I’ve written before about emotional support animals…and how some airline passengers routinely abuse federal law to avoid pet fees. Now Delta Air Lines is saying enough is enough.
Complaints over animal defecation, urination, and biting have risen 84% over the last few years. An estimated 250,000 support or service animals travel on Delta each year.
Delta introduces its policy change, effective March 01, 2018, in a carefully worded press release, which I want to break down below (bolding mine).
Delta Air Lines is taking steps to further protect its customers, employees and service and support animals by implementing advance documentation requirements for those animals. This comes as a result of a lack of regulation that has led to serious safety risks involving untrained animals in flight. The new requirements support Delta’s top priority of ensuring safety for its customers, employees and trained service and support animals, while supporting the rights of customers with legitimate needs, such as disabled veterans, to travel with trained animals.
It’s a combative opening paragraph in which Delta defends its new rules on the grounds of safety and legitimacy before even discussing what they are. Throwing in the “disabled veterans” line underscores what a delicate issue this will be.
Customers have attempted to fly with comfort turkeys, gliding possums known as sugar gliders, snakes, spiders and more. Ignoring the true intent of existing rules governing the transport of service and support animals can be a disservice to customers who have real and documented needs. Delta has seen an 84 percent increase in reported animal incidents since 2016, including urination/defecation, biting and even a widely reported attack by a 70-pound dog.
Even linking to a story on an emotional support dog attacking another passenger, Delta does what I have been waiting for a U.S. airline to do for many years: say enough is enough. Sure, by pointing to the ludicrous they downplay the far wider problem that most passengers bring their well-behaved “emotional support animals” merely to avoid paying pet fees. But that sort of revenue-based tone might lead to greater scrutiny.
New Rule: More Documentation, 48 Hours in Advance
Starting on March 1st, Delta will require proof of vaccinations and fitness to fly 48 hours in advance. That will include a signed document confirming their animal can “behave”.
In compliance with the Air Carrier Access Act, Delta provides in-cabin travel for service and support animals without charge. The guidelines, effective March 1, require that all customers traveling with a service or support animal show proof of health or vaccinations 48 hours in advance. In addition to the current requirement of a letter prepared and signed by a doctor or licensed mental health professional, those with psychiatric service animals and emotional support animals will also need to provide a signed document confirming that their animal can behave to prevent untrained, sometimes aggressive household pets from traveling without a kennel in the cabin.
This will surely weed out some cases of abuse, but the owner of the aggressive rottweiler is not going to have any trouble finding someone to attest that their dog will be well-behaved.
Delta Pleads for Regulation
Delta wants regulation backing up its action. John Laughter, Delta’s Senior Vice President — Corporate Safety, Security and Compliance, argues:
The rise in serious incidents involving animals in flight leads us to believe that the lack of regulation in both health and training screening for these animals is creating unsafe conditions across U.S. air travel.
Ironically, however, it seems to me an Administration adverse to regulation or the enforcement of regulation is what has emboldened Delta to make this move. Let’s face it: there will be complaints and I believe those complaints will fall on deaf or unsympathetic ears.
Emotional Support Animals that are Prohibited on Delta
Did you know that Delta publishes a list of emotional support animals that it prohibits?
- Hedgehogs
- Ferrets
- Insects
- Rodents
- Snakes
- Spiders
- Sugar gliders
- Reptiles
- Amphibians
- Goats
- Non-household birds (farm poultry, waterfowl, game bird, & birds of prey)
- Animals improperly cleaned and/or with a foul odor
- Animals with tusks, horns or hooves
CONCLUSION
I think this is great news. Delta is right to tackle the abuse, even if it is really doing it primarily for revenue reasons and not safety…
> Read More: Debate: The Abuse of “Emotional Support” Animals
It’s about time. The entire ESA concept is bogus. If someone is so emotionally fragile that they need a pet to keep them off the edge, then they should not be flying at all. How would such an emotionally fragile person react in an emergency? Time to end this nonsense completely, but this a good start.
My dog isn’t luggage!
I think the issue here is those who are abusing the system which leads to passenger discomfort. I would also love to travel with my pets. Sadly, I realise that cant happen, so I have found a nice boarding for them when I travel.
Yes it is. Your dog isn’t a person. It is cargo.
Then pay for a seat for your dog, and keep it restrained.
