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Hero rescue dogs returning from Turkey are being upgraded to first class in honour of their service.
Turkish Airlines said it does not want the dogs to travel in the cargo hold after all their hard work.
The 7.8-magnitude earthquake on February 6 killed more than 45,000 people in Turkey and thousands more in neighbouring Syria and completely devastated hundreds of thousands of buildings.
‘It was the least we could to do show our appreciation for these heroic dogs’ sincere and heroic efforts.’
Turkish Airlines said the gesture was to show ‘appreciation for these heroic dogs’ sincere and heroic efforts’
A spokesperson for the Turkish Airlines said: ‘As we have been experiencing an extraordinary period within our evacuation operations due to earthquakes centered in our eastern regions and affected all our country and nation, we fly our heroes, the rescue teams along with their dogs, which are let to sit in cabin (in business class as well) for this period’
Rescue dogs were sent to Turkey from a number of countries including the US, the UK, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Libya, Poland and Switzerland.
Turkish Airlines told Insider that it had also flown dogs from Thailand, Kyrgyzstan, Hungary and China.
On February 7, a day after the 7.8 earthquake occurred, Mexico announced it was sending some of its famous search and rescue dogs to help look for people buried under rubble.
A plane with 16 dogs on board took off from Mexico City.
Mexico, which is prone to earthquakes, has highly specialised civilian and military teams which are often deployed to help when disasters strike.
The dogs saved several lives during the country’s 2017 earthquake.
Frida, a golden Labrador belonging to the Mexican Navy, became a national icon in Mexico after she was photographed wearing googles and boots.
Although Frida died last year, one of her comrades from the 2017 rescue attempts was among those helping out in Turkey, BBC News reported.
Dogs are often used in rescue attempts in areas where the use of heavy machinery could cause the rubble to collapse further, putting the lives of survivors at risk.
The dogs are trained to sniff out humans and alert their handlers by barking and scratching the ground where the scent is strongest.
Turkish Airlines also provided free flights for evacuees after the earthquake.
‘We evacuated a total of 296,819 citizens by 1,646 flights,’ Yahya Ustun, Turkish Airlines’ senior vice president for media relations, wrote on Twitter on February 21.
The airline has also provided free cargo transportation for urgent medical supplies to aid in the recovery and rebuilding of areas affected by the earthquakes.
The airline said it donated free carrying cases to airports so that other pets could be safely boarded onto aircraft for evacuation flights.
‘We also wish to extend our gratitude to our friends from abroad for their overwhelming support and aid in response to the crisis along with our missions, embassies, and consulates for their coordination in order to deliver aid material from other countries to the affected region with our cargo flights,’ Prof. Dr. Ahmet Bolat, the Chairman of Turkish Airlines in a statement.
‘Our flag carrier will continue to be with our citizens in the future just like it has been with all of its capabilities.’
According to the carrier’s website, the Turkish Airlines’ network spans 121 countries and 342 airports.
Turkish Airlines did not want the dogs to travel in the cargo hold after all their hard work
Emergency rescue members search for people in a destroyed building in Adana, Turkey on February 7, 2023
Dogs are pictured in the first class cabin of a Turkish Airlines flight
