Alaska Airlines banning emotional support animals
Alaska Airlines will stop accepting all emotional support animals from next month.
The airline is the first to amend its policies after a recent ruling from the Department of Transport.
It allows airlines to effectively ban emotional support pets in the cabin.
Alaska will continue allowing trained service dogs in the cabin in accordance with the Air Carrier Access Act.
The airline will still allow emotional support pets if booked on a flight before 11 January 2021, and are scheduled to fly before the end of February.
"This regulatory change is welcome news. It will help us reduce disturbances onboard, while continuing to accommodate our guests traveling with qualified service animals," said Ray Prentice, Alaska Air’s Director of Customer Advocacy.
Untrained emotional support animals have caused disturbances on flights while many owners have been accused of gaming the system.
There is past evidence of passengers being able to purchase bogus documents attesting to an animal’s status as an emotional support pet.
This is done to avoid hefty pet carriage charges.
Alaska said it will still allow some other animals but only as part of its pet carriage policy with appropriate fees.
The airline is the first to announce an outright ban, and other carriers will likely follow.
Written by Ray Montgomery, US Editor
TravelMole Editorial Team
Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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