Really? You almost make me wish something like that upon you—a total and absolute emotional instability. Perhaps than you will understand gravity and insensitivity of your comment. If you think the solution for people with emotional illness is to stay home and ostracize themselves from the rest of the society because somebody might be bothered with how they will react in an mergency, than you should check to see if all your faculties are in place ranging from mental, emotional to what he he’ll happened to your humanity?! And if you think that you wouldn’t panic in a case the plane starts dropping from the sky, then you also might be intellectually challenged. When I think of it, maybe you should get yourself checked out and get yourself an emotional support animal because your coldness makes me think that you are emotionally unhealthy. Your ability to feel compassion seems to be lacking, and having an animal companion might be helpful.
May you be blessed and may your heart open so your head doesn’t have to crack.
Very well put Maya. Some people do get very nervous and scared on planes and an emotional support animal can absolutely help keep that anxiety in check. It’s not a 100% cure from my experience, but it will help the person not have a total meltdown while in the air.
But that’s not the point. Someone who is emotionally challenged with get as much comfort from a teddy bear – which is not going to snap, crap or yap throughout the flight, thereby inconveniencing other passengers. You don’t seem to have much compassion for people who have been bitten by ’emotional support animals’ – glorified pets, in other words – or who have had to suffer dog pee or faeces mid-flight. You don’t seem to have much compassion either for people who dislike dogs (often for a good reason, such as having been mauled in the past) and who find themselves sitting next to one, people who are allergic to dogs and people who are scared of them. (And before you sneer at people who are scared of dogs, remember that many dog owners are scared of spiders, blood, heights, you-name-it.) When I board a plane I don’t want a dog next to me and I don’t want my feet an inch or two from a pee-pad. In my view Delta have not gone far enough. I would like to see a total ban on ’emotional support animals’ and a separate area for service dogs.
Great news. As an asthmatic, I really detest these people thinking pets usurp the rights of people on an enclosed tube in the sky. Kick them all off – store them in the hold if they really need to travel.
I wish people like yourselves would be kicked off…I would much rather sit by a dog, or car than body odor, crying babies, and shitty people. I have 30,000 flying miles and animals have never been my problem. People, miserable people who think they are first class…it’s public transportation get over it! You can have Delta and their miserable flyers!
LOL, so much experience with your 30K miles….
Definitely will enjoy my time on Delta. Have fun on your next trip, I’m sure its booked using Spirit
30k Miles. LOL.
Wow. 30,000 whole miles. Unless that’s this year, you’re an amateur and most likely part of the problem that those of us who travel often have to deal with. That said, I’ll make you a deal. You can bring your dumbass dog on board if you agree to lie on your back and let me stand on your chest during the flight (which is what an asthma attack feels like).
Cheryl, I am person who is highly allergic to stupidity, I hope Karma finds you and you get life treating allergy to pets. Nobody is choosing to be allergic. It is serious health issue and it has nothing to do with attitude, lifestyle or personal choice.
Uh this administration is only 1 year old this problem is several years old. Luckily those that attempt to skirt the pet fees usually don’t have the capability of sitting in F
The temperament certificate will help. I don’t think it will be so easy to get one if your dog is truly a menace or unstable/unpredictable in public situations. Any doctor signing that document has made a legal statement. If the dog does end up hurting someone they would be drawn into the almost certain resulting lawsuit. It’s just not worth the hassle or risk.
Bravo to Delta. I’m sure the other major US carriers will follow suit.
Of course all this wouldn’t be necessary if Delta and the others didn’t ask for exorbitant fees to bring a pet in a carrier into the cabin. $100/$125 each way for something that has to fit under your seat is ridiculous. If it were half that people wouldn’t search out internet scams to circumvent the fees. Airline greed has caused the situation as much as loosely worded laws.
Agree! Not to mention your pet, even though you Pay those outrageous fees, is considered your carry on.
Hello; As a blind person with many friends who depend upon well trained guide dogs to travel with dignity, confidence, and safety; I really don’t have a problem with most of this regulation. Properly trained guide dogs are not going to use the bathroom, bark, or otherwise misbehave. But the requirement of having to bring this document to the air port 48 hours in advance will create a hardship for many who live in cities where transportation to the airlines requires taking a taxi or uber. If they were to moderate and allow for the faxing or email of a photo copy of the required document I would be totally on their side on this one. How do I communicate this to Delta before they cause a problem with the guide dog using community? Thanks, Max
Hi Max. Thanks for writing. You’ll be able to email the documentation to Delta.
