A good number of pets in India were separated from their owners by the pandemic. According to a Fox News report, they were just left behind. When the height of the pandemic hit the country, citizens were forced into lockdown.
When the orders were issued, many were unable to travel as they normally would. Some found themselves stranded, while others were forced to return to their hometowns. In the rush to save the lives of family members, some pets were excluded.
Rescue Effort
However, I'm pleased to report that there is a happy ending to this story. When the issue surfaced, Deepika Singh, a 25-year old entrepreneur in India took it upon herself to help out. From her Mumbai-based cybersecurity research office, she is presently organizing a private jet to ferry these pets to their families.
She said this idea came to her when a few of her friends recently took a jet to Goa and noticed how human families were being reunited.
"It made me think if the same could be done for vulnerable groups such as the senior citizens, for whom commercial flights might be risky, and for pets, who usually travel through cargo shipments, to reach home safely,” said Singh.
Accretion Aviation
Singh started with social media. She used WhatsApp where other citizens had raised the concern about their pets being caged when traveling.
She then got in touch with Rahul Muchhal of Accretion Aviation, who agreed to an all-pet private jet transport, to avoid putting these lost pets into the cargo hold of the plane. Since they had already incurred the anxiety of being left alone, it was Singh's intention to reduce their stress level, and this all-pet jet transport idea was an ideal solution.
The pets will also be accompanied by a human attendant and pet handlers who will attend to the needs of the pets while in transport.
Mucchal said his company has been organizing charter flights for other customers stranded when Singh approached him.
"The all-pet flight is Singh’s idea entirely, and I am simply providing the service. We haven’t yet decided on which aircraft to use, but it will probably be a turbo-prop aircraft, which can seat 5 to 8 passengers," said Mucchai.
Muchhal noted the COVID-19 protocol will be followed for pets as well as their human handlers.
Singh said that so far, she is only arranging one jet to Mumbai, and if she gets a good response, she will consider expanding the operation to other states in India.
###
Fortunately, to my knowledge, Americans have not experienced the same type of loss, But should the need arise, it's comforting to know we can refer to Singh's all-pet flight solution.
Primary Source: Fox News
