International Airline Pet Policies for In-Cabin Travel | 2025 Edition

Do you have any advice for flying a rabbit out of the UK. My daughter lives in Scotland, is moving back to the USA and has a 9 year old floppy earred bunny. She is adamant about not putting her in cargo. I have researched airlines that allow rabbits in cabin and it seems the flights must be 8 hours or less, which precludes most flights from Europe to USA.

@CURT WALKER Thanks so much for your comment, and I’m glad you found our article useful! This article only focuses on in-cabin airline pet travel, but you are absolutely right that certain aircrafts within each airline, especially smaller ones, may not allow pets in the cargo hold. We always strongly advise calling customer service BEFORE booking pet travel (cargo or in-cabin) to ensure there is room on the flight for you pet and ensure the pet policy hasn’t changed overnight.

This is very helpful information. However, you have left out one very important fact. The type of aircraft used. Most airlines that fly Airbus Aircraft, do NOT all allow pets in cargo. People need to check the airline carefully. Thanks.

@MARYANNE DELLAFERA Thanks for your comment and kind words! I’m so glad you found this article useful as you plan your move to Italy with your three Pekingese dogs. And by the way, a huge congrats on the upcoming move!

That’s wonderful you’re traveling with two friends, so each can put one of your pups under their reservation. That’s so huge and helps tremendously, as you already know. And yes, it’s always important to call the airline in advance of your trip to ensure they have a space for your pup. Unfortunately there’s no way to confirm this info without calling.

Good luck planning your trip and moving abroad! Congrats again, and please let us know if future questions arise!

Hi! Thanks for this amazing resource on international pet travel! I am planning a move to Italy with my 3 pekingeses, and this is the only site I’ve been able to find that has UP TO DATE info on what airlines allow pets to travel in the cabin, including weight and size restrictions. Even so, it looks like there is only ONE airline that I’ll be able to use because my two girls are relatively big for pekes (they’re not show dogs). I’ll have to call the airline for additional info, but it would have taken me forever to gather all this info myself. I’ll be traveling with 2 friends (ie, 1 dog/person), but I don’t know how many dogs are allowed on the same plane. I hope we can all go together! This is a major trip for us, but the most stressful part is figuring out how to get my dogs there safely. I am very reluctant to have them in cargo, but I was beginning to think that was the only way my girls could travel.
Django is adorable!

@ANN GALLUS According to Heathrow’s website, “We have a relief area in Terminal 2 and 3 and we are planning to introduce further facilities in Terminals 4 and 5. For directions to the Terminal 2 and 3 dog relief area, please ask a member of staff for more information.”

Terminal 2 and 3! If you’re not flying out of those terminals, I’d recommend arriving at the airport early so you have time to visit them with you little one. Safe travels!

I have located the airlines that will be carrying my puppy in the cabin from London Heathrow to Houston. Long flight My question is this: Are there any pet relief areas in Heathrow. I have tried looking at their maps and googling but it is not clear. I will have a 4.5 hr drive to the airport so I will have to stop somewhere. Thank you.

Your blog is very informative and has “need to know” topics. I would never let my pet travel as cargo. They either travel with me or I would not go. I can’t imagine how stressed out my pet would be traveling as cargo.

@ANN GALLUS Thank you for your question about which airlines allow pet-friendly travel from the UK to the US.

Departing the UK with a pet in-cabin is not easy. Most airlines do not allow in-cabin pet travel to or from the UK – these include Air Lingus, American Airlines, British Airways, Delta, United, and Wow.

The good news – Air France, KLM and Lufthansa all allow in-cabin pet travel from the UK to the US (I just spoke to customer service reps from all three airlines). I would still call their customer service before booking your flight just to make sure their policy hasn’t changed and ensure there is space on the flight for your puppy (some flights limit the total # of pets allowed per flight).

p.s. No airlines allow in-cabin pet travel into the UK. This is unfortunately a rule mandated by the UK government in an effort to curb the spread of rabies and unauthorized commercial sale of pets. We lay out every alternative pet-friendly route into the UK here:
https://djangobrand.com/blogs/news/flying-with-pets-in-cabin-to-the-united-kingdom

@RUTH LEWIS Great to hear you had a seamless experience getting to the UK with your two pups via an Air France flight to Paris! Mike and I (Steph) plan to take Django to London later this year and will be following your same travel route :)

DJANGO Pet Travel Resource: FLYING WITH PETS IN-CABIN TO THE UK
https://djangobrand.com/blogs/news/flying-with-pets-in-cabin-to-the-united-kingdom

I am looking fro transatlantic flights from London Heathrow to the US…preferably to Chicago. Are there any that would allow me to bring my 12 week old puppy in the cabin with me? I understand there would be additional fees, and that the pup would have to be in an approved underseat pet carrier.

Thank you for putting this together! We are planning to take our rough haired dachshund called broccoli tot the US from Europe ( and back , ofcourse) so this info is most usefull!

I took my 2 small dogs to the uk 2 years ago (& am doing so again this year) we flew into Paris with airfrance then took the train to Calais where we met with a family member who drove us home via the tunnel. It was a long trip but worth it! The only place our paperwork for the dogs was checked was before we got on the channel tunnel in Calais. Airfrance charged $200 each dog & they traveled in the cabin with us

@VERONA SAWYER Thanks for your question. You are absolutely right that no airlines allow in-cabin pet travel into the UK. The UK government does not allow the transport of pets into the UK via in-cabin air travel. This is a strictly-enforced policy to prevent rabies from entering the country via infected animals. The UK government believes they can better prevent the spread of rabies by allowing only approved airlines to transport pets via the cargo (aka hold or carriage). Here is a list of UK-approved airlines that allow cargo pet travel: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pet-travel-approved-air-sea-rail-and-charter-routes-for-the-movement-of-pets/approved-air-routes-for-pet-travel. The only exception to this rule is if you are traveling with a Service/Assistance dog. Emotional support dogs and therapy dogs are not considered Service/Assistance dogs.

We’ll be doing a follow up post on alternative routes into the UK with pets, i.e. so one does not have to put their pup in cargo. We’ll post the link here in the comments and also in the article above.

It seems that there are no airlines that let you take your pets in the cabin if you are goi g to the U. K. is this true ???

Great advice! Thank you 🐾

@MICK So glad you found this useful! We’ll be updating the spreadsheet bi-annually to ensure we’re up to date with the airlines ever-changing pet policies!

Thank you for such s great source of data!