Can dogs fly?

Delta Airlines and Service Animals on flights

By Christina Clift

In an ideal world my service animal would fetch the newspaper, bring me the remote control, and always be on his best behavior.  He would always be glad to see me, take himself for a walk, clean up his own fur, never bark at the postal carrier, and obey my every command.  Finally, he would accompany me everywhere I want to go with no difficulty.  With Delta Airline’s new policy, service animals will not be able to accompany their handlers as freely as they did in the past.  No hopping on a last minute flight.

Starting on March 1, 2018 Delta will require 48-hour notice that a service animal will be traveling with you as well as a variety of documentation to prove that your service animal is well behaved and actually a service animal. 

But doesn’t that violate the law? Doesn’t that infringe on the rights of people with disabilities to travel freely? 

Well, the answer is yes and no.  It depends on which law a person is looking at. A Service Animal as Defined by Title II and Title III of the  Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)  states that any dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability.

These tasks can include pulling a wheelchair, retrieving dropped items, alerting a person to a sound, reminding a person to take medication, or pressing an elevator button.  Emotional support animals, comfort animals, and therapy dogs are not service animals under Title II and Title III of the ADA.  

Why not?  

Well, it is because the work or tasks performed by a service animal must be directly related to an individual’s disability. It does not matter if a person has a note from a doctor that states that the person has a disability and needs to have the animal for emotional support. A doctor’s letter does not turn an animal into a service animal.  On the other hand, the Air Carrier Act (ACA) broadens the definition of a service animal to include emotional support animals, comfort animals, and therapy animals.

Under the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) a service animal is any animal that is individually trained or able to provide assistance to a person with a disability; or any animal that assists persons with disabilities by providing emotional support. Documentation and 48-hour advance notification can be required of passengers needing to travel with an emotional support or psychiatric service animal.  So under this law, Delta Airlines is well within their right to change policy regarding these service animals.

Things to Know

Which service animals are allowed in the cabin? 

A wide variety of service animals are permitted in the cabin portion of the aircraft flying to and within the United States. Airlines may exclude animals that: 

Are too large or heavy to be accommodated in the cabin, Pose a direct threat to the health or safety of others, Cause a significant disruption of cabin service, or are prohibited from entering a foreign country. 

Airlines are never required to accept snakes, reptiles, ferrets, rodents, sugar gliders, and spiders.

How do airlines determine whether an animal is a service animal?

Airlines can determine whether an animal is a service animal or pet by:

The credible verbal assurances of an individual with a disability using the animal, Looking for physical indicators such as the presence of a harness or tags, Requiring documentation for psychiatric support animals and emotional support animals, and Observing the behavior of animals. 

What kind of documentation can be required of persons traveling with emotional support animals and psychiatric service animals?

Airlines may require documentation that is not older than one year from the date of your scheduled initial flight that states: 

You have a mental or emotional disability that is recognized in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM);

You need your emotional support or psychiatric support animal as an accommodation for air travel or for activity at your destination, the individual providing the assessment is a licensed mental health professional and the passenger is under his or her professional care, and the licensed health care professional’s credentials.

Tips for Traveling with a Service Animal

At the airport:

•  If your animal needs to relieve itself, please ask an airport or airline professional for the location of the nearest service animal relief area.
•  Memphis International Airport has an area to accommodate service animals.

Onboard the aircraft:

• Your animal must be permitted to accompany you in the space under the seat in front of you.
• Certain small animals may be permitted to sit on your lap, if it can be done so safely. 
• Your animal cannot block a space that must remain unobstructed for safety reasons, for example an aisle or access to an emergency exit).
• An airline is not required to upgrade you to a different class of service to accommodate your animal. 
• Airlines cannot refuse to allow your animal on board because it makes other passengers or flight crew uncomfortable. 
• Your animal must behave properly. An animal that engages in disruptive behavior for example barking or snarling, running around, and jumping onto other passengers, etc. without being provoked will not be accepted as a service animal. 
• 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. 

Traveling outside of the United States? Here are a few things to keep in mind if you’re planning to fly outside of the United States with your service animal. 

·        Foreign airlines operating to and from the United States are only required to accept dogs. 

·        U.S. airlines traveling to foreign countries are subject to the requirements of that foreign country regarding acceptance of service animals; not all countries permit service animals from other foreign countries. 

·        Check to ensure whether your destination country permits your animal and any other requirements to enter and exit legally. 

Encounter A Problem? 

If you believe your rights under the Air Carrier Access Act are being or have been violated, ask to speak with a Complaints Resolution Official (CRO). A CRO is the airline’s expert on disability accommodation issues. Airlines are required to make one available to you, at no cost, in person at the airport or by telephone during the times they are  operating.

So what do disability rights organizations think about Delta Airline’s policy?  

The National Federation of the Blind said in a recent press announcement 

“We are particularly troubled by the requirement that guide dog users submit paperwork to Delta forty-eight hours before flying. Travelers without guide dogs are not required to plan their travel forty-eight hours in advance. Furthermore, guide dog users will no longer be able to fly Delta in family, medical, or other emergencies. We believe that this forty-eight hour requirement is both unnecessary and unlawful.”  

To read Delta’s new policy you can visit https://www.delta.com/content/www/en_US/traveling-with-us/special-travel-needs/service-animals.html. 

The best solution to clearing up the confusion on the definition of what a service animal is will be when changes are made to the ADA.  Until then it’s up to the service animal or support animal handler to educate themselves on the laws that pertain to their four-footed companions and where they can go and your responsibilities.