Southwest Airlines offers calm approach on support animals
In the increasingly chaotic and bizarre world of Emotional Support Animals on airplanes, Southwest Airlines has released a new policy that appears to take a more calming, rational approach.
The airlines will limit ESAs to dogs and cats only, allowing one animal per customer, and requiring the animal to remain in a carrier or on a leash at all times. No exotic animals will be permitted.
The policy also allows service animals to continue to fly with their owners. Although the federal government recognizes only dogs and miniature horses as certified service animals, Southwest will extend the definition to include cats.
“We welcome emotional support and trained service animals that provide needed assistance to our customers,” Steve Goldberg, senior vice president of operations and hospitality, said in a prepared statement. “However, we want to make sure our guidelines are clear and easy to understand, while providing customers and employees a comfortable and safe experience.”
Airlines have been revising and revamping their service animal policies after air travel with emotional support animals took on a circus-like atmophere. Passengers were showing
“The ultimate goal with these changes is to ensure customers traveling with service animals know what to expect when choosing Southwest.” —Steve Goldberg, senior vice president of operations and hospitality
up at the airport with peacocks, snakes, igaunas and goats, to name a few, claiming the animals were ESAs and therefore eligible to fly in the cabin with the passengers, free of charge.
Many airlines, passengers and those with legitimate service animals, accused people of abusing the law that permits incabin airline travel for support animals. In addition, some so-called emotional support animals have bitten or attacked other passengers and airlines employees, or urinated, defecated or clambered around the cabin.
Earlier this year, several airlines, including Delta and United, issued stricter guidelines. In June, Delta announced it would enforce the strictest measures yet, banning all ESAs and service dogs that are pit bulls or have pit bull characteristics.
The move was strongly criticized by those involved with service dogs, who said the airline was confusing trained service dogs with the more nebulous emotional support animal label, and violating their rights to travel with a service dog.
Service dogs typically undergo two years of training, learning how to provide specific support and help for their owners. The may be trained to assist blind people in a number of tasks, alert someone with epilepsy or diabetes of pending episodes, assist those with physical limitations, or help those suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Emotional support animals may receive some training, but generally they are there to help ease anxiety or depression in their owners. Too many people, critics say, label their pets as ESAs in order to fly them in the cabin for free.
Customers traveling with ESAs will still need to present a complete, current letter from a medical doctor or licensed mental health professional on the day of departure.
Southwest also is going a step further, recognizing fully-trained psychiatric support animals (PSAs) as trained service animals. Southwest had informally been accepting PSAs but after listening to customers, decided to include the animals in their formal guidelines.
PSAs are individually trained to perform a task or work for a person with a mental health-related disability. According to the new policy, a “credible verbal assurance” will be sufficient to travel with a PSA.
All emotional support and service animals must be trained to behave in a public setting and must be under the control of the handler at all times, the policy further states. An animal that engages in disruptive behavior may be denied boarding.
“The ultimate goal with these changes is to ensure customers traveling with service animals know what to expect when choosing Southwest,” Goldberg said. “Southwest will continue working with advocacy groups, employees, customers and the Department of Transportation to ensure we offer supportive service animal guidelines.”