A couple are calling for changes to be made to pet travel laws after their dog died on an Alaska Airlines plane while waiting to depart Hawaii’s high temperatures. Frank, a four-year-old French bulldog, died of suspected dehydration and overheating in the tragic accident before a flight from Honolulu to Oregon on Sunday. His Oregon-based owners Gary and Angie Engelgau claim airport personnel at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport and Alaska Airlines staff denied their requests to let the “distressed” and panting dog out of his carrier. Sadly, attempts to cool down the bulldog using ice once onboard the plane were too late. Gary told KGW8: “I tried to get him out and I was shaking him he wasn’t moving. I pulled him out of the carrier and his eyes were open but his tongue was hanging out a little bit and he wasn’t moving or breathing.” The couple, moving from Hawaii back to Oregon, was also travelling with Frank’s French bulldog sister Charlie and a 15-year-old beagle and chihuahua cross called Fawn. Angie added that Hawaii “is not dog friendly”, with temperatures above 26C when they arrived at the Oahu airport at 10am. The animals were only allowed out of their carriers to use the airport’s pet relief area – the owners claim that in no other outside spaces were the three dogs permitted to be let out. Gary said the couple had eventually “broken the rules” and let the dogs outside in the shade with water for about 40 minutes before boarding the flight. After Frank was discovered to be dead, the Engelgau family sat in their seats holding their other two dogs for the five and a half hour journey to Portland. Alaska Airlines pet policy states: “The pet must stay in its carrier (including head and tail) with the door/flap secured at all times in the boarding area (during boarding and deplaning), Alaska Lounge, and while onboard the aircraft.”<br/>
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Japan Airlines and Toppan Holdings Inc. introduced an experimental display at a service counter at Haneda Airport on Tuesday (July 2) that offers live translations. When passengers and airport staff speak, the display shows a translation into one of 13 languages, including English and Chinese. This appears on a transparent display, allowing speakers to still see each other’s faces. The experiment will run until July 8. With the rapid growth in foreign visitors, airports across Japan are increasingly providing foreign-language services. The companies plan to test the translation screen at Osaka International Airport in late August, to determine the effectiveness of the display and any potential issues before possibly using it at scale. <br/>
Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus has reiterated Australia’s commitment to justice for MH17 as the tenth anniversary of its downing approaches. In a speech to Parliament, the Attorney-General spoke of the “shock” when Australians learned on the morning of 18 July 2014 that the aircraft had been shot down over eastern Ukraine, and said memorial services were planned both in Amsterdam and Canberra. The plane had been on its way from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur when contact was lost around 50 kilometres from the Ukrainian border with Russia on 17 July 2014, local time. All 283 passengers and 15 crew, including 38 Australians, were killed in the attack, with some en route to an AIDS conference in Melbourne at the time. “I will represent the Australian Government at an event to mark that very sad anniversary at the MH17 memorial in Amsterdam, alongside friends and partners from the Netherlands and many other countries touched by this tragedy. And, most importantly, alongside the loved ones of those who were lost on Flight MH17,” said Dreyfus. “Here in Australia, a memorial service will be held at Parliament House as an opportunity to come together to honour the lives lost and to stand with their families and loved ones. It will be a very sombre day. It will be a moment to pause and remember those whose lives were tragically cut short in a senseless act of violence. It will be a moment to commit ourselves to continue to seek accountability for those responsible for this despicable crime.”<br/>