Delta Unveils New Rules On Flying With Your Pet Out Of Rochester

For those of you who have traveled by air over the past few years – is it just me or have you noticed a huge uptick in people flying with animals? During my last roundtrip vacation, I saw at least three animals at the airport. One lady had a small dog in a carrying case on my flight. I did not know you could do that.

I’m assuming that these pets were registered as “emotional-support animals.” If you’re not aware of this phenomenon, that’s when an owner gets permission to fly with their pet for mental or emotional health reasons. Unfortunately, this has also led to airlines receiving complaints about pets wandering through the airplane, biting passengers, or doing their business outside of the bathroom. Gross.

That’s why Delta Air just announced new rules for emotional support animals that go into effect March 1st. So if you plan on flying with your pet outside of Rochester, here’s what you need to do:

• Show Delta a letter signed by your doctor or licensed mental-health professional stating your need to fly with your pet
• A signed letter stating your pet is trained to behave without a kennel

According to Delta, they carry about 700 animals every day. It’s probably a good thing that they’re being proactive about this. Personally, I’d rather have my leg not be humped by someone else’s dog when I’m trying to watch a movie on my iPad. That’s definitely not the airplane-related club I want to join.

Source: USA Today