Airlines Ban Emotional Support Animals
After more than a year of lobbying by us airlines, emotional support animals (esa) may be departing the passenger cabin.
Airlines ban emotional support animals. The airline also banned pit bull type dogs as service or support animals. American airlines carried 155,790 emotional support animals in 2017, up 48% from 2016, while the number of checked pets dropped 17%. Us airlines can now ban emotional support animals from flights after the government closed a major loophole for travellers.
Airlines cannot ban a specific breed or species of support animal, though they have some latitude to deny specific animals. On december 2, the us. For years, the government required airlines to allow animals with passengers who had a doctor's note saying they needed the animal.
Airlines believed passengers abused the rule to bring a menagerie of animals on board including cats, turtles, pigs and in one case, a peacock. For years, the department required airlines to allow animals with passengers who had a doctor's note saying they needed the animal for emotional support. However, under department of transportation rules, airlines are prohibited from banning service dogs based.
The united states department of transportation clarified what animals will be allowed in the cabin. Department of transportation (dot) has proposed a ban on emotional support animals, as well as a restriction on the types of service animals that passengers would be allowed to bring on. The dot notes it no longer considers an emotional support animal to be a service animal, paving the way for airlines to ban them if they don't fit established rules about pets.
New rule could allow airlines to ban emotional support animals and treat them as pets instead. Airlines can now say “no” to cats, birds, turtles and any other animal a passenger says is there for “emotional support,” after the u.s. Feds say airlines can ban emotional support animals.
Passengers have also been seen with comfort turkeys, gliding possums known as sugar gliders, snakes, spiders, and more, according to delta, which cracked down on emotional support animals in 2018. Airlines in the us can now ban emotional support animals from flights Airlines ban emotional support animals—for now.