DELTA

AIRLINES
ESA
POLICY
Table of Contents
• Emotional Support Animals and the Air Carrier
Access Act

• Animals That Are Permitted on Delta

-Pets
-Emotional Support Animals
-Service Animals

• Delta’s Pet Carrier Requirements!

-Dimensions and Sizes

• Pet Fees for Non Emotional Support Animals

• Pets vs. ESAs: Where Do They Go Once They’re

on the Plane?

• Don’t Forget Documentation! What to Have in

Hand When Flying
-Medical/Mental Health Professional Form
(Your ESA Letter)
-Confirmation of Animal Training (Behavior
Form)
-Veterinary Health Form
-Acknowledgement Form

• How to Prepare Your Pet/ESA for Traveling

• How to Contact Us
Emotional Support
Animals and the Air
Carrier Access Act:
What You Need to
Know
An emotional support animal (ESA) is
one that provides companionship to a
person who suffers from symptoms of an
emotional and/or mental disability such
as post-traumatic stress disorder, anxi-
ety, and more.

The most important law for ESA owners

to be familiar with before flying is the Air
Carrier Access Act. The ACAA protects
those with a disability from discrimina-
tion by commercial airlines. Airlines must
provide reasonable accommodation to
the disabled by allowing them to bring
their physical or emotional support an-
imal in the cabin of the aircraft free of
charge, even if the airline does not nor-
mally allow pets.

Airlines are becoming more restrictive as

to what type of animals are allowed in
the cabin of the aircraft and what pa-
perwork is required. Exotic animals or
dogs that are misbehaving are seen as
an “unreasonable accommodation” as
they can be a hazard to other passen-
gers on the flight.
Animals That Are
Permitted on Delta
Pets
Small dogs, cats, and household birds are allowed
to travel as a carry-on in the aircraft cabin. There
are age and size requirements for carry-on ani-
mal travel, so call/check with Delta ahead of time
to see if your pet can travel with you.

Emotional Support Animals

Delta fliers are allowed to travel with one emotion-
al support animal on flights less than eight hours.
Check with Delta for dog breed restrictions and
animal type restrictions (ex. ferrets, hedgehogs,
reptiles, etc.) to see if you can travel with your ESA
on Delta flights.

Service Animals
Emotional support and service animals must be
able to sit in the owner’s lap or in the space in front
of them, without exceeding the “footprint” of the
passenger’s seat and into the aisle. The American
with Disabilities Act (ADA) recognizes only dogs
and miniature horses as service animals.
Delta’s Pet Carrier
Requirements!
There is no one size of pet carrier allowed on a
Delta flight; however, there are pet carrier size re-
strictions.

Dimensions, Sizes, and Guidelines

For pets traveling in-cabin, the pet carrier does
need to be able to fit under the seat in front of
you. The carrier for in-cabin travel can also be soft
or hard-shelled, as long as it is solid enough that
your pet cannot escape.
The maximum size allowed however varies, and so
it is important for you to contact Delta directly to
find out the restrictions for your particular reser-
vations.

For Pets Traveling in the Cargo Hold

Kennels need to be spacious for animals—animals
head (ears included) must not touch the top of the
kennel. Animals need to be able to stand erect,
lie down, and turn around when in a kennel. The
kennel needs to have a solid top and needs to be
ventilated.
The kennel needs to have food and water dishes
(empty) and needs to contain towels, blankets, or
any absorbent material.

First Come, First Serve

Delta limits the number of animals allowed on each
flight. Pets are accepted on a first-come, first-serve
basis (4 allowed in the main cabin and 2 allowed
in domestic first class). It’s important to call Delta
in advance and let them know you would like to
bring your pet.

Pet Fees for Non Emotional Support Animals

There is no fee for traveling with your emotional
support animal. But the cost of traveling with a
pet in a cabin is as follows:
• $125 USD/CAD per pet to and from U.S, Canada,
and Puerto Rico
• $200 USD/CAD/EUR per pet to the Virgin Islands/
International
• $75 USD per pet to Brazil
Don’t Forget Docu-
mentation! What to
Have in Hand When
Flying
Delta requires ESA owners to fill out an
online form 48 hours prior to their flight.

Medical/Mental Health Professional

Form (Your ESA Letter)
Delta Airlines ESA policy requires you
to have an emotional support animal
signed form from your licensed men-
tal health professional. The ESA letter
needs to be valid for one year (from the
date of when it was first signed).

Confirmation of Animal Training (Be-

havior Form)
In order to make traveling comfortable
for all passengers, the Delta Airlines
ESA policy requires passengers travel-
ing with ESAs to confirm their emotion-
al support dog, cat, etc. will be able to
behave appropriately while in a public
situation.

Veterinary Health Form

Effective February 1st, 2019, animals in-
cluding emotional support animals will
not be allowed on flights longer than 8
hours. The Vet Health form must follow
in line with the other forms and be sub-
mitted 48 hours prior to the flight. It also
must be completed by a veterinary pro-
fessional. You can bring a copy of vac-
cination records instead of filling out the
form but must include all the informa-
tion.

Acknowledgement Form
With this form, you must acknowledge
you will be following the ESA policy.
CERTAPET’S
ESA
TRAVEL
LETTER
FACT SHEET
Pets vs. ESAs: Where Do
They Go Once They’re
on the Plane?
According to the Delta Airlines ESA policy and pet
policy, your support animal can join you in the air-
craft cabin. While in the aircraft cabin, your emo-
tional support animal should be seated either on
your lap or below your seat.

Pets, emotional support animals, and service ani-

mals are not allowed to block the aisles of the air-
craft, take up a passengers seat, or disrupt other
passengers.

How to Prepare Your

Pet/ESA for Traveling
Traveling with your ESA can be really fun and more
importantly, help your anxiety and keep you calm.
But, as a responsible ESA owner, you need to make
sure you do your part to keep your ESA well-trained
during the flight.

Teach Your Dog The Proper Behavior When in Pub-

lic and on the Airplane
Like all other airlines, Delta ESA policy has the right
to reject your emotional support animal should
they believe that your ESA has the potential to
cause harm to others, display aggressive behav-
ior, or irritate other passengers (barking dogs).
While they don’t require specific training, it is ad-
vised you train your ESA to “get-used-to” their sur-
roundings and be comfortable when in stressful
public situations. Make sure your emotional sup-
port animal knows the basic commands such as
sit, stay, and keep quiet!
Importantly, make sure your ESA (if a dog) knows
how to walk correctly on a leash.
They’re There For Your Comfort, Not Disturbance
An emotional support animal is there for your san-
ity! So, apart from very basic training, it’s quite cru-
cial that you make sure your ESA is not going to
cause you or others around you trouble.
Generally, bigger ESAs—like Great Danes, Dober-
mans, or other large breed dogs, may be quite
challenging to travel with due to their size so we
recommend you speak to Delta Airlines on how
they can adequately accommodate a large ESA.

How to Contact Us
You may reach out to us with any additional
questions at ask@certapet.com or (877) 207-0561.”