Airlines can now deny access to emotional support animals

Posted on 3 December 2020

The U.S. Department of Transportation has announced in a new ruling that American-based airlines will now be allowed to limit, and even deny access to emotional support animals on flights.

This comes after years of passengers complaining that people take advantage of the service.

According to the new ruling, airlines will only be required to allow service dogs into the airplane cabins which are considered to be ‘individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of a person with a disability.‘

Any other non-service animal will now be considered as regular pets, and thus be required to travel in the aircraft’s cargo hold, which airlines can charge a pet fee for.

The Department of Transportation has provided a number of reasons for the new ruling, including:

-an increasing number of service animal complaints received from, and on behalf of, passengers with disabilities by the Department and by airlines,

-the inconsistent definitions among Federal agencies of what constitutes a ‘service animal’,

-the disruptions caused by requests to transport unusual species of animals onboard aircraft, which has eroded the public trust in legitimate service animals,

– increasing frequency of incidents of travellers fraudulently representing their pets as service animals.

The new ruling should not come as a surprise, as the Department of Transportation initially started discussions over emotional support animal regulations in January.

The airline trade association, Airlines for America, estimated that the number of people flying with emotional support animals increased by 14% in 2018, following a 60% increase the year before, according to ABC News.

‘It is inappropriate to have untrained or undertrained service animals in confined public spaces such as the aircraft cabin,’ said Julie Hedrick, president of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants.

‘APFA (Association of Professional Flight Attendants) praises the DOT for issuing a final rule that will create a safe and comfortable cabin environment for passengers and crewmembers alike,’ Hedrick added.

 

Picture: Twitter/@CBSSunday






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