Three rescue kittens flown from Crete were left on a flight and returned to Greece before being reunited with their British guardians, the couple and the airline said, in an episode that has renewed concerns about the safety of animals carried on passenger aircraft.
Bethany Mulcahy-Stephenson, a veterinarian, and her husband Adam said they rescued a mother cat in Crete in September 2023 and returned in May to find she had given birth to a litter. Two of the kittens had eye infections and one was blind, the couple said, and a local rescuer in Greece urged them to rehome the ailing animals. The couple treated the cats and organised transport to the UK via Paris so they could drive from their home in Barrowford, Lancashire, to Calais to collect them.
The Mulcahy-Stephensons said they were driving toward the Eurotunnel when they received a text from their contact in Greece saying that "the airline has lost three of the kittens." They were initially uncertain whether the animals had left Greece, were in France or had been left on a tarmac, the couple said. According to their account, the flight carrying the kittens arrived in Paris but the animals were not unloaded and the aircraft then returned to Thessaloniki in northern Greece with the kittens still on board.
It was two days before the couple said they received confirmation of the animals' fate. Aegean Airlines later agreed to send the kittens back to France by way of Athens, this time carrying them in the cabin with a handler. Mulcahy-Stephenson said she counted the kittens repeatedly after they arrived and were visibly shaken by the experience. "They were absolutely traumatised," she said, and the animals were taken to an emergency veterinary clinic.
The couple said they have not received a full explanation or an apology from the airline.
Aegean Airlines disputed the assertion that the animals were ever lost. In a statement the carrier said the kittens "were never lost at any time" and that upon arrival in Paris they "were not immediately disembarked due to operational reasons." The airline said a coordinated response was activated by involved stations and customer service to safeguard the kittens' care and security until they were reunited with their guardians. "The kittens continued their journey the same day under the direct care of the Aegean crew, which provided them with food and water during the flight, ensuring constant supervision," the statement said, adding that the animals were "safely reunited with their guardians in Paris" the same evening.
The case echoes other recent incidents that have drawn public attention to how animals are handled on commercial flights. Last year a dog travelling on a multi-leg journey went missing at an airport stopover and prompted a social media campaign and petition after the owner and companions were told the pet could not be located. Such episodes have prompted calls from animal welfare groups and pet owners for clearer protocols, greater transparency and more robust safeguards for animals transported by air.
The Mulcahy-Stephensons have said they want answers about what happened to the kittens while in airline care. Aegean Airlines called the matter an operational delay and said it took steps to ensure supervision and welfare; the company did not provide further details about the cause of the delay or the crew procedures that followed. The kittens remain in the couple's care and were reported to be receiving veterinary attention following the incident.