February 01, 2021

The U.S. Department of Transportation announced in December its final rule that amends regulations under the Air Carrier Access Act on traveling by air with service animals.

The final rule defines a service animal as a dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of a person with a disability. The regulation no longer considers an emotional support animal to be a service animal.

A number of airlines have already started to ban ESAs, including Alaskan Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue, Spirit Airlines, and United Airlines, which will now only allow trained service dogs in the cabin, outside of kennels. Pet owners who want to travel with other animals will need to pay a fee, and the animal will have to travel in the cargo hold or fit in a kennel under the owner’s seat in the cabin.

U.S. airlines were previously required to accommodate emotional support animals but, under the new regulations, will no longer be required to do so. In its comments to the DOT, the AVMA indicated that, because ESAs do not share the same training and deliberate acclimation to various environments and situations as service dogs do, they may present a risk to other passengers, other animals, and even themselves in airline cabins, according to an AVMA press release. Therefore, the AVMA expressed its agreement with the DOT proposal.

Further, airlines must now require people with disabilities traveling with a service animal to complete and submit a form attesting to the animal’s training and good behavior and certifying the animal’s good health. The final rule offers a standard Air Transportation Form, developed by the DOT, and no longer requires veterinarians to complete and sign the form. The rule includes a requirement that service dogs traveling in the cabin have a current vaccination against rabies.

The final rule also includes the following provisions:

• Requires airlines to treat psychiatric service animals the same as other service animals.
• Allows airlines to limit the number of service animals traveling with a single passenger with a disability to two service animals. 
• Allows airlines to require service animals be harnessed, leashed, or tethered at all times in the airport and on the aircraft.
• Allows airlines to refuse transportation to service animals that exhibit aggressive behavior and that pose a direct threat to the health or safety of others.
• Prohibits airlines from refusing to transport a service animal solely on the basis of its breed.

The AVMA was heavily involved in the development of the rule. In 2018, the AVMA held a roundtable with airlines, DOT officials, and other stakeholders. The AVMA also submitted several comments based on feedback from members to the DOT, including concerns about the forms airlines require as documentation for emotional support animals, which varied and required a veterinarian to anticipate an animal’s behavior. The new rule no longer requires a veterinarian to complete and sign the form.

“We applaud the DOT for taking action,” said Dr. Douglas Kratt, president of the AVMA, in a press release. “Veterinarians have been struggling for years with requests from pet owners and requirements from airlines, and the new rule with its standardized documentation and clear guidance will help eliminate confusion.”