The federal government on Wednesday The service that gave permission on flights gave its final approval to a set of rules to reserve the designation of dogs and exempt airlines from including animals providing a variety of emotional support.
The changes, which drew more than 15,000 public comments, will take effect next month after the Department of Transportation proposed them earlier this year.
They have started a heated debate among airlines, advocates of people with disabilities who rely on service animals and passenger rights groups, and the number of passengers on flights has increased in recent years.
More recently, transport regulators have said that dogs, cats and miniature horses should be preferred as service animals by airlines. But passengers have tried to travel with monkeys, birds and rabbits, raised eyebrows at other passengers and tested the airlines policy.
Federal transport officials said Wednesday that disruptions caused by unusual species traveling on airlines “have eroded public confidence in legal service animals” and increasing cases of passengers “fraudulently presenting their pets as service animals.”
The new rules would require airlines to treat psychiatric service animals in the same way as other service animals. Owners of those serving animals must provide documents acknowledging the animal’s health, behavior, and training by the Department of Transportation.
Passengers traveling with service animals will no longer need to undergo a physical examination on the report instead of offline.
The new rules stopped banning emotionally supportive animals altogether, but supporters said airlines would no longer have to include nonservice animals in cabins.
Several airlines, including Delta and Southwest, said they were reviewing their policies on taking animals in flight. And some airlines allow passengers to take small pets into the cabin for a fee.
American lobbying group airlines, including U.S. No. All major carriers are included, welcoming these changes.
“The Department of Transportation’s final rule will protect traveling public and airline crew members from unattended animals in the cabin, as well as improve air travel for disabled passengers who travel with trained service dogs,” said Nicholas E., president of the group. Kalio, said in a statement on Wednesday.
Some advocates for people with disabilities said the new rules were too strict and did not take into account special needs passengers.
“There are a large number of people with intellectual and emotional disabilities who benefit from receiving such support on the trip,” Kurt Decker, executive director of the National Disability Rights Network, said in an interview Wednesday night.
Mr Decker said disabled passengers were being punished for misusing the system and the airlines had caused trouble by charging exorbitant fees for transporting pets in cargo holds.
“There is no one in the disability community who thinks a turkey is a service animal,” Mr Decker said.
Douglas Kidd, executive director of the for-profit organization, the National Association of Airline Passengers, said in an interview Wednesday night that the new rules have failed to provide enough space for animals to be served on planes. He said a high-profile series of animals that died while being sent on planes tried to get passengers to their pets.
“Animals are living things, and they’re not just goods,” he said. “If the airlines take good care of the animals in their custody, people are more likely to get on their ship.”
The Association of Flight Attendants, a trade union representing about 50,000 flight attendants in 20 airlines, said in a statement that the federal government’s guidance was much needed.
“Claiming pets as emotionally supportive animals has endangered the safety and health of passengers and crew in recent years,” union president Sarah Nelson said in a statement. “Flight attendants have been injured and safety has been compromised by animals scattered in the cabin.”
Mona Ramoni, 40, a resident of Michigan who is blind and relies heavily on her miniature horse Kali while flying, mourned the change in rules. She said her horse, which is 29 inches tall, weighs about 170 pounds and fits in the area in front of the bulkhead seats in the planes, was better trained than most service dogs and has a longer lifespan.
“So now I can’t go anywhere with my horse?” Ms. Ramoni said in an interview on Wednesday night. “It simply came to our notice then. This is not what I do because it is fun. It’s something I do because I want a semi-normal life. ”
