Which animals can you transport by plane?

Are you planning a trip with your pet and would like to go to the place of destination by plane? Then, you should be aware of the regulations on the animals which can be transported by plane. Certainly, a lot depends on the particular airlines you would like to use, however, there is a number of general rules which are usually true.

The general rules about the dimensions and weight of an animal

As you can imagine, a dimension of your pet as well as its weight is crucial for transportation of this animal by plan. Again, you should consult the airlines you are planning to use to make sure you can transport your pet, however, there are a couple of things you can keep in mind.

The majority of airlines allow their passengers to take animals on board the plane. Certainly, it is possible for smaller pets. A general limitation for the weight of an animal with its carrier is eight kilograms. At the same time, most of airlines allow to take an animal on board under the condition of its carrier not exceeding the following dimensions: 44 x 30 x 26 cm. Note this rule is applied for hard carriers.

In case, you are planning to transport your pet in a soft carrier bag, there is a different rule. In fact, the limit provided by many airlines concerns the total of three dimensions which cannot exceed 126 cm.

When the size of your pet or its weight is greater than the ones allowed by an airline company

Of course, it can happen that your pet is larger than the limits established by an airline company for animal transportation on board the plane. Yet, it does not mean you will not be allowed to transport your pet at all.

Usually, the solution is keeping an animal in the luggage compartment, albeit you can imagine it can be rather stressful for an animal. In addition to it, it is extremely important to inform the crew about the animal travelling in a luggage compartment as the environment in this part of the plane can be even dangerous for the well-being of your animal. For example, it might be too cold for your animal there. By the way, you should be aware of the fact a luggage compartment usually lacks the essential amount of oxygen and the situations in which animals got suffocated while travelling in that part of a plane are not rare.

Pay your attention to the fact you will not be allowed to transport an animal with the total weight with its carrier overcoming fifty kilograms in the luggage compartment as well. Such animals are just too heavy for plane transportation in general.

Still, if an animal is a working dog or a guide dog, it can be taken on board the plane even if its size or weight is too large.

The animals you will not be allowed to transport by plane

There is a number of animals you will not be to transport by plane even if they are not too large or too heavy.  Actually, the list of these animals includes many small ones.

First of all, it is forbidden to transport fish and other marine creatures which are living in water. Such small animals as reptiles which are not necessarily snakes are also cannot be transported by plane. It means, you will not be allowed to take your turtle with you. Rodents also cannot be transported by plane.

Of course, you can imagine that wild animals are not allowed for plane transportation.

A crucial rule enforced by many airlines is the prohibition of transporting particular breeds of dogs. This is crucial information which is not obvious to many pet owners. The problem with these dogs is the fact they have a particular anatomy of the frontal parts of their heads which can easily make them suffocate inside a plane. Such dogs are known as brachycephalic ones and they can be easily spotted by their flat faces. As you can imagine, some of the most common breeds of these types are bulldogs, boxers, boston terriers, shih tzus, chihuahuas, pugs, pekingese, bull mastiffs, English toy spaniels, chow chows and others.

One thought on “Which animals can you transport by plane?

  1. Good info! However, I would avoid any travel with an animal. it is bound to get stressful and there is a lot of paperwork

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