Oh, the days that you could fly with a falcon onboard ( my personal dreams always revolved around a miniature horse accompanying me).
Last month, the Department of Transportation announced that it will no longer consider emotional support animals as service animals, to prevent people from abusing the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) in order to fly with their pet for free on a plane.
Please keep in mind that an emotional support animal is not the same as a service animal. Service animals, which are defined as only dogs, are still allowed to fly.
Emotional support animals going forward will be considered pets.
It's obviously a stark contrast from when traveling was a free-for-all for just about everyone.
| Airline | Policy | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Alaska | NO | Effective January 11, 2021 |
| American | NO | Effective February 1, 2021 |
| Delta | NO | Effective January 11, 2021 |
| Frontier | NO | Effective February 1, 2021 |
| Hawaiian | NO | Effective January 11, 2021 |
| JetBlue | NO | Effective January 11, 2021 |
| Southwest | NO | Effective March 1, 2021 |
| United | NO | Effective February 1, 2021 |
Here's the first paragraph from the DOT's official ruling:
This final rule defines a service animal as a dog, regardless of breed or type, that isindividually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of a qualified individual with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability.1 It allows airlines to recognize emotional support animals as pets, rather than service animals, and permits airlines to limit the number of service animals that one passenger can bring onboard an aircraft to two service animals.
https://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/2020-12/Service%20Animal%20Final%20Rule.pdf
