For many of us, planning a holiday means starting to imagine quality time with family or close friends. More and more travelers want to bring their pets along and are looking for ways to enjoy holidays with animals.
It’s important, when organizing your break, to find the best solution to avoid leaving your four-legged friends behind, making them your travel companions instead.
However, there are specific guidelines to follow when traveling with a dog or with a cat — or other pets — especially when it comes to the air transport of pets.
Traveling with Your Four-Legged Friend: What to Know
Flying with pets has become increasingly complex, especially in recent years due to new regulations. We’ve created this guide to make the process of transporting animals as smooth and straightforward as possible, helping you organize your trip with less hassle.
First, the travel industry classifies animals into distinct categories, each governed by its own set of rules and considerations:
- Service animals
- Emotional support animals
- Pets traveling with their owners
- Animals transported as luggage
- Animals (domestic and others) traveling as cargo
The general rule is that service and emotional support animals are welcome on most public transportation services, including major airlines. However, policies for pets are more complex, and some breeds, such as brachycephalic dogs (like pugs, bulldogs, or boxers), are prohibited by many airlines. The most important tip is to check with your vet before planning your trip with your cat or dog.
Air Transport for Animals: How to Proceed
The ability to take your pets on a plane depends on several factors: breed, size, and specific airline policies. When planning your trip, your first step is to research airlines that accept dogs and other pets, then check the specific requirements for each. Here’s what’s currently required by two major airlines in Italy: Alitalia and Ryanair.
Alitalia: Transporting Pets
Alitalia allows dogs on flights and other pets, but under specific conditions: only dogs, cats, and ferrets are allowed in the cabin, and only if carried in a pet carrier no larger than 24x40x20 cm. This size restriction typically means only very small animals can travel in the cabin. Furthermore, several documents are required:
- Passport issued by a vet with evidence of all vaccinations
- Identification transponder
- Health card
- Microchip
- Rabies vaccination certificate (for the USA only)
Animals younger than 3 months cannot fly. Ticket prices for pets generally increase depending on their weight, the route, and other factors.
Ryanair: Animals Not Permitted On Board (with Exceptions)
Having a pet carrier won’t help when flying with Ryanair, as the Irish airline currently permits only guide dogs or assistance dogs on board. It’s possible that this will change, allowing small dogs on Ryanair flights in the future (see project under review). For now, however, Ryanair isn’t the best choice for those who want to travel with their four-legged friends.
Conclusion
In summary, traveling with your pets is absolutely possible, provided you plan ahead and follow each airline’s specific regulations.
