Zatara the opossum and her owner only wanted to get home to Newport Beach but found themselves stranded in Austin, Texas. (Via Gerald Tautenhahn)NEWPORT BEACH, CA — A Newport Beach man and his pet opossum were forced to make other flight arrangements home when an airline refused to allow the marsupial on the return flight.Owner Gerald Tautenhahn and his opossum, known as Zatara, flew JetBlue on their way to Austin from Long Beach, in late November. On their return trip, JetBlue officials refused to allow the creature onboard. “We did all of our homework about a month in advance,” Tautenhahn told Fox7 Austin. “I called the Department of Transportation, cleared it with them. Cleared it with JetBlue, they said it was fine.”
Find out what’s happening in Newport Beach-Corona Del Marwith free, real-time updates from Patch.Let’s go!JetBlue was unable to be reached for comment on how the animal originally made the flight to Austin. The company’s website says it accepts “all small dogs and cats only in an approved pet carrier.” Though Tautenhahn toted his pet in such a device, and describes Zatara as a “fancified trash cat,” on his Instagram page, she is not a feline.Find out what’s happening in Newport Beach-Corona Del Marwith free, real-time updates from Patch.Let’s go!JetBlue told Fox7 that “crew members informed the customer that the opossum would not be able to travel on the flight, and worked to assist the customer with his options.”
“We boarded the plane to go home, and … a JetBlue employee had me get off the plane and said I couldn’t fly,” he wrote on Instagram. “After 3 hours on the phone with JetBlue, they told me to rent a car and drive back to California.” Ultimately, after an extended social media cry for help, he made the return trip via United Airlines, USA Today reported.
Zatara is home again, eating eggs and napping in the hood of Tautenhahn’s wet suit, oblivious to all of the fuss she had caused.Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.ThankReply (3)Share
