76-year-old woman was denied boarding Frontier Airlines flight with her parrot. Now, she’s stuck in Puerto Rico

By Alexandra Skores, CNN

(CNN) — A 76-year-old woman says she’s stuck in Puerto Rico after Frontier Airlines wouldn’t let her fly back home to New York with her “emotional support” parrot.

Maria Fraterrigo told CNN affiliate WCBS she was warned “if you want to get on the flight, get rid of the bird,” while trying to leave after a trip to her vacation home in Puerto Rico.

“I feel like I’m abandoned. My medicine is home, my doctor’s appointment, everything. It’s just a nightmare,” she said.

It was the first time she had gone back to the island since her husband died in 2019. The bird, named Plucky, provided her comfort following her grief, her son, Robert, told WCBS.

To get to Puerto Rico, Fraterrigo says she was allowed to board a Frontier flight out of John F. Kennedy International Airport with her bird, but the airline later told her that was their mistake and she should have never been allowed to bring the bird in the first place. Her son, who booked the plane ticket, says he was never told there were exclusions to what types of birds passengers could bring.

Frontier’s website says “small household birds” may be carried on flights within the United States but large birds like parrots or cockatoos are not accepted.

“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,” Frontier told CNN in a statement. “As a matter of standard policy (as noted on our website) we do not normally transport parrots on our aircraft.”

In 2021, the Department of Transportation began requiring emotional support animals to comply with the airlines’ pet policy, making them subject to fees.

“I just want to get home with my bird,” Fraterrigo said.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2025 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.