Delta Sets New Rules for Service and Support Animals

Author: Delta Air Lines
Published: 20 Jan 2018 - Updated: 1 Sep 2026
Publication Type: Announcement

Table of Contents:
Synopsis - Definition - Overview - FAQs - Insights, Updates - Related Content

Synopsis

This information explains the advance documentation requirements Delta Air Lines put in place on March 1, 2018 for customers flying with service or support animals. The airline, which carries roughly 700 such animals daily and nearly 250,000 each year, reported an 84 percent rise in animal incidents since 2016, including biting, aggression, and a widely reported attack by a 70-pound dog, prompting the change. It affects passengers who rely on trained service animals, emotional support animals, or psychiatric service animals, along with Delta employees and other travelers who share the cabin. Under the rules, all customers must submit a signed Veterinary Health Form or immunization record at least 48 hours before departure, while those with emotional support or psychiatric service animals must also provide a doctor's or licensed mental health professional's letter and a signed Confirmation of Animal Training form. Developed with input from Delta's 15-member Advisory Board on Disability, the policy is meant to protect the rights of people with legitimate needs, such as disabled veterans, while reducing the risk that untrained pets pose to working animals and the passengers who depend on them, making it a useful reference for travelers with disabilities and seniors planning air travel with an assistance animal.*

At a Glance

• 1 - Delta provides in-cabin travel for service and support animals at no charge. This complies with the Air Carrier Access Act.
• 2 - Passengers have tried to board with comfort turkeys, sugar gliders, snakes, and spiders. Delta does not accept exotic or unusual animals.
• 3 - A new Service Animal Support Desk verifies each customer's paperwork before they reach the airport. Staff email travelers directly when a form is missing or incomplete.
• 4 - Federal regulation § 382.117 lets a service animal sit at any seat with its handler unless it blocks an evacuation aisle. Airlines may still bar an animal that poses a direct threat to others or significantly disrupts cabin service.

Topic Definition

Service and Support Animals

Service and support animals are animals that assist people with disabilities, and under U.S. air travel rules they fall into a few distinct categories with different requirements. A trained service animal performs specific tasks for a person with a disability, such as guiding someone who is blind or alerting a handler to a medical event, and federal law grants it broad access to the aircraft cabin. An emotional support animal provides comfort through its presence and, unlike a task-trained service animal, has historically required a letter from a doctor or licensed mental health professional to travel in the cabin. A psychiatric service animal is trained to help manage a mental health condition and typically sits between these two groups in how it is documented. Because the Air Carrier Access Act obligates airlines to accommodate qualified animals while also keeping the cabin safe, carriers like Delta ask for advance proof of health, vaccination, and, in some cases, training and behavior before a flight.

Overview

Delta Introduces Enhanced Requirements for Customers Traveling with Service or Support Animals

Delta Air Lines is taking steps to further protect its customers, employees and service and support animals by implementing advance documentation requirements for those animals. This comes as a result of a lack of regulation that has led to serious safety risks involving untrained animals in flight. The new requirements support Delta's top priority of ensuring safety for its customers, employees and trained service and support animals, while supporting the rights of customers with legitimate needs, such as disabled veterans, to travel with trained animals.

Delta carries approximately 700 service or support animals daily - nearly 250,000 annually. Putting this into perspective, Delta carries more than 180 million passengers annually. Customers have attempted to fly with comfort turkeys, gliding possums known as sugar gliders, snakes, spiders and more. Ignoring the true intent of existing rules governing the transport of service and support animals can be a disservice to customers who have real and documented needs. Delta has seen an 84 percent increase in reported animal incidents since 2016, including urination/defecation, biting and even a widely reported attack by a 70-pound dog. In 2017, Delta employees reported increased acts of aggression (barking, growling, lunging and biting) from service and support animals, behavior not typically seen in these animals when properly trained and working.

New Procedures and Updated Requirements

In compliance with the Air Carrier Access Act, Delta provides in-cabin travel for service and support animals without charge. The guidelines, effective March 1, require that all customers traveling with a service or support animal show proof of health or vaccinations 48 hours in advance. In addition to the current requirement of a letter prepared and signed by a doctor or licensed mental health professional, those with psychiatric service animals and emotional support animals will also need to provide a signed document confirming that their animal can behave to prevent untrained, sometimes aggressive household pets from traveling without a kennel in the cabin. These measures are intended to help ensure that those customers traveling with a trained service or support animal will no longer be at risk of untrained pets attacking their working animal, as has previously been reported.

"The rise in serious incidents involving animals in flight leads us to believe that the lack of regulation in both health and training screening for these animals is creating unsafe conditions across U.S. air travel," said John Laughter, Delta's Senior Vice President - Corporate Safety, Security and Compliance. "As a leader in safety, we worked with our Advisory Board on Disability to find a solution that supports those customers with a legitimate need for these animals, while prioritizing a safe and consistent travel experience."

