Requirements to Travel on an Airplane with a Service / Support Animal?
Flying with a service / support animal, especially for the first time, may be a nerve-racking process. Our goal is to help reduce your stress with your service / support animal, you are always entitled to pre-boarding if you meet the check-in requirements at least 48-hours prior to your flight and notify the gate agent of your intention to preboard by arriving to airport 2 hours before your flight.
required to provide 48 hours’ notice of their intention to travel with an emotional support or psychiatric service animal.
U.S. Department of Transportation and Airline Policies (Updated on February 1, 2020)
Major U.S. Airlines Airline Partners Special Instructions Restricted Animals Contact Information
Air Canada
Dogs Only (888) 247-2262
Alaska Airlines SkyWest Airlines
Submit Special Documents at least 48 hours before departure, and keep the completed forms with you for the entire journey
Animal health advisory form (Certified copy of the animal’s health certificate from veterinarian).
Mental health form
Animal behavior form
Hedgehogs, Ferrets, Insects, Rodents, Snakes, Spiders, Sugar Gliders, Reptiles, Non-Household Birds, Animals improperly cleaned/foul odor, Unusual/Exotic Animal, Amphibians, Goats, Animals with tusks, horns, hooves (800) 503-0101
Allegiant Air
(702) 505-8888
American Airlines
Envoy
ExpressJet
SkyWest Airlines
Special Form
(800) 237-7976
Sacdesk.sro@aa.com
Atlas Air
(800) 503-01011
Delta Airlines
ExpressJet
SkyWest Airlines
DOWNLOAD FORM and fill out and Upload it to My Trips through the Accessibility Service Request Form Hedgehogs, Ferrets, Insects, Rodents, Snakes, Spiders, Sugar Gliders, Reptiles, Non-household Birds, Animals improperly cleaned/foul odor, Animals with tusk or hooves (404) 209-3434
Frontier Airlines
Download Required forms here
Upload completed forms here Only Dogs & Cats Permitted (801) 401-9004
Hawaiian Airlines
Flights longer than 8 hours require documentation that the animal will not need to relieve itself on the flight or can relieve itself without creating a sanitation issue. Peacocks, Ferrets, Rodents, Spiders, Insects, Chickens, Roosters, Reptiles, or Live Fish.
(800) 367-5320
Online Form
Jet Blue
Required 48 Hours Notice by Submitting the following documentation found HERE.
1. Medical/Mental Health Professional’s Form
2. Veterinary Health Form
3. Confirmation of Animal Behavior
You must submit all three forms through THIS LINK at least 48 hours!
Only accept dogs, cats, and miniature horses. The following are prohibited: Animals improperly cleaned and/or with a foul odor, Animals who appear to be in poor health, Animals with tusks, Hedgehogs, Ferrets, Insects, Rodents, Snakes, Spiders, Sugar gliders, Reptiles, Non-household birds (farm poultry, waterfowl, game bird, & birds of prey). (800) 538-2583
Southwest Airlines
Printable Instructions for SouthWest Unusual or Exotic animals including, but not limited to, Rodents, Reptiles, Insects, Hedgehogs, Rabbits, Sugar Gliders, etc. (800) 435-9792
Spirit Airlines
Please download these 3 forms, and submit the completed forms here at least 48 hours before your flight.. Snakes
Other reptiles
Rodents
Ferrets
Sugar gliders
Spiders (801) 401-2222
Submit Documents
United Airlines
ExpressJet
SkyWest Airlines
Special Form
Minimum 48-hour advance notification, If not enough notice is provided, then pet-travel fees may apply.
(800) 228-2744
uaaeromed@united.com
Virgin America
(877) 359-8474
Online Form
WestJet
Submit three forms be printed, completed, and emailed to SpecialCareDesk@westjet.com no later than 48 hours before departure:
1. Confirmation of animal training – to be signed by the owner/trainer of the animal.
2. Medical/mental health professional.
3. Veterinary health – to be signed by the animal’s veterinarian.
Amphibians
Animals improperly cleaned and/or with a foul odor, Animals with tusks, horns, or hooves, Ferrets, Goats, Hedgehogs, Insects, Non-household birds (birds of prey, farm poultry, game birds, waterfowl), Reptiles, Rodents, Snakes, Spiders, or Sugar gliders
(866) 693-7853
SpecialCareDesk@westjet.com
When traveling with an emotional/psychiatric support animal you are not permitted to sit in an emergency exit row. No animals are allowed to occupy seats that are designed for passengers. Please understand that with larger service animals or passengers with multiple service animals, we may need to re-accommodate you if the animal encroaches on other passengers or extends into aisles, which would be a violation of FAA regulations. U.S. Department of Transportation 14 CFR Part 382.
We will issue you a letter that meets all requirements for travel on all major airlines within the United States. For eligibility to travel with your service / support animal, a letter must not be more than one-year-old and presented on the letterhead from the licensed mental healthcare provider who is treating your mental health-related disability.
Our letters will state contain the following:
That you have a mental or emotional disability recognized in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders – Fifth Edition (DSM V)
That you need the emotional support or psychiatric service animal as an accommodation for air travel and/or for activity at your destination
The letter must come from a licensed mental health professional, you must be under his/her professional care with the mental health professional’s license number, state or jurisdiction it was issued and must contain the date the license was issued.
All of the above specific criteria must be provided to accept your service / support animal for travel in the passenger cabin. When traveling in the cabin, animal must fit on your lap, at your feet or under your seat. For security reasons, service animals can’t block any aisle. Animal must be clean, well behaved and under your control at all times. If the animal is too large, it will need to be checked and travel in a kennel. Advance notice is strongly recommended to ensure all paperwork is in order.
Always contact your airline at least 48 prior to your departure time to allow the airline to make the appropriate accommodation to travel with your service / support animal.
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