Alaska Airlines announced Tuesday that it will no longer allow passengers to bring animals with emotional support on their planes for bookings made after Jan. 11. The airline is the first person to ban animals with emotional support following new guidance from the U.S. Department of Transportation on what kind of animals should be allowed on passenger planes.
The new rules do not apply to dogs trained to perform specific tasks, such as guide dogs for people with visual impairments. But the rules apply to monkeys, peacocks and snakes with ’emotional support’ – everything people actually tried to bring on planes last few years.
“As of January 11, 2021, Alaska will only transport service dogs, which are specially trained to perform tasks for the benefit of a qualified person with a disability,” Alaska Airlines said in a statement. online.
The Department of Transportation announced new rules in early December was celebrated by some people complaining that unscrupulous people use ’emotional support’ as an excuse to bring their untrained and undisciplined pets on planes without it really being necessary. But disability rights groups warn that the new restrictions could hamper those with disabilities to enjoy equal access to the country’s transportation infrastructure.
“Once again, in an almost systemic way, DOT has decided to prioritize the airline industry and corporate interests over the rights granted to people with disabilities under the law,” said Curt Decker, executive director of the National Disability Rights Network. , said in a statement earlier this month after the Department of Transportation issued its new guidance.
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“Although it is no secret that we are still far from a truly accessible transport system in this country, the DOT rule will only exacerbate the existing inequalities for people with disabilities who participate in air travel and instead almost exclusively the interests of the airline accommodates. industry, ”continues Decker.
Alaska Airlines has announced that passengers must now fill out an online form swearing that their pet is a ‘legal service dog’ and that he is properly trained not to cause a disturbance on the flight.
Guests must complete a DOT form, which will be available on AlaskaAir.com from January 11, stating that their pet is a legal service dog, trained and vaccinated, and that it will behave appropriately during the trip. For bookings made more than 48 hours before the trip, guests must submit the completed form by email. For bookings made less than 48 hours before travel, guests must submit the form in person to the customer service agent upon arrival at the airport.
There is many more questions about what kind of animals will be allowed on board for passengers with psychiatric conditions, and Alaska Airlines has not yet been terribly specific in this regard. We contacted Alaska Airlines for more clarity on the new rules and will update this message when we hear it.
Other U.S. airlines have yet to announce changes to their official rules on service animals, but they will soon follow suit.
“This regulatory change is welcome news as it will help us reduce disruptions on board as we continue to accommodate our guests traveling with qualified service animals,” Ray Prentice, director of customer interest at Alaska Airlines, said in a statement. said.