Faced with a growing number of animal incidents and passenger complaints about uncaged animals onboard, Delta has decided to take steps to limit the numbers by requiring both a doctor’s letter and a letter certifying the animal is trained to behave without a kennel.
Delta says it carries about 700 assistance animals daily, and that they have faced issues of barking, biting, defecating and more—although almost never from trained service animals. But animals without proper training, whether dogs, miniature horses, pigs or even turkeys and snakes, often end up stretched across seats, in the aisles and obstructing access.
The Americans with Disability Act and the Air Carrier Access Act of 1986 opened the plane doors to animals accompanying a disabled passenger in any seat, as long as there’s a doctor’s note and the aisle isn’t obstructed. But neither law specifies much more, and despite calls for new federal regulation, there has been a proliferation of services offering—for a fee—Emotional Support Animal letters that don’t even require visiting a doctor. The company below is typical.
Under Delta’s new rules, passengers intending to travel with support animals will need to notify the airline in advance on its website, and submit the required documents. The airline also said it will not accept exotic animals such as turkeys, possums, snakes, hedgehogs, ferrets or anything with tusks or hooves as comfort animals.
However, while disability-rights groups have generally supported tighter rules that ban ‘fake’ therapy animals, the National Federation of the Blind has said it wants the 48-hour rule changed, since it would mean that blind people with trained guides would lose the ability to make last minute plans, especially an issue in case of emergencies.
Photo: ‘comfort pig’ removed from US Airways flight (©Robert Phelps)
