ORLANDO, Florida -- A woman with an "emotional support squirrel" was removed from a flight at Orlando International Airport after she refused to get off a Cleveland-bound flight Tuesday night.

  • Woman with 'emotional support squirrel' removed from Orlando flight
  • Airline: Woman indicated she had animal, didn't say it was a squirrel
  • When she refused to get off the plane, Frontier called police

The passengers of Frontier Airlines Flight 1612 had already boarded the plane when they were told they needed to get off because of a "situation," passenger Brandon Nixon of Ashland, Ohio told the Associated Press.

As Nixon got off the plane, he asked a flight attendant what was going on, and "all she said was 'a squirrel,' " he said.

Frontier said the woman's reservation said she had an emotional support animal, but it didn't say it was a squirrel. The airline's website says rodents, including squirrels, are not permitted as emotional support animals.

When the woman refused to get off the plane, Frontier called the police. Passengers were allowed to get back on about 15 minutes later, and the flight to Cleveland left just before midnight, about two hours late.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.