Delta Air Says No More Support Kittens, Puppies on Flights
Delta Air Lines Inc. is barring emotional-support and service animals that are less than four months old
(Bloomberg) -- Delta Air Lines Inc. is barring emotional-support and service animals that are less than four months old, while banning all support animals from flights longer than eight hours.
Delta is tightening rules for emotional-support animals after recording an 84 percent increase in incidents during the two year period ending in 2017. One attack involved a 50-pound dog, the carrier said. The airline also had incidents in which animals bit, urinated and defecated on planes.
“These updates support Delta’s commitment to safety and also protect the rights of customers with documented needs, such as veterans with disabilities, to travel with trained service and support animals,” said John Laughter, the company’s senior vice president for corporate safety, security and compliance.
Delta was little changed at $56.24 at 2:53 p.m. in New York on Tuesday.
Industry Shift
U.S. airlines began changing the rules earlier this year, especially for emotional-support animals, after passengers brought not only dogs and cats but turkeys, goats, snakes and pigs onto planes. The carriers banned some animals outright and required additional documentation for others.
The new age requirement aligns with the vaccination policy of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, Delta said. The eight-hour flight limit is consistent with the principles outlined in the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Air Carrier Access Act, the company said.
Delta flies about 700 service animals per day, a 150 percent increase since 2015, the carrier said in January.
To contact the reporter on this story: Mary Schlangenstein in Dallas at maryc.s@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Case at bcase4@bloomberg.net, Susan Warren
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