In the wake of several unfortunate animal-related incidents, United Airlines temporarily banned all pets from their flights while they reevaluated their PetSafe travel policies.
Yesterday the company released a list of 25 dog and cat breeds no longer approved for travel in the cargo hold starting June 18.
The decision came after a French Bulldog named Kokito suffocated in an overhead bin on a flight from Houston to New York in March. The very next day, United accidentally sent a dog to Japan that was supposed to be destined for Kansas. Later that same week, another dog was loaded into the cargo hold of the wrong plane, resulting in the aircraft being diverted.
As expected, the backlash was swift and harsh, with customers boycotting United and petitions calling for radical change to the pet safety policies of all major airlines.
Less than two months later, the company announced they will only fly cats and dogs going forward, no other household pets. Brachycephalic (snub-nosed) animals prone to heat or travel stress such as Pugs, French Bulldogs and exotic cat breeds will be banned from flying in their aircraft cargo holds, “out of concern for higher adverse health risks,” according to United.com.
“Strong-jawed” dogs such as American Pit Bull Terriers and several Mastiff breeds are also on the no-fly list.
Below are the 21 dog and four cat breeds banned from flying beneath the plane – a dramatic increase from the six breeds previously restricted by United:
Dog breeds
- Affenpinscher
- American Bully
- American Pit Bull Terrier/Pit Bull
- American Staffordshire Terrier/”Amstaff”
- Belgian Malinois
- Boston Terrier
- Boxer
- Brussels Griffon
- Bulldog
- American Bulldog
- English Bulldog
- French Bulldog
- Old English Bulldogges
- Shorty Bulldogs
- Spanish Alano/Spanish Bulldog/Alano Espanol
- Cavalier King Charles Spaniel
- Chow Chow
- English Toy Spaniel/Prince Charles Spaniel
- Japanese Chin/Japanese Spaniel
- Lhasa Apso
- Mastiff
- American Mastiff
- Boerboel/South African Mastiff
- Bullmastiff
- Ca de Bou/Mallorquin Mastiff
- Cane Corso/Italian Mastiff
- Dogo Argentino/Argentinian Mastiff
- Dogue de Bordeaux/French Mastiff
- English Mastiff
- Fila Brasileiro/Brazilian Mastiff/Cao de Fila
- Indian Mastiff/Alangu
- Kangal/Turkish Kangal
- Neapolitan Mastiff/Mastino Napoletano
- Pakastani Mastiff/Bully Kutta
- Pyrenean Mastiff
- Presa Canario/Perro de Presa Canario/Dogo Canario/Canary Mastiff
- Spanish Mastiff / Mastin Espanol
- Tibetan Mastiff
- Tosa/Tosa Ken/Tosa Inu/Japanese Mastiff/Japanese Tosa
- Pekingese
- Pug
- Dutch Pug
- Japanese Pug
- Shar-Pei/Chinese Shar-Pei
- Shih-Tzu
- Staffordshire Bull Terrier/”Staffys”
- Tibetan Spaniel
Cat breeds
- Burmese
- Exotic Shorthair
- Himalayan
- Persian
* Including mixed breeds
The airline also revealed a new partnership with American Humane, “to improve the well-being of all pets that travel on United.” According to a company spokesman, a decision on whether to implement restrictions for pets traveling in the cabin is pending further investigation.
To learn more about the improved PetSafe standards taking effect on June 18, click here.
H/T to People Pets
Featured Images via Facebook/United
