Dot Rules On Emotional Support Animals

The US Department of Transportation rule announced Wednesday states that carriers are not required to recognize emotional support animals as service animals and may treat them as pets.

Dot rules on emotional support animals. Under the new guidelines only dogs may be designated as service animals and owners must attest that they are specially trained to provide services to the passenger among other requirements. The US Department of Transportation published its final rule on Traveling by Air with Service Animals today bringing an end to the Emotional Support Animal ESA era. No longer considers an emotional support animal to be a service animal.

Allows airlines to require forms developed by DOT attesting to a service animals health behavior and training and if taking a long flight attesting that the service animal can either not relieve itself or can relieve itself in a sanitary manner. Requires airlines to treat psychiatric service animals the same as other service animals. The DOT has now opened a period for public comment regarding a new proposal that would lay the framework for airlines to ban emotional support animals.

Department of Transportation DOT Delta will no longer recognize emotional support animals as service animals beginning January 11 2021. This final rule removes 14 CFR 382117 and adds a new subpart Subpart EE on service animals. To no surprise many airlines are.

Airlines may also now limit service animals to two per passenger on any given flight. The new rule could prohibit animals other than dogs from flying. On December 2 2020 the Department of Transportation announced that it is revising rules around flying with Emotional Support Animals.

The big change is that DOT no longer considers emotional support animals to be service animals and has given airlines permission to stop giving those animals free rides. The United States Department of Transportation DOT has declared the finalized rules which will allow emotional support animals to be treated like ordinary pets by the airlines. We will honor reservations submitted and confirmed by Delta prior to January 11 2021 but will not accept new EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMAL reservations for upcoming travel.

New DOT Rules for Emotional Support Animals. Airlines may no longer be required to fly passengers emotional support animals according to new rules. No longer considers an emotional support animal to be a service animal.