Emotional Support Animals on planes have been a hot topic for quite some time.
Many people break the rules so their pets can fly. A passenger with an emotional support squirrel was kicked off an Alaska Airlines flight a couple of months back.
Earlier in the year, airlines started implementing new rules regarding emotional support animals. United banned an emotional support peacock from flying and there’s also the story about Daniel, an emotional support duck!
Now Delta Air Lines is adding a couple of new rules which will severely limit when emotional support animals can fly.
MarketWatch reports that “Delta Airlines said that it will ban all emotional-support animals on flights longer than eight hours and will ban all service and support animals under four months of age on flights no matter the duration.”
The airline isn’t giving passengers much notice. The new rules will go into effect next week on December 18.
I’m a fan of these new rules. While I do love animals, the increase (in recent years) of service animals in airports and on planes has been a bit much. Negative incidents involving emotional support animals have also increased.
John Laughter, Delta’s senior VP for corporate safety, security and compliance said, “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.”
Customers who booked flights before December 18 and have already followed the proper procedures to fly with their emotional support animals will still be allowed to fly with them when the new rules go into effect. Passengers ticketed on or after December 18 will be out of luck.
Starting February 1, regardless of when a passenger booked their flights, they’ll no longer be able to fly with their emotional support animals on flights lasting longer than 8 hours or with animals under 4 months old.
What do you think of Delta’s new policy? Do you think it’s a positive change?
Find out more from MarketWatch here.
