January 07, 2019
Another airline has installed a puppy ban as part of its policy regarding emotional support animals.
United Airlines announced it will ban dogs — and cats – under the age of four months from the cabin “to further ensure the well-being of our employees and customers while accommodating passengers with disabilities,” the company said in a announcement.
At the same time, the airline said it would only recognize dogs and cats older than four months as emotional-support animals, the announcement adds.
What prompted the change? Well, United said one reason is that “animals under the age of four months typically have not received the necessary vaccinations that help ensure the safety of our employees and customers,” United confirmed to the New York Post.
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United’s new policy, which went into effect Monday, comes weeks after Delta Airlines made a similar change, the Post adds.
Delta said its policy was updated in response to “an 84 percent increase in reported incidents involving service and support animals in 2016 and 2017, including urination, defecation and biting, and even a widely reported attack by a 50-pound dog," per its mid-December announcement.
Service animals, which unlike emotional support animals, are trained to assist a qualified person with a disability — including visual limitations, deafness, seizures and mobility limitations — are still accepted on United Airlines flights as long as they are a dog, cat, or miniature horse, the new policy states, CNBC noted.
