Airline Requirements for Traveling with a Service Animal
(Requirements of Most Major Airlines In the United States)
Service animals are welcome on all U.S. carrier flights. There are no additional charges for service animals traveling in the cabin. To travel with an emotional support or psychiatric service animal, you’ll need to contact Reservations at least 48 hours before your flight and submit the required documentation, we recommend two weeks or when purchasing ticket.
Cabin Rules
- Animal must fit on your lap, at your feet or under your seat
- Animals must be clean, well behaved and under your control at all times
Seating Options
- For security reasons, service animals can’t block any aisle
- You can’t sit in an exit row when traveling with service animals
- We find it best to purchase flights that are not booked to heavily for best accommodations for your service animal
To show that an animal is a service animal, you must provide the following:
- Animal ID card
- Harness or tags
- Credible verbal assurance
Emotional Support or Psychiatric Service Animals
- To travel with an emotional support or psychiatric service animal in the cabin you must provide supporting documentation dated within 1 year of your scheduled flight. It must be from a licensed mental health professional:
- That you have a mental or emotional disability recognized in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fifth Edition (DSM V)
- That you need the emotional support or psychiatric service animal as an accommodation for air travel and/or for activity at your destination
- That the individual providing the assessment is a licensed mental health professional and you are under his or her professional care
- The date and type of the mental health professional and the state or other jurisdiction where it was issued
If they are unable to validate your documentation or if you didn’t notify the airline at least 48 hours before your flight, the animal may need to be checked and travel in a kennel.
