We’re able to carry an assistance dog free of charge in the cabin of all our flights. Here’s more information about how to plan and book your flight with your assistance dog.
What is an assistance dog
An assistance dog is one that has been trained to assist a person with a disability or medical condition and has been determined as being able to travel safely in the aircraft cabin. For your assistance dog to travel with you in the cabin on British Airways your assistance dog must:
- be individually trained in specific tasks to assist you with your disability or medical condition
- have documentary evidence confirming that it has been trained as an assistance dog
- wear an identifying jacket/harness, and
- remain under your control at all times
If your dog does not meet these criteria, or is an emotional support dog, it will need to travel as a domestic pet.
Booking your assistance dog
It’s currently not possible to book this service online as we need additional information to enable us to confirm your assistance dog for travel. You will need to book your assistance dog at the same time you book your flight and when possible at least three days prior to your date of travel.
If you’ve already booked your flight and you wish to travel with your assistance dog, you will need to contact us to add your assistance dog at least three days prior to your travel date.
Travelling to the UK
Due to entry regulations into the UK, you will need to ensure that you have contacted and received approval from the UK animal reception centre at least 72 hours before prior to your flight. Failure to comply with this requirement may mean we are unable to accept you for travel back to the UK.
Details of the UK Animal Reception Centres can be found below under preparing for your trip.
Travelling to or from the US
Customers travelling to or from the US must submit the U.S. DOT Service Animal Air Travel Form for validation prior to their flight attesting to the animal’s health, training and behaviour. In addition to this, customers should also submit a copy of their dogs proof of training certificate. The training certificate must match the details on the above U.S. DOT Service Animal Air Travel Form. For flights scheduled over 8 hours customers must also submit a DOT Relief Attestation Form attesting that the dog will not relieve itself in the aircraft or can do so in a sanitary manner.
To access both forms customers should contact our accessibility team using the contact details below.
Travelling on other airlines
If your flight is operated by one of our airline or franchise partners, they may have different processes so please contact them directly before you travel.
Contact details
- Speak to our accessibility team Monday – Saturday 09:00-17:00 (GMT) on 0800 408 1100.
- Send us a message by selecting the ‘Email us’ tab and fill out the form provided ensuring you select the ‘request to carry an assistance dog’ from the topic options.
- If you have a hearing or speech impairment, you can contact us at 0845 700 7706 (Minicom), or you can send us a message by selecting the ‘Email us’ tab and filling out the form provided.