And what are people who are flying on a moment’s notice supposed to do? Say, booking a flight the night before leaving? Because maybe someone in their family died or was in a horrible accident and they need to get on the next flight? Or they’ve just made a spontaneous last minute decision to do somewhere?
Any airline can just make this so easy on themselves if they demand MEDICAL documents that say the person has “emotional” issues. As well, they should also require vet documents not older than one year that the animal is vaccinated. As far as behavior, yes, that too (from what source confirming the animal is well behaved would be from where?). Start requiring DOCUMENTATION instead of a “verbal” confirmation from the passenger. They’ve scammed and gamed it long enough.
Tat kind of documentation is forbidden by law… for a reason.
Actually, that medical documentation is *already* part of the law for both emotional support animals and psychiatric service animals. If the airlines are not requiring it to be shown, that is on them.
That still won’t solve this problem.
The problem is that the ACAA does not restrict the kind of animal that can fly as an ESA, although it adheres to the ADA definition of “service dogs” for those. This is exactly the sort of problem that instigated a narrowing of the definition of “service animal” to be only dogs (and in some cases, miniature horses), rather than allowing any animal.
I hope they also restrict the unruly children and adults ive sat in front of kicking and whining children no im not insensitive to children but i have raised them to respect others and behave
It’s about time! Not sure if this is enough to stop the madness but it’s a good start!
Oh give me a break, they did this themselves. So just charge for emotional support animals and yes vaccines should be verified. But for the rest of you miserable flyers …I would much rather sit by a dog than your body odor , your crying children, your miserable attitudes! It’s public transportation not your private plane! If you’re so miserable sit in first class!! Or hey go buy your own plane and then you can dictate your rules….but hey Delta I’m going to fly with the dogs ….peace out!
I dont think its what you would rather do nor not do. The sad fact is that this system is being abused by those who havent bothered to train their pets and then claim they are emotional support animals. I remember seeing a duck as an ESA on a flight. And the little swine took a dump everywhere.
As a responsible pet owner, its quite sad to see all pets get tarred with the same brush due to the irresponsible actions of a few.
Only problem with this is that they are asking for documentation which is clearly prohibited and an undue burden to legitimate service dog handlers at least it is under the ADA however airlines do not follow the ADA since their version of the ADA is the ACAA and believe me this very point will go through the legal ringer.
Deltas policy for advanced documentation is not specified, at this point they literally can ask for whatever conjured documents they want which is very unrealistic.
How do you think a guide dog handler is going to say this will be easy to submit to airlines?
Or someone who has trained their own legitimate service dog, these people with disabilities are going to need to provide a significant amount of documentation so again where is the reasonability in this?
What about a person who is required to travel at the last minute? It won’t be long until this falls apart fast!
I hope the DOJ makes delta come to its knees, I like the approach but they went too far.
But we’re talking about ESA (emotional support animals), not service dogs for the blind or disabled. Two different things.
Not all disabilities are externally presenting, and legally, I don’t have to disclose what my disability is to anyone, nor “prove” what my service animal can or is “supposed” to do. SM is right, Delta went way too far with this… it is just a matter of time before someone with a legitimate service animal is denied boarding because someone doesn’t believe they are disabled enough to warrant a service animal. That will be a VERY expensive lawsuit for Delta.
I hope federal law will one day change to explicitly allow airlines to require such documentation in all circumstances. Too many people abuse the system. The pendulum needs to swing back.
The ADA allows the following questions. I am not sure how this applys to the ACAA law. “A. In situations where it is not obvious that the dog is a service animal, staff may ask only two specific questions: (1) is the dog a service animal required because of a disability? and (2) what work or task has the dog been trained to perform?” Emotional Support Animals are not covered under the ADA so the ACCA must be more inclusive.
We have a tour company in Atlanta and if the answer to those questions are no, the ADA does not recognize them as service animals and an emotional support animal is a pet according to the ADA. Service animal-wise only dogs and miniature horses are recognized. Still waiting for the day someone wants to bring a service horse on our bus :). We do have an obligation to accommodate them on another tour, but honestly we have just had too many issues with ESAs and they became a liability.
Wrong joe you do have to tell them what the dog is trained for those are the only two questions you have to answer you can look up the laws online Google it yourself you don’t have to disclose what your disability is but you do have to say that the dog is a trained service dog and what is the task he is trained to perform. And if you do have a real service dog I am surprised you don’t know this because they make you learn this your first year to avoid issues like this. Know your laws inside and out or you’re going to face trouble and then make the rest of us have more problems than we already do.
If they are requiring documentation such as vaccination status and friendliness for *all* animals flying, then yes, they certainly *can* require it. They just can’t make people with SDs and ESAs *alone* provide documentation like that.
But since all animals are subject to vaccination laws, technically, anyone could be asked at any point to prove that their animal’s shots are up to date, including an animal control officer strolling through the local dog park.
They should make little brats ride in the cargo hold, too. Especially crying babies. Worse than any animal.
As someone who works on airplanes, the ESA part is out of control, and I can only applaud delta’s attempts to rein this in, but I don’t think it’s the real answer to the problem. I’ve seen many types of “emotional support animals”, too large to fit comfortabley in the area by a passenger’s legs, people who have had severe allergic reactions due to animal hair in the area from a previous flight ( no, cleaners CAN’T vacuum it all up), and feces and urine from the poor animals who can’t hold it. I’ve seen alot of dog and cat butts on the seats, not even on a blanket. I’ve seen them on tray tables. I’ve seen them run up aisles. Most of you protesters know that this is a ruse to get pets on board, Airlines should make traveling with pets less expensive, or free if they have no other carry on luggage. Then this problem ( and it IS a problem) would go away. True documented service animals are wonderful, and are well behaved and well trained, and are always welcome.
It’s about time we need to do some thing about these dogs and cats.thay have to be sizeed also… there should be charge for it also …
I am not surprised by these comments. I fly 200 days a year for work. Due to a head trauma that’s caused several issues I started traveling with a trained ESA dog after trying and failing several medications. My doctor was actually the one who suggested it and ultimately gave me the documentation. I find the comment regarding people who suffer from emotional issues as weak and fragil and “they shouldn’t fly” to be as wrong as saying gay, lesbian or Muslims shouldn’t fly. It is this type of bullying that defines us as Americans more and more. For the record, I have a hypoallergenic Breed who is well trained. She even poops and urinates on command and won’t go anywhere accept outside. All said, I have no issues with the regulations and already carry the required documentation. Everyday people in the airport stop and ask to pet her. Kids hug her and she behaves with manners and dignity. Better than many humans I see behaving horribly in airports. I hope not to have to travel with her someday. It’s not easy and as much as I love her I would prefer to travel like everyone else. Lastly, in respect to other passengers, I always buy a first class st to give her, myself and the other passenger next to me more room. I have never had n issue in 2 years.
I am an internal medicine physician with 20 years experience in the field. I’m tired of patients who never seek counseling or medication suddenly pop up needing paperwork for their emotional support animal. These animals have never went through formal training and seem more to circumvent travel or housing requirements. I have stopped signing for them unless I have at least 1 year or more documentation of a psychological issue requiring an ESA.
A service dog and emotional support animal are completely different things my service dog is for medical alert and has been trained to do so and by federal law these documents that disclose private patient information is actually against the Americans with Disabilities Act and also patient confidentiality laws emotional support animals are not the same and are not protected by the same law they do not have the same rights as a service animal that has been trained to perform a service to someone. So that being said if that animal is a service animal not an emotional support animal and is trained to actually provide a task that is life-saving to a person a service dog is a piece of medical equipment or life-saving equipment so Delta service animals and people who need them to live are not required by federal law to provide personal disability information however showing that the dog is vaccinated it’s fine but you guys need to understand the huge difference between an actual trained service animal… and somebody claiming they need an emotional support animal for their sanity sorry but their life doesn’t depend on it and some of these things you’re asking for actually violate the law the federal law when it comes to actual service dogs or animals emotional support animals do not qualify for this exemption so you can ask for whatever the hell you want but for people like me whose lives depend on these animals you do not have the right to flip our world upside down and make travel even harder when we already have a bunch of fakes out there and we have to fight just to make it through everyday alive… so I think you need to have your lawyers your corporate lawyers actually look into federal law first because you’re going to come across some violations that you’re making because nobody federally has to disclose what their disability is to you for a true service animal. And if people actually have a real service animal they will know their laws quite well so you need to make the distinction and separation between emotional support animals which are not depended on for life because service animals are not even seen as animals they are seen as life-saving equipment and you’re going to face some lawsuits by actual people who depend on these animals to live
Curious about the tusk prohibition. Animals with tusks are warthogs, elephants, narwhals, hippos and walruses. None of which tend to fly on planes as support animals.