said, 'No way, I'm not going to get rid of my baby.' ' For four days, the 81-year-old widow's travel plans were stuck in limbo, until Frontier appeared to have relented, ticketing her on another flight scheduled for Wednesday night. Plucky was expected to be in tow when Ms. Fraterrigo, completing her first trip since losing her husband in 2019, finally got to board. Her situation illustrated the tension between airlines and passengers over what kinds of animals are permitted on commercial flights, which at times might have gotten confused with a petting zoo until the federal government tightened rules for service animals on them. Miniature horses, pigs and other unusual pets found their way onto planes, but an emotional support peacock had not. Ms. Fraterrigo's ordeal captured widespread attention from the news media — ABC 7 Eyewitness News in New York was the first to report on it — and members of New York's congressional delegation lobbied for her to be rebooked with her parrot, including Senator Chuck Schumer. Jennifer F. de la Cruz, a spokeswoman for Frontier, said in a statement on Wednesday that the airline was working toward a resolution. She did not elaborate on how the parrot had been permitted on Ms. Fraterrigo's previous flight. 'We are currently investigating the matter and are in contact with the customer and her family to assist her in returning home as soon as she can present all of the government-mandated documentation,' Ms. de la Cruz said. 'As a matter of standard policy (as noted on our website) we do not normally transport parrots on our aircraft.' Since the death of her husband, Richard Fraterrigo, a former New York City police officer and retired federal judicial marshal, who got cancer while working in Lower Manhattan after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Ms. Fraterrigo said that Plucky had provided her comfort. 'My bird is the only one that keeps me going,' she said. 'That's my company.' Ms. Fraterrigo, who was born in Puerto Rico and had vacationed there with her husband over the years, would not think of traveling without Plucky, her son, Robert Fraterrigo, said. In December, he began looking into whether his mother could bring Plucky on a flight, he said. While Frontier's website mentions parrots, macaws, cockatoos, birds of prey as examples of large birds that are prohibited, it says that small household birds may be carried on flights within the United States. In an online chat with a Frontier Airlines customer service agent, Mr. Fraterrigo said, he asked if his mother could bring her bird on a flight and said that she had a doctor's letter designating it as an emotional support animal. The agent responded, 'okay that's awesome,' adding that the letter was all she needed to bring to the airport, according to screenshots of the exchange provided by Mr. Fraterrigo, a retired federal agent. In 2020, the U.S. Department of Transportation tightened the rules regarding what types of service animals airlines were required to accommodate. It said that emotional support animals were no longer considered to be the same as service animals, which were limited to dogs. The airlines have their own policies about pets permitted aboard planes. Plucky is 24 years old. She weighs less than 10 ounces and is about eight inches tall, according to her owner, who bought a bird-carrier backpack so she could place the parrot under the seat in front of her. 'They let her go there with it,' Mr. Fraterrigo said. 'Bring her home. She's on an island.' Mr. Fraterrigo said that Frontier initially would not budge, refunding the cost of the ticket (about $190) and giving his mother a $250 voucher. He said that his mother was hysterical when she called him from the airport that night. 'The lights were being turned out,' he said. 'She was just left there in a wheelchair.' A few days later, he said, Frontier had appeared to have relented, asking if his mother had a certificate of veterinary inspection for Plucky and documentation to show that the parrot had been purchased in the United States. Mr. Fraterrigo said that the store where his mother had bought the bird was able to dig up the records. She now had a new ticket: seat 3A. Angelo Roefaro, a spokesman for Senator Schumer, credited ABC7 with bringing Ms. Fraterrigo's situation to the office's attention, so it could 'help clear the bureaucratic runway at the airline so the constituent could talk to the right folks.' 'We are happy everything worked out,' Mr. Roefaro said. As she prepared to return to the airport on Wednesday, Ms. Fraterrigo said that she was feeling uneasy. And so was her usually chatty travel companion. 'Plucky talks,' she said, 'but Plucky doesn't talk when she flies because she's nervous.'