In developing the updated requirements, Delta solicited the feedback and input of its 15-member Advisory Board on Disability, a group of disability advocates established more than a decade ago and composed of diverse Delta frequent flyers with a range of disabilities.

Air Carrier Access Act

As the Title 14 Code of Federal Aviation Regulations § 382.117 dictates:

"You must permit the service animal to accompany the passenger with a disability at any seat in which the passenger sits, unless the animal obstructs an aisle or other area that must remain unobstructed to facilitate an emergency evacuation."

However, untrained animals that have been misidentified as service and support animals are regularly reported to occupy seats, stretch across the aisles and move throughout the cabin during flight, often without restriction. That same regulation also requires that airlines determine whether any factors preclude travel in the cabin by a service animal. Such factors include:

"Whether the animal would pose a direct threat to the health or safety of others" and "whether it would cause a significant disruption of cabin service."

"We are committed to consistently improving our policies, prioritizing the safety of all Delta customers and employees," said Laughter. "We have received extensive customer feedback through calls, emails and social posts - many from among those within the disability community - urging Delta to take action. This new policy is our first step in better protecting those who fly with Delta with a more thoughtful screening process."

What Customers with Service and Support Animals Need To Know

Any customer traveling with a service or support animal on/after March 1 will need to meet the new requirements as outlined below:

Traveling with a trained service animal

• Customers traveling with a trained service animal will be required to submit a signed Veterinary Health Form and/or an immunization record (current within one year of the travel date) for their animal to Delta's Service Animal Support Desk via Delta at least 48 hours in advance of travel.

Traveling with an emotional support animal or psychiatric service animal

• Customers traveling with an emotional support animal or psychiatric service animal will be required to submit a signed Veterinary Health Form and/or an immunization record (current within one year of the travel date), an Emotional Support/Psychiatric Service Animal Request form which requires a letter prepared and signed by a doctor or licensed mental health professional, and a signed Confirmation of Animal Training form to Delta's Service Animal Support Desk via Delta at least 48 hours in advance of travel.

Delta is creating a Service Animal Support Desk for customers traveling with service and support animals to improve their travel experience and ensure they receive excellent customer service. This desk will verify that the above documentation is received and confirm the customer's reservation to travel with the animal, prior to arrival at the airport. If a form is not completed, a representative will communicate with the customer via e-mail to request the missing or incomplete items.

Delta does not accept exotic or unusual service or support animals. Additional information on types of accepted animals and other questions related to traveling with service and support animals is available here.

Frequently Asked Questions

NOTE: Researched FAQs by Disabled World (DW)

Does Delta charge a fee to bring a service or support animal in the cabin

No, Delta provides in-cabin travel for trained service and support animals at no charge in compliance with the Air Carrier Access Act.

How far in advance must documentation be submitted to Delta

All required forms must reach Delta's Service Animal Support Desk at least 48 hours before the scheduled departure time.

What happens if a required form is incomplete before travel

A Delta representative will contact the customer by email to request the missing or incomplete items before arrival at the airport.

Are emotional support animals held to the same requirements as trained service animals

No, emotional support and psychiatric service animals must also provide a mental health professional letter and a signed animal training confirmation form.

What kinds of animals will Delta not accept as service or support animals

Delta does not accept exotic or unusual animals, and travelers have previously attempted to board with turkeys, sugar gliders, snakes, and spiders.

Can an airline ever deny a service animal in the cabin

Yes, an airline may deny an animal that poses a direct threat to the health or safety of others or significantly disrupts cabin service.

How many service or support animals does Delta transport each year

Delta carries roughly 700 service or support animals each day, which adds up to nearly 250,000 animals annually.

Who helped Delta develop these updated animal travel requirements

Delta worked with its 15-member Advisory Board on Disability, a group of disability advocates and frequent flyers with a range of disabilities.

Insights, Analysis, and Developments

Editorial Note: The move placed Delta among the first major U.S. carriers to tighten screening for assistance animals, and it framed the change as a first step rather than a finished policy, citing extensive feedback from callers, emailers, and social media users, many from within the disability community itself. Senior Vice President John Laughter tied the decision to a gap in health and training oversight that he argued was creating unsafe conditions across domestic air travel, a concern backed by 2017 reports of barking, growling, lunging, and biting behavior rarely seen in properly trained working animals. For travelers who depend on a legitimate service animal, the practical takeaway is timing, since the required Veterinary Health Form, immunization records, and any training or mental health documentation must reach the Service Animal Support Desk a full 48 hours ahead of departure or risk delaying the reservation.*

Attribution/Source(s): This quality-reviewed publication was selected for publishing by the editors of Disabled World (DW) due to its relevance to the disability community. Originally authored by Delta Air Lines and published on 20 Jan 2018, this content may have been edited for style, clarity, or brevity.

* Editorial additions by Ian C. Langtree.