No more emotional support animals allowed on Alaska Airlines flights
Starting in January 2021, emotional support animals (ESAs) will no longer be allowed to fly on Alaska Airlines, after recent changes to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) rules. Among the changes made by the DOT, it seems that airlines are now allowed to treat ESAs as regular pets, and not service animals.
Over the years, there have been more and more complaints of people abusing the idea of what an emotional support animal is. From faking documents and snagging gear to pass their animals off as being registered ESAs, to actually abusing the system in order to bring their pets with them wherever they are going, people have been taking advantage of a system that was originally designed to help people who needed it most.
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And now companies, and the government, are cracking down. In fact, according to People Magazine, Alaska Airlines is actually the first airline to officially adopt the new guidelines from the DOT that allows them to treat ESAs as regular pets.
Alaska Airlines bans ESAs from all flights starting on Jan. 11
According to the director of customer advocacy at Alaska Airlines, Ray Prentice:
"Earlier this month the DOT said it will no longer require airlines to make the same accommodations for emotional support animals as is required for trained service dogs. Changes to the DOT rules came after feedback from the airline industry and disability community regarding numerous instances of emotional support animal misbehavior which caused injuries, health hazards, and damage to aircraft cabins. This regulatory change is welcome news, as it will help us reduce disturbances on board, while continuing to accommodate our guests traveling with qualified service animals."
While the ban on ESAs traveling with Alaska Airlines officially goes into effect on Jan. 11, if your reservation was booked prior to that date, they will follow their previous policy until Feb. 28. This means that if you are flying with your emotional support animal on Alaska Airlines before the end of February, you will be able to take them with you.
Even as Alaska Airlines is banning ESAs on their flights, they are doing their part to make it easier for people flying with their trained service pets, their psychiatric service dogs, and any dogs that have been trained specifically to support those with physical health issues. Of course, if you are flying with a trained service animal, you will be required to fill out a DOT form that helps the airline to verify the legitimacy of your animals training.
Moving forward, it will be interesting to see how many other airlines adopt stricter rules when it comes to allowing service animals and ESAs on their flights. We are also interested in seeing how people with legitimate emotional support animals react to this news.
What do you think of this policy change from Alaska Airlines? Do you think this is good news or bad news? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below.