Airlines and Service Animals: What You Need To Know
| Service Dogs | Travel to Hawaii |
| Emotional Support Animals | Travel to the United Kingdom |
| Therapy Dogs | Other International Travel |
Service Dogs
If you have a service animal registered with National Service Animal Registry (NSAR) and our service animal kit, then making reservations and taking your service animal with you on your flight will be a breeze. It's important to know that all airlines are bound by the same rules: The Air Carrier Access Act of 1986. Airlines have a slightly different set of rules than restaurants, shopping malls, theatres, or taxis, so your experience with them may be different, as well.
All airlines must allow service animals accompanying persons with disabilities, except for very unusual situations. It is unlawful for them to charge a fee for service animals. Service dogs may travel in the aircraft cabin as long as they don't obstruct an aisle or any other area used for emergency evacuations.
Although some basic in-flight rules will always be enforced by every airline company, making reservations and passing the ticket counter or gate may be a slightly different process, depending on the airlines and airport. For example, all airlines recommend or require that your service animal wear a harness or vest with an identifying patch and an official service animal ID tag, indicating its status as a service animal. This helps airport personnel to distinguish your service animal (and can be critical, depending on how well the airport personnel are trained). In addition, you should be prepared to offer "credible verbal assurance that the animal is providing a service to assist with a disability" in the event you are asked. That means you need to be prepared to convincingly tell airport personnel what task your dog performs specific to your disability. We can assist you with appropriate verbiage.
| Click a link for specific Service Animal info |
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American Airlines Delta Airlines Continental Airlines Northwest Airlines Southwest Airlines United Airlines US Airways |
We recommend that you check with the airline you'll be using, online or by telephone, to find out the specifics of their service animal guidelines to make the process a smooth one. For your convenience, service animal specific web pages for the most common airlines are listed in the adjacent box. For more complete airline contact information, click here.
Emotional Support Animals
To most airlines, emotional support animals are considered to be service animals. However, many or all require that a customer traveling with an emotional support animal to have documentation on letterhead from a licensed mental health professional, medical doctor, or psychologist, dated within the previous 12 months, stating that the passenger is under professional care for a mental-health-related disability, and that the animal's assistance is essential to his or her mental health.
Most airlines strongly recommend advance notice to ensure all paperwork is in order, and some, like American Airlines, have more stringent requirements for emotional support animals.
Therapy Dogs
Therapy animals, which are defined as pets that have been trained and registered by a therapy organization in order to visit nursing homes, hospitals, schools, and other facilities, are not considered to be service animals. When traveling with a therapy animal, standard pet-related regulations, restrictions, and fees will almost always apply.
Travel to Hawaii
Guide and Service dogs that meet the State of Hawaii entry requirements may accompany a traveler with a disability to/from Hawaii without Quarantine. Emotional Support animals that do not fall into the State of Hawaii Department of Agriculture definitions of a guide or service dog will not be allowed to travel. Although service and emotional support animals are allowed, there are restrictions regarding the entry of service animals into Hawaii. Disabled persons are required to produce more official evidence of their disability and additional documentation of professional training and registration of the service animal, as well. If you are planning to travel to Hawaii, we strongly encourage you to review the information found here: Hawaii Department of Agriculture website. Preparation is the basis for confidence when traveling with your service animal!
Hawaii is a rabies-free state. State law requires that even service animals have proof of rabies vaccination. The Honolulu International Airport on the island of Oahu is the only port of entry for dogs and cats entering Hawaii.
If you have questions, please contact:
Hawaii Department of Agriculture
www.hawaii.gov/hdoa/ai/aqs/guidedog
Animal Quarantine Station
99-951 Halawa Valley Street
Aiea, Hawaii 96701-5602
Telephone (808) 483-7151
FAX (808) 483-7161
E-mail: rabiesfree@hawaii.gov
Travel to the United Kingdom
Because UK regulations for accepting service animals are very strict, you must check with your airline company and must carefully follow the appropriate procedures.
Because of the strict procedures and rules, if you intend to travel with a service animal, you must obtain a preapproval letter from DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs), a UK government agency. The preapproval process for transporting service animals to the UK can take two or more months.
Click here to visit the DEFRA website for more information about requirements and procedures for taking animals into the UK, or contact DEFRA by phone: +44 0 20 7238 6951 Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. UK time (Please note: Before dialing the number above, you must first enter the international direct dialing code. In the United States and Canada, this code is 011).
Other International Travel
Many countries restrict the entry of animals. Restrictions vary by country, and if you're considering travel with your service dog, you should contact the appropriate embassy or consulate at least 4 - 6 weeks before departure to make sure that all necessary procedures are followed.