Explicit Guide on Airline Approved Cabin Pet Carrier

Going on a flight, prepare to leave your pet alone for several hours. Therefore, take care of a comfortable yet pet travel carrier airline approved in advance.

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How to Select an Airline Approved Pet Carrier Size, Form, and Dimensions for a Safe Travel

If you’re one of those owners who cannot travel by plane without their pets, think about preparing your dog for the flight. You’ll need to prepare not only a ticket for your four-legged or feathered friend but also the animal’s vaccination. Be sure to prepare and make all necessary certificates and documents, and be sure to buy a pet carrier for a safe trip of your pet to make it airline approved.

How to Learn All the Rules?

Simply put, the first thing you need to do is to familiarize yourself with the airline approved rules of  transportation on the website of a particular airline company, since each carrier has its subtleties. It is not the most required topic on the website, so take time to find a section about airline approved dog crate on the site, but be sure to get straight to it. This information is essential to ensure your flight with a dog without any problems appeared at the last minute.

Although all rules for airline approved cabin pet carrier are quite similar for all airlines, some of them determine their specific conditions. You may find out that your airline categorically prohibits the transport of bulldogs, pugs and other dogs with a short and flattened face on their flights. Dogs of such breeds are especially sensitive to temperature extremes, and stress, but rarely airline approved.

Such rules were formed for safe transporting animals of various species (cats, dogs, birds, rabbits, turtles, and others) in an airplane for the safety of passengers and the animals themselves.

Can I Take My Dog to the Cabin?

The general rules restrict the transportation of any pets except for dogs, cats, and some birds in the cabin. Besides, small pet carrier airline approved max weight should not exceed 8 kg. Hence, the size may vary due to the rules of a particular airline. It’s usually established due to the size of the seats in the cabin of the plane. If the pet carrier exceeds 8 kg, your dog will be carried to the luggage compartment.

All rules for airline approved carriers are intended to ensure both the safety of passengers and animals during the flight. To clear things out, even if your dog is small enough to be airline approved and be taken into the salon, the specific requirements need to be followed for pet carriers except for guide animals.

Who Will Ride in the Luggage Compartment?

Large animals are sent to the luggage compartment. But even in this case, the weight limit for airline approved pet is 50 kg. You must also understand that even if your dog is small enough for the plane, some limitations may be applied due to the number of animals on board. So you can easily be denied that all quotas for pets have already been selected.

Standard Guidelines to Pick Pet Carrier Airline Approved Size

These airline approved rules have been amended several times, and later the unified rules were created by the International Air Transport Organization (IATA), and their implementation is mandatory. Despite the existence of such airline-approved regulations, each country has its laws, and airlines can introduce its own additional rules and restrictions. Such airline-approved restrictions usually include dogs’ size, weight, shape, or certain breeds and carrier types. 

That is why rules strictly regulate pet carrier airline and the material from which pet carriers are made. So, we will go directly to the airline approved requirements that apply to pet carriers used for transporting animals of various types in an airplane:

• Closed Pet Carriers Only

For the transportation of animals, closed pet carriers are used. The carrier must have a reliable, stable design that can withstand the additional load placed on top during shipping in the luggage compartment and not bend under pressure. That is why if you want to use a carrier with wheels, make sure that it is safe and stable, and the wheels can be hidden. Also, ask the seller if pet carrier on wheels airline approved.

• The Materials

The pet carrier may be plastic or wooden. Plastic should be non-toxic, and wood should not be chemically impregnated with toxic substances. The carrier should not have sharp corners inside, and all corners should be rounded for the safety of the animal. In this way, you’ll have a have soft pet carrier airline approved for a flight.

• Secure

The pet carrier must have a door that closes securely and excludes the possibility of it being accidentally opened from the outside or the inside. Pet carrier airline approved dimensions are selected according to the size of the animal. The animal in the pet carrier should be free to sit, sit, lie, and be able to turn around.

The dimensions of carriers for transporting animals in the cabin are limited. Airlines can set a different aspect ratio. Airline approved ratio usually depends on the size of the seats in the cabin, as pet carriers with animals are placed under chairs.

The pet carrier on the sides should have protruding hands that protect the walls in an impact and contribute to air ventilation (the possibility of blocking the ventilation holes with another load is excluded).

• Ventilation

Pet carriers, all without exception, must have ventilation holes with at least three different sides to be airline approved. The ventilation openings should be small and exclude the possibility of protruding the paws of the animal or other parts of the body. Otherwise, the ventilation openings must be covered with a mesh.

• Construction

All pet carriers must have handles (belts) for carrying, if necessary, removable wheels for transportation, for large pet carriers – stuffed bars for a forklift truck with a thickness of at least 5 cm.

• Labeling

The pet carrier must be labeled to be airline approved. A sticker is attached to each pet carrier, which indicates the type of approved animal. It must have a designation that there is a “live load” in the carrier. The labeling of the pet carrier must not block the ventilation openings to be airline approved.

• Sizes

The size of pet carriers approved for transporting animals of various species in the luggage compartment is strictly specified by the airline. The airline-approved height of the carrier is not less than the height of the animal, taking into account the height of the ears, the width of the pet carrier should be twice as wide as the animal, the length of the carrier is not less than the length of the animal plus half the height of its paws. It is this airline approved ratio that provides comfort to the animal during the flight.

General airline-approved requirements for the crate size and weight are the following:

Dog Size	Crate Size	Crate Weight
x-small(1lb-10lb)	12.6”H 13”W 19.7”D	4Lb
Small (10-20lb)	15.4”H 15.7”W 24”D	6.5Lb
Medium (20-30Lb)	18.5”H 20.1”W 26.6”D	9Lb
Large (30-50lb)	23”H 22”W 31.5”D	14Lb

 However, remember that the last word regarding the pet carrier’s suitability for approved transporting the animal remains with the airline staff. If they consider that your pet carrier is not reliable enough, safe to be approved, or if the pet carrier’s fitness for an animal is in doubt, they may refuse to transport the animal, and the crate will not be approved. That is why make sure that carrier is comfy not only to carry yourself but also you have airline approved rolling pet carrier.

Most airlines do not provide services for the sale of approved pet carriers for transportation; you will need to purchase them yourself. Choosing the appropriate carrier size for your pet, you will give him the most comfortable trip onboard the airline.