WASHINGTON (CNN) – A new Department of Transportation regulation goes into effect on Monday that says airlines are not required to treat emotional support animals as service animals.
The DOT rule, announced last month, defines a service animal as a dog “trained to work or perform tasks for the benefit of a qualified individual with a disability”.
Delta, United, Alaska, JetBlue and American Airlines are among American companies that will no longer allow emotional support animals.
Animals are prescribed by mental health professionals to provide comfort and support, but unlike service animals, emotional support animals do not need to be trained in specific tasks.
Delta will honor reservations involving emotional support animals confirmed before January 11, but the airline will not accept new reservations for such animals.
United Airlines will continue to accept the animals for reservations made before Monday for travel on or before February 28. Alaska Airlines is also using this date range to end the transportation of emotional support animals.
JetBlue has confirmed that it will no longer accept new reserves of emotional support animals after Monday.
The airline will allow existing animal itineraries to continue until the end of February, if “all necessary and appropriate documentation is presented as requested by these customers by December 20, 2020,” the airline said in a statement.
American Airlines says existing reservations for emotional support animals will only be honored until the end of January. Animals that have previously traveled as emotional support animals can travel as pets with luggage or hand luggage, American Airlines said.
“We are confident that this approach will allow us to better serve our customers, especially those with disabilities traveling with service animals, and better protect our team members at the airport and on the aircraft,” said Jessica Tyler, president of cargo and vice president American airport excellence in a press release.
We are confident that this approach will allow us to better serve our customers, especially those with disabilities traveling with service animals, and better protect our team members at the airport and on the aircraft.
–Jessica Tyler, American Airlines
Southwest Airlines has not changed its emotional support policy for animals, but said it will announce any policy changes and a timetable for those changes this year.
Airlines may require passengers traveling with service animals, now limited to dogs by the definition of the DOT, to submit a DOT form prior to travel, detailing the health, behavior and training of the service animal.
The concern that passengers were fraudulently passing their pets on as the most vaguely defined and gratuitous category of emotional support animals is part of what prompted airlines to ask DOT for a review of this issue.
The DOT rule was also driven by an increase in complaints of disabled passenger service animals, misbehavior of emotionally supportive animals, a lack of clarity around the definition of “service animal” and interruptions caused by “transport requests” of unusual species of animals on board aircraft, “according to the DOT.
Pigs and peacocks are among the unexpected animals that previously flew as emotional support animals.
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