American Airlines next to ban emotional support animals
American Airlines is joining Alaska Air;ines in banning emotional support animals on its flights.
Starting from 1 February, only verified and trained service dogs will be able to fly in the cabin, American said.
American made the change a week after Alaska Airlines, following a new updated policy from the U.S. Department of Transportation.
The DOT’s rule takes effect on 11 January, and from this date American will not ‘authorize new travel for animals’ that do not meet the DOT’s designation of a trained service animal.
The DOT rules were revised due to existing policy ‘erodimg the public trust in legitimate service animals,’ the DOT said.
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 paying hefty pet carriage charges.
The DOT said there has been a huge increase in recent years of passengers ‘fraudulently representing their pets as service animals.’
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.
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
TAP Air Portugal to operate 29 flights due to strike on December 11
Qatar Airways offers flexible payment options for European travellers
Airlines suspend Madagascar services following unrest and army revolt
Digital Travel Reporter of the Mirror totally seduced by HotelPlanner AI Travel Agent
Strike action set to cause travel chaos at Brussels airports