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
81-year-old NYC woman stranded in Puerto Rico as airline denies her emotional support parrot from boarding: report
An 81-year-old Bronx woman is stuck in Puerto Rico after an airline forbade her from boarding her flight home with her emotional support parrot, according to a report. Maria Fraterrigo is in the midst of a travel nightmare — stranded with her African Gray Parrot named Plucky on the Caribbean island after Frontier Airlines was unwilling to ship the feathered traveler back to the States, ABC7 reported. '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 the outlet. The 10-ounce bird was not an issue for the grandmother on her Jan. 4 flight from JFK International Airport to Puerto Rico. She successfully boarded the Frontier flight with Plucky in a TSA-approved carrier, according to the station. But, Fraterrigo was turned away at her gate on April 5 after she already passed through security at Luis Manoz Marin International Airport in San Jose. A worker reportedly told her to 'get rid' of her beloved bird — which she had approved as a service animal — to board the plane. 'You won't be able to make the flight. Get rid of your bird and give it to somebody,' her son Robert Fraterrigo told ABC7, recounting the instructions his mother was given by an airport employee. Robert said he contacted Frontier Airlines and spoke to a representative in an online chat, but they provided no help — only offering a refund of about $190 for the ticket, according to the station. 'My mother did nothing wrong and she just needs to be taken care of and sent home,' the frustrated son said. 'She didn't want anything else but to go home and no one wants to help.' The stranded octogenarian became increasingly attached to her feathered friend, which she described as an emotional support animal, after the death of her husband Richard, a retired NYPD court officer who died of a 9/11-related cancer. The couple frequently traveled to Puerto Rico with Plucky in tow before Richard's death. 'He kept me going, talking to me, making me laugh when I was down,' the elder Fraterrigo told the outlet about the African Gray Parrot, which has an average lifespan of 50 years and is capable of learning to talk. Fraterrigo could not be reached for comment. Frontier Airlines, meanwhile, said it's trying to bring her back to New York. '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.
The Independent
08-04-2025
- General
- The Independent
Polly want a flight? Bizarre story of 81-year-old woman who can't fly home because of her parrot
An 81-year-old New York woman is stranded in Puerto Rico because her airline will not let her leave with her pet parrot. Maria Fraterrigo, of the Bronx, visited Puerto Rico with her pet parrot, Plucky. Fraterrigo raised the bird from birth, and the pair has been together for more than two decades. When Fraterrigo tried to return home to New York, she was told her parrot would have to stay 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 ABC 7 New York. Fraterrigo will not leave her parrot behind. The bird helped her process and cope with the death of her husband, an NYPD police officer who passed away in 2019 from cancer related to the 9/11 terror attacks. "He kept me going, talking to me, making me laugh when I was down," she said of the bird. The couple had traveled to Puerto Rico multiple times with the bird, and never had any issue getting home with Plucky in tow. On Saturday, April 5, Fraterrigo was on her way home when a Frontier Airlines employee told her she couldn't board the plane with the bird. "You won't be able to make the flight. Get rid of your bird and give it to somebody," Fraterrigo said she was told by the Frontier Airlines employee. According to her son, Robert Fraterrigo, he has been working on his end to try to find a way to get his mother home. He said that Frontier allegedly acknowledged that the bird was "not checked correctly" upon Fraterrigo's departure from New York. He said he provided evidence that the bird is considered a service animal for his mother. The airline refunded her ticket — about $190 — and issued a $250 voucher, and pointed out that its policies do not allow large birds like parrots in its cabins. Frontier told The Independent that it is investigating the issue and is working to find a way to get Fraterrigo home. 'We are currently investigating the matter and attempting to reach the customer to assist her in returning home,' a Frontier spokesperson said. "My mother did nothing wrong and she just needs to be taken care of and sent home, she didn't want anything else but to go home and no one wants to help," Robert told the broadcaster. Robert has been trying to find smaller airlines that will allow his mother to fly to Tampa with her parrot, but has thus far been unsuccessful.
