Originally Posted by
TransWorld
Sounds like I am cleared to continue bringing my emotional support porcupine onto the plane. No PAX seem to want to pet him, though. But, I get strange looks from the FO when I bring my seeing eye lion on, as well.
You need to read the laws, exotic/unusual animals do not have to be accommodated.
Animals do not have to be accommodated in the cabin if they provide a safety hazard. That would mean something that can't be stowed under the seats without blocking access for the rest of the passengers, something that can't fit in the overhead bin. Something that could be come a projectile and injure other passengers in an emergency, etc. In general, a good rule of thumb is probably lap-child size and smaller, these can be held or placed underneath the seat. This is mainly a training and enforcement issue with gate agents and FAs.
(e) If a passenger seeks to travel with an animal that is used as an emotional support or psychiatric service animal, you are not required to accept the animal for transportation in the cabin unless the passenger provides you current documentation (i.e., no older than one year from the date of the passenger's scheduled initial flight) on the letterhead of a licensed mental health professional (e.g., psychiatrist, psychologist, licensed clinical social worker, including a medical doctor specifically treating the passenger's mental or emotional disability) stating the following:
(1) The passenger has a mental or emotional disability recognized in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders - Fourth Edition (DSM IV);
(2) The passenger needs the emotional support or psychiatric service animal as an accommodation for air travel and/or for activity at the passenger's destination;
(3) The individual providing the assessment is a licensed mental health professional, and the passenger is under his or her professional care; and
(4) The date and type of the mental health professional's license and the state or other jurisdiction in which it was issued.
(f) You are never required to accommodate certain unusual service animals (e.g., snakes, other reptiles, ferrets, rodents, and spiders) as service animals in the cabin. With respect to all other animals, including unusual or exotic animals that are presented as service animals (e.g., miniature horses, pigs, monkeys), as a carrier you must determine whether any factors preclude their traveling in the cabin as service animals (e.g., whether the animal is too large or heavy to be accommodated in the cabin, whether the animal would pose a direct threat to the health or safety of others, whether it would cause a significant disruption of cabin service, whether it would be prohibited from entering a foreign country that is the flight's destination). If no such factors preclude the animal from traveling in the cabin, you must permit it to do so. However, as a foreign carrier, you are not required to carry service animals other than dogs.
(g) Whenever you decide not to accept an animal as a service animal, you must explain the reason for your decision to the passenger and document it in writing. A copy of the explanation must be provided to the passenger either at the airport, or within 10 calendar days of the incident.
(h) You must promptly take all steps necessary to comply with foreign regulations (e.g., animal health regulations) needed to permit the legal transportation of a passenger's service animal from the U.S. into a foreign airport.
(i) Guidance concerning the carriage of service animals generally is found in the preamble of this rule. Guidance on the steps necessary to legally transport service animals on flights from the U.S. into the United Kingdom is found in 72 FR 8268-8277, (February 26, 2007).
The same applies for service animals: If they pose a threat in the cabin, they do not have to be accommodated in the cabin, I believe the main difference from ESA is that in that case, they HAVE to still be transported (in the cargo hold) at no cost.
This is why the airlines are on the hook, not the feds. The airlines keep transporting these animals and presenting a hazard to the other passengers. Another regulation is that all cargo must be secured. If it's not a human being, it's cargo. When something bad happens, it's because the airline allowed the animal on, the regulations are written to allow them to prohibit the transportation in the cabin if it does not meet safety standards.