NOT COMFORTING

U.S. Seeks to Impose Restrictions on Flying Privileges for Service Animals

Under the new proposal, a service animal would narrowly be defined as a trained dog, excluding all other animals.

Airlines might soon be able to turn away all animals except for dogs that passengers try to bring on flights as service animals under new rules proposed by the U.S. Department of Transportation on Wednesday. The department said it “wants to ensure that individuals with disabilities can continue using their service animals while also reducing the likelihood that passengers wishing to travel with their pets on aircraft will be able to falsely claim their pets are service animals.” U.S. airlines have reportedly been imposing restrictions on emotional support animals in recent years due to a dramatic increase in problems with animals in the cabin. Under the new proposal, which the public will have 60 days to comment on before it is finalized, airlines would not be required to treat emotional support animals differently than a household pet. It would narrowly define a service animal as a dog “individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of a person with a disability.”