Originally Posted by rickair7777

There's a difference between a true service animal and "emotional support" pets.

Emotional support pets can be anything and are generally allowed in places other animals may not be such as restaurants. Service animals are highly trained and individually certified to behave in a safe manner in pretty much all situations.

Nobody can ban service animals. Airlines could ban emotional support pets who are not properly certified as actual service animals...but they just kind of wink at the pax, collect their fares, and let the crews deal with it.