Dog Dies in Plane Cargo Hold Before Takeoff: “It Was Hell”

A Tragic Goodbye Before the Journey Even Began

For Anaïs, her partner, and their three children, relocating from Toulouse to Martinique on June 19 was meant to be a fresh start. But it was clear: if their 4-year-old dog Ewok couldn’t come, they wouldn’t go. “There was no way we would leave without him,” Anaïs said.

That morning, the family arrived at Orly Airport with Ewok and their three cats. Ewok was loaded into the aircraft’s cargo hold at around 8:30 a.m. under sweltering conditions. “It was very hot already,” Anaïs recalled.

The family boarded their Corsair flight, but the plane never took off.

“I Heard My Name Over the Loudspeaker”

Anaïs began asking for news about Ewok—but got no answers. Then, 45 minutes later, she heard her name broadcast across the terminal. A police officer came to find her.

“He told me Ewok was dead. I told him that couldn’t be true—that he must just be sleeping,” she said.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t a misunderstanding. The family was asked to disembark. Anaïs, in shock, was left to process the unimaginable. “There wasn’t even a drop of water in his bowl when we found him,” she said. Making matters worse, the plane’s air conditioning system had reportedly failed.

A Request for Dignity—and Accountability

Desperate to protect Ewok’s body from being discarded, Anaïs asked that he be moved to cold storage. On advice from another passenger, she also requested that Corsair arrange for a proper cremation.

On July 7, nearly three weeks later, she received confirmation that Ewok’s ashes would be returned to Orly Airport on July 17. “He had been cremated and handled properly,” she said. “But it doesn’t change what happened.”

Anaïs had followed all procedures required for transporting brachycephalic (short-nosed) breeds like French bulldogs—known to be more vulnerable to respiratory stress, especially during heat waves. “Ewok was healthy. He was doing absolutely fine,” she insisted.

Corsair Says It Followed Protocol

Corsair denies any responsibility for Ewok’s death. Since a similar incident in 2019, the airline says it only allows brachycephalic dogs in cargo holds under strict conditions: justified relocation, signed liability waiver, and acknowledgment of health risks.

“In this case, all required documentation was signed, and the family was aware of the breed-specific risks,” Corsair stated, emphasizing that they are only liable in cases of proven misconduct.

The airline did honor the family’s request to handle the cremation—“a first in the company’s history,” according to an internal source. Ewok’s ashes were returned to the family days after they finally arrived in Martinique.

But for Anaïs, that’s far from enough. She has filed a legal complaint against Corsair. Her words remain etched with heartbreak: “It was hell.”