Qantas and Virgin Australia say NO to pets in the cabin

Qantas and Virgin Australia have dismissed suggestions comfort animals will be allowed onboard their planes when Australia’s airline regulator looks to relax its animal approval process in December. Currently, if a passenger wants to carry any animal in the passenger cabin of an Australian airline, it must get approval from the Civil Aviation Safety Authority — unless it is a service animal. But that requirement is set to be removed on December 2, meaning rules will be relaxed. However, it will be up to each airline to decide its own policy regarding animals traveling in airline cabins. Both Qantas and Virgin Australia have told Airline Ratings that they have “no plans” to allow pets onboard.   “We’ll consider the regulatory changes as part of a wider pet travel review we're currently undertaking,” Virgin Australia said in a statement. “Regardless of the outcome, designated service dogs will still be able to travel in the cabin.” Earlier this year, US carriers implemented US Department of Transportation rules allowing them to ban emotional support animals other than trained dogs from January 11. The rules were changed as a result of an increase in the number of people boarding aircraft with small horses, peacocks, snakes, and other bizarre animals, which they claimed were for emotional support. The airlines believed many passengers were exploiting a loophole in federal regulations to avoid paying to transport their pets. and had already moved to ban some animals after a series of incidents. Late in 2020, the DoT changed the rules to allow airlines to refuse emotional support animals other than dogs. Alaska Airlines was one of the first to implement the ban. “This regulatory change is welcome news, as it will help us reduce disturbances on board while continuing to accommodate our guests traveling with qualified service animals,” said Alaska Airlines Director of Customer Advocacy Ray Prentice. Under the revised policy, passengers in the US are required to complete a DoT form declaring that their animal is a legitimate service dog, is trained and vaccinated, and will behave appropriately during the journey.