June 11, 2018
The U.S. Department of Transportation is seeking public comment on amending its Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) regulation on transportation of service animals. In the Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Traveling By Air with Service Animals the Department seeks comments on:
- treating psychiatric service animals similar to other service animals;
- distinguishing between emotional support animals and other service animals;
- requiring emotional support animals to travel in pet carriers for the duration of the flight;
- limiting the species of service animals and emotional support animals that airlines are required to transport;
- limiting the number of service animals/emotional support animals required to be transported per passenger;
- requiring service animal and emotional support animal users to confirm that their animal has been trained to behave in a public setting;
- requiring service animals and emotional support animals have a harness, leash, or other tether with narrow exceptions;
- limiting the size of emotional support animals or other service animals that travel in the cabin and the potential impact of such a limitation;
- prohibiting airlines from requiring a veterinary health form or immunization record from service animal users without an individualized assessment that the animal would pose a direct threat to the health or safety of others or would cause a significant disruption in the aircraft cabin; and
- no longer holding U.S. airlines responsible if a passenger traveling under the U.S. carrier’s code is only allowed to travel with a service dog on a flight operated by its foreign code share partner.
Comments can be submitted via Regulations.gov thru July 9, 2018.