A woman on a recent Delta Airlines flight allegedly began to breastfeed her pet cat mid-flight and refused to stop after getting caught. The incident allegedly happened during a recent trip onboard Delta Flight 1360, a route that travels between Syracuse, New York and Atlanta. An image posted to social media suggests that the purported cat breastfeeding happened while the plane was headed towards Atlanta, although it is not clear exactly when the incident happened.
… The image circulating online describes the supposed event in what appears to be a screen capture of message sent using the Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS), which pilots use to transmit short text-based messages to the ground. The message reports that a passenger is seat 13A “is breastfeeding a cat and will not put cat back in carrier” in response to a request from a flight attendant. The message asks that the situation be addressed by the airline’s “Red Coat” team upon landing. Delta describes members of the team as “elite airport customer service experts” who are “specially trained to handle on-the-stop customer issues.”
… Beyond the purported ACARS message, which Newsweek first reported,, little other information about the supposed incident has been made available. However, a TikTok account from flight attendant Ainsley Elizabeth appears to refer to the incident, with a video claiming that “security met the flight because a woman was breastfeeding her cat.”
… There are no laws that prohibit mothers from breastfeeding their human babies during flight. Delta policy also allows breastfeeding during flights, although it seems unlikely that the policy would apply to the breastfeeding of non-human animals such as cats.