Emotional rescue: how an inflight animal can be a passenger’s best friend

'Airlines cannot refuse to allow your animal onboard because it makes other passengers or flight crew uncomfortable,' says the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)

Under the US Air Carrier Access Act, airline passengers on American carriers can travel with an “animal that assists qualified persons with disabilities by providing emotional support”. But terms and conditions apply …

Who qualifies to travel with an emotional support animal?

A passenger who has a mental or emotional disability listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, and for whom a psychiatrist, psychologist or licensed clinical social worker has prescribed an emotional support animal for emotional, psychiatric or cognitive support for individuals with disabilities.

What do the airlines stipulate?

Most limit the number of emotional support animals to one per passenger.

“Animals accepted as service or emotional support animals must be providing disability mitigation directly to the customer who is travelling,’ says JetBlue.

Southwest does not require any paperwork. But: “In order to accept an animal as a trained service animal, we must determine both that the customer seeking travel is an individual with a disability and that the animal is a fully trained service animal.

“If a customer’s status as an individual with a disability is unclear (for example, if the disability is not clearly visible), our employees may ask fact-finding questions to determine whether an animal is a trained service animal, emotional support animal, or eligible to be accepted as a pet.

“A customer may be asked about the nature of the animal at different points throughout the journey.”

United Airlines requires passengers to agree to the following: “I understand that if my animal acts inappropriately or exhibits unsafe or untrained behaviour, United Airlines may only accept it in accordance with its current pet policies, may deny the animal boarding and/or remove it from the aircraft.”

United says it “will consider all relevant information, including information from the required documentation, when determining whether an emotional support animal or psychiatric service animal may safely travel in the aircraft cabin”.

What kind of animal is allowed?

“Acceptable emotional support and psychiatric service animals are limited to dogs, cats, and miniature horses,” says JetBlue. The airline specifically bans: “Animals with tusks, hedgehogs, ferrets, insects, rodents, snakes, spiders, sugar gliders [an intriguing gliding marsupial] and reptiles.”

Last month, Delta brought in a ban on pitbulls, and it also bans goats. Southwest does not allow rabbits.

For an animal that qualifies, what are the rules?

It must sit on the floor in the area in front of the passenger, and behave well. Southwest doesn’t permit “scratching, excessive whining, biting or lunging” (from the owner, as well as the animal, presumably).

On Delta, any of these is out: “Growling, jumping on passengers, relieving themselves in the gate area or cabin, barking excessively (not in response to a handler’s need or distress) and eating off seatback tray tables.”

“Animals must be trained to behave properly in a public setting,” says United.

Alaska Airlines says: “We suggest that you not overwater or overfeed your service animal or emotional support/psychiatric service animal on the day of travel.” And on the same subject, the FAA says: “For a flight that is scheduled for eight hours or longer, airlines may require documentation stating that your animal will not need to relieve itself, or can do so in a sanitary way.”

How much does it cost?

Nothing, but note that the FAA says: “An airline is not required to upgrade you to a different class of service to accommodate your animal.”

And JetBlue points out: “If your animal is too large to fit in a single footprint in accordance with FAA safety regulations, you may purchase a second seat to guarantee travel or wait for a flight that has suitable empty seats available.”

Passengers with emotional support animals cannot request an emergency-exit row for more space.

What happens if another passenger is allergic to, say, cats?

The passenger with an emotional support animal takes priority. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) says: “Airlines cannot refuse to allow your animal onboard because it makes other passengers or flight crew uncomfortable.”