United Airlines Announces Changes to Emotional Support Animal Policies

Man walking his dog at Houston Intercontinental Airport (photo courtesy iStock Editorial / Getty Images Plus martince2)

United Airlines recently announced changes to its emotional support animal policies that will go into effect January 7.

According to CNBC.com, United will no longer allow emotional support kittens and puppies under four months of age on any of its planes and all emotional support animals will be banned on flights longer than eight hours.

While the airline said it would honor reservations made by January 3 with the old rules, the new regulations will only permit dogs, cats and miniature horses as service animals. The decision comes as United continues to minimize biting incidents and soiled cabins.

“We have seen increases in onboard incidents on longer flights involving these animals, many of which are unaccustomed to spending an extended amount of time in the cabin of an aircraft,” United said in a statement.

The Chicago-based airline is following the lead of Delta Air Lines, which banned younger emotional support animals in December and no longer allows any animals on flights scheduled to last longer than eight hours.

The changes were also influenced by the animal vaccination policy of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the principles outlined in the United States Department of Transportation’s Air Carrier Access Act.

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How American Airlines is Accommodating Nut Allergies

Starting December 12, 2018, American Airlines will allow passengers with peanut or tree-nut allergies to board their flights early to wipe down the area around their seat to avoid any possible exposure to allergens. American doesn’t serve peanuts on their flights, but they cannot guarantee that passengers will not bring nuts with them, causing the potential risk of exposure.

The change was sparked after a woman whose son has a serious peanut allergy and Food Allergy Research & Education filed complaints with American over the issue, according to an article published by Bloomberg.

American isn’t the first airline to make this change. Delta Airlines, who does serve peanuts on their flights, also makes special accommodations for passengers with nut allergies. Passengers with allergies can notify the flight staff and they won’t serve peanuts or peanut products during the flight. In addition, the gate agent will let those passengers board early to clean their seat area. An important thing to remember for both airlines is that passengers must bring their own cleaning supplies.