Many pet owners find it difficult to stay apart from their pets and prefer to take them along while going on trips within the country or across borders. Most airlines across the world require domestic pets like cats, dogs, small birds, etc. to be checked in with the baggage for domestic flights. There are several types of Animal Cages available on the market today that are suitable for short and long journeys. Since most airlines have space restrictions, they usually only one animal cage per travel. In case a passenger has more than one cage, they need to pre-book it and send it as cargo.
In order to prevent the illegal transportation of animals across borders, every airline is specific about following the IATA Live Animal Regulations. This is actually a list of regulations that is updated every year to include details about transporting animals. It includes details like packaging, acceptance, labelling, handing animals, stowage and so on. There are several provisions that have to be met to make sure that pets can be allowed on board the plane.
According to the above mentioned IATA Live Animals Regulations, only a maximum of two animals are allowed to travel in the same cage. However, the animals should not cross 14kg when weighed together. In case the animal weighs more than 14kg, they need to travel in their own cage. In case of animal babies, they can travel up to three in a container as longer as they are not older than six months and are from the same litter. In fact, experts recommend transporting animal babies in groups to offer them comfort while they travel to new