The family says Delta has favored cats over allergic passengers: "It's awful for me"

A family calls Delta Airlines for allegedly giving priority to cats rather than a passenger with a serious allergy.

Jackie Reckline was traveling with her husband and daughter from Atlanta to Oklahoma City when they saw two animal carriers on board.

Reckline's husband would suffer from a severe allergy to the cat. She alerted the flight attendants to the situation.

"My husband is going to have anaphylactic shock in the air – it's been almost three hours flying – he can not stay on board if the cats are going to be on board," she told Alive.

UNITED AIRLINES FLIGHT TAKES U-TURN BECAUSE THE AIRCRAFT WAS TOO GREAT & # 39;

Since the carriers were apparently not up to the seats, Delta crew members reserved a seat in the front storage cabinet, which according to Reckline was close to where they were. sitting.

When her husband informed the flight attendants that he would not be able to fly with the animals on board, Reckline claims that they made a joke in this regard via intercom.

"The Atlanta-based flight attendants, as well as Milo and Roxy … join us for a laugh then," she said.

Reckline and her daughter stayed on the plane, but her husband had to wait for another one. Although the airline was not able to fly him that night, they booked him one the next morning and paid for his hotel rooms.

"You have chosen cats rather than human life, and it's appalling to me," Reckline said.

A spokesman for the airline said that passengers are encouraged to inform the airline in advance of any serious allergies, which should be on the "special requests" list at the time of booking.

The family was also reimbursed for part of his tickets and received additional monetary compensation as an excuse, according to 11Alive.

The spokesman told Fox News: "The comfort and safety of every customer who uses Delta is our top priority and we work tirelessly to ensure that people with allergies are well cared for. We contacted this client directly to better understand his experience and that of his family and to apologize for the inconvenience this situation may have caused. "

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Cat allergies are among the most common, with about 12% of Americans allergic to animals, according to Medical News Today. Although the symptoms usually include mild breathing problems or rashes on the body when a person comes into contact with the allergen, it is rare that a person can develop a more severe reaction to it. anaphylaxis, which can be life threatening.