Delta Air Lines will limit each passenger to one emotional support animal and will prohibit pit bulls as service or support animals on flights, effective July 10.
University enrollment is on the rise, especially if you have four legs.
As had been widely reported, airlines have seen a sharp rise in the number of animals traveling on planes. Some are ticketed pets, but many are pets that have been flying for free thanks to loopholes in rules governing the transport of emotional or psychiatric support animals.
American Airlines reported a 40 percent increase in the number of service and emotional support animals on flights between 2016 and 2017. United Airlines cited a 75 percent increase year over year.
According to Airlines For America — a trade group that represents major US airlines including American, United, JetBlue, Southwest, and Alaska — the number of emotional-support animals, or ESAs, traveling aboard commercial flights jumped 74%, from 481,000 in 2016 to 751,000 in 2017.
For service animals, Southwest says it will accept “only the most common service animals — dogs, cats, and miniature horses.”
“For the health and safety of our customers and Employees, unusual or exotic animals will not be accepted,” the airline added in its statement.
Health codes do not allow animals in establishments that serve, sell or prepare food. When informed of that rule, some customers argue, citing the fact that the Americans With Disabilities Act allows service dogs in restaurants and other food establishments. Many will then produce a letter stating that a beloved pooch is an “emotional support animal” and must be treated like a service dog.
AFA reported earlier this week that 82 percent flight attendants surveyed agree that the DOT needs to release a more clarified policy on the requirements for emotional support animal in the high skies, while continuing necessary support for travelers with disabilities and veterans.
“Fair Housing has determined that universities do need to look at that and be able to provide reasonable accommodation so we have started to get more and more requests of emotional support animals,” said Lynn Niemi, Director of Disability Services at UWGB.
“We are updating the policy to differentiate emotional support animals from service animals that are trained and certified to perform a function for a person with a disability,” a spokeswoman for Royal Caribbean said in an email to MarketWatch. “It is important to us that all our guests enjoy their vacation, which is why we put into practice this new policy. Royal Caribbean’s policy remains the same for service animals traveling with guests that have a physical or non-physical disability.”
Last year, the number of pets carried by U.S. airlines (usually for a fee in the cabin or cargo hold) increased 11% to 784,000, according to Airlines for America, the industry’s lobbying organization. The number of service animals increased 24% to 281,000, according to A4A. And the number of emotional-support animals leapt 56% in that one-year period, to 751,000.