Just in time for the summer permanent change of station to another location.
Military families on Guam moving to the U.S. mainland may be forced to leave their pets behind, following United Airlines’ decision to suspend its pet transportation program until no later than May 1, following multiple delivery mistakes and at least one pet death.
United is the only carrier flying directly between the island and the mainland U.S., according to families there, some of whom took to social media Wednesday to say they felt blindsided by United’s announcement.
“We leave April 5th and our two pups will be stuck here, boarding (when) service resumes,” said one Facebook post, from a woman on Guam named Ryane. “That could be a month. We are devastated and not even sure we will leave without knowing they will be on a flight.”
Amber Fake, a Navy spouse living on Guam, told Stars and Stripes that United’s decision is “very disheartening and worrisome for myself and many other military families.
“Our pets are our family and we jump through many hoops” — such as rabies testing, vaccines, extended quarantine, entry permits and licenses — “to get them to Guam,” Fake said.
“Now with United suspending the program without notice or exception, many military families are stuck with orders to (move) and no way to get their pets out of Guam,” she said.
Fake said the military community of some 7,000 people on the Pacific island doesn’t have the option of using Air Mobility Command rotator flights, which don’t service Guam.
While Fake said her family isn’t facing an immediate move, “many of the people I know are in panic mode.”
There are foreign airlines that fly to Japan and South Korea from Guam, where families could then fly to the United States. But it remained unclear Wednesday whether servicemembers would be allowed to reroute their orders to those countries, even if they paid out of pocket for an additional flight, or whether additional quarantine measures for pets would apply. Spouses told Stars and Stripes that United was the only option they were given during moving briefings.
Fake said the only response from military officials on Guam thus far was a message posted Tuesday on the Andersen Passenger Terminal Facebook page, which says there are currently no options for servicemembers to ship their pets.
“In light of the recent decision by United Airlines to suspend bookings for pets, we have begun to receive phone calls regarding the shipping of pets” on Defense Department aircraft “and would like to help answer any questions regarding the shipping of pets,” the statement said.
Pets can only be shipped on AMC contracted missions, such as the Patriot Express, according to an Andersen statement.