Flying with your pet requires careful planning
Animal travel policies, fees, documentation vary among airlines and destinations
Air travel with pets takes a fair bit of preparation and it can be expensive, but a lot of people think Fido or Fluffy are worth it.
Taking furry friends along on a trip requires their up-to-date medical records, tests, vaccinations and procedures to satisfy both the airline and the particular regulations of the destination.
Every country has its own set of rules for incoming animals, which can involve a quarantine period, official stamps of approval and a stack of paperwork that must be in order.
“Otherwise there is a risk the animal will not be allowed entry and could face being shipped back at the owner’s expense, being quarantined or, in the worse case, being euthanized,” says Kyle Freeman, managing director of PetRelocate, a Torontobased animal-relocation service.
In the animal transportation business since 2000, PetRelocate has shipped family pets, such as cats, dogs, birds and rabbits, lab and zoo animals, and other live creatures big and small, to countries around the globe.
The company can take care of part or every aspect of the process, from preparing all the paperwork, which includes a Canadian International Health Certificate, to tests and vaccinations, acting as a liaison between a series of departments, arranging transport aboard a qualified climatecontrolled aircraft, to escorting pets each step of the way.
Freeman, who has seen a “fivefold” increase in the number of people travelling with pets since 2000, says preparations can take anywhere from a month for domestic travel and up to a year for some international destinations.
Some places have very strict prearrival conditions on pets crossing their borders. Hawaii, a U.S. state determined to remain free of rabies, quarantines arriving pets for up to 120 days and charges a kennel fee of $1,080 (U.S.) if its requirements are not followed to the letter.
“Because each country has its own set of rules and regulations, we have to have our representatives there to ensure everything is done right with all the documentation in place,” Freeman says.
“We also provide a boarding service for people who need to travel on short notice, so their pets can be looked after until they return, or transported to wherever they are after all the paperwork and medical requirements are completed,” he adds.
Since1994, the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) has required airlines flying in and out of the country and within Canada to provide service for passengers with disabilities at no additional charge if an ani- mal is “required by a person for assistance and certified, in writing, as having been trained to assist a person by a professional service animal institution.”
Service and emotional support animals are allowed to travel free of charge aboard all Canadian and U.S. flights, as well as on board most international air carriers.
As far as being able to take a cat or small dog in a pet carrier as a piece of carry-on luggage to be placed under a passenger’s seat, some airlines allow it and some don’t.
Depending on the time of year and model of plane, some airlines pro- vide temperature-controlled and pressurized cargo space to accommodate live-animal transport, and charges can range from $50 on a one-way domestic flight to more than $1,000 on international trips.
For more information online, visit PetTravel.com. The site has links to more than 180 international and regional airline pet policies, and outlines the requirements of travelling with pets as well as the transport methods, such as cargo, checked baggage or pet carriers.
Most major airports don’t allow pets to wander on a leash inside terminals, except for service animals. They must be contained in a cage if they are booked to fly with a passenger in the airplane’s cabin or as cargo in the hold.
Other than service animals, the size of pets allowed in the cabin is restricted to that of a small dog or house cat and the cages they travel in cannot exceed an airline’s limitations on the space under a passenger’s seat. Airlines can also restrict certain breeds of dogs, such as pit bulls.
A passenger flying with an infant cannot travel with a caged pet on most airlines, and unaccompanied minors also can’t travel with a pet.
Airlines can refuse aggressive or distressed pets, and they can also restrict the number of animals allowed in a cabin per flight. So even with all the proper documentation in place, don’t count on getting a last-minute flight if you plan to fly with Fifi or Fido.
When planning a trip with a pet, it’s wise — and many airlines stipulate this — to make flight arrangements no less than 72 hours before the flight. You may not get on if there are already passengers with pets, or passengers who specified being allergic to animals when they reserved their seats.
Airlines usually request people travelling with service animals to book their flights no less than 48 hours in advance. Government of Canada pre-flight dos and don’ts Do:
Remove your pet from its carrying case and send the carrying case through the screening equipment.
Hold your pet in your arms and proceed through the metal detector.
Take your pet out of its cage or carrier if it is being transported in the belly hold of the aircraft. A screening officer will screen the cage or carrier separately.
Be responsible for your pet and its behaviour throughout the screening process.
Contact your air carrier or travel agent in advance to determine the airline’s policy on passengers travelling with pets. Don’t:
Hand your pet to a screening officer to hold while you go through security.
Put your pet on the conveyor belt. Email Henry Stancu at hstancu@thestar.ca.
Preparations can take anywhere from a month for domestic travel to as long as a year for some international destinations