American Airlines Changes Emotional Support Animal Rules

American Airlines announced major changes to its emotional support and service animal policies and procedure.

According to the carrier, American is adopting the changed recently announced by the United States Department of Transportation’s (DOT), which defines a service animal as a dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of a qualified individual with a disability.

Starting on January 11, American will no longer authorize new travel for animals that do not meet the updated definition, such as emotional support animals. Over the past few years, as you may recall, airlines have seen every species brought on board as “emotional support animals” – from horses, to squirrels to the infamous peacock. Existing bookings involving emotional support animals will be honored through February 1.

“Our team is motivated by a purpose to care for people on life’s journey, and we believe these policy changes will improve our ability to do just that,” American Vice President Jessica Tyler said. “We’re confident this approach will enable us to better serve our customers, particularly those with disabilities who travel with service animals, and better protect our team members at the airport and on the aircraft.”

The airline will also ask customers traveling with service animals to complete a DOT form attesting to the dog’s behavior, training and health at least 48 hours in advance of a flight, beginning on February 1.

A service animal’s authorization will be valid for one year or until the expiration of its vaccinations. Previously approved emotional support animals may travel as carry-on pets or as cargo pets, as long as they meet the requirements and of course, pay the fee.