Southwest Airlines bans psychological aid animals on flights, only experienced canine permitted

Southwest Airlines has manufactured the selection to no longer permit emotional help animals on their flights next a determination by the U.S. Office of Transportation (DOT) last month to revise the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) regulation on the transportation of services animals.

According to Southwest Airlines, psychological assistance animals will be banned from their flights from March 1, 2021.

“With this revision, Southwest Airlines will only make it possible for assistance canines that are independently trained to do operate or accomplish jobs for the benefit of a capable specific with a incapacity to vacation with the Purchaser,” Southwest Airways stated in a statement unveiled on Monday evening. “The kinds of incapacity consist of a bodily, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability and only canines will be recognized (which includes these for psychiatric services) — no other species will be recognized as a qualified service animal.”

The airline explained that consumers who do travel with experienced company puppies ought to now present a completed Service Animal Air Transportation Sort issued by the DOT at the gate or ticket counter at the airport and will have to involve facts on the animal’s overall health, habits and schooling.

“We applaud the Section of Transportation’s latest ruling that enables us to make these essential variations to address quite a few worries lifted by the public and airline staff members with regards to the transportation of untrained animals in the cabins of aircraft,” reported Steve Goldberg, Senior Vice President, Operations and Hospitality at Southwest. “Southwest Airways proceeds to guidance the capability of experienced men and women with a incapacity to provide properly trained service pet dogs for travel and continues to be committed to providing a good and accessible journey knowledge for all of our Buyers with disabilities.”

Southwest reported that travellers may well still travel with some animals for a charge, which has been a regular portion of their present animals plan, but those animals must fulfill all requirements with regards to in-cabin stowage and are limited to cats and pet dogs only.

The U.S. Section of Transportation altered the ACAA in an announcement on Dec. 2, 2020 saying that travellers experienced been abusing the privilege of psychological aid animals and the apply experienced “eroded the general public have faith in in genuine support animals.”

The DOT claimed it was prompted in part by an boost in travelers “fraudulently symbolizing their animals as assistance animals” to stay away from expenses for transporting pets.There are information of travellers bringing miniature horses, hamsters, pigs and even peacocks on board airways which folks have claimed as emotional assist animals.

The DOT stated in their new ruling on Dec. 2: “The Department gained far more than 15,000 feedback on the see of proposed rulemaking. The last rule introduced these days addresses worries raised by persons with disabilities, airlines, flight attendants, airports, other aviation transportation stakeholders, and other customers of the general public, about provider animals on aircraft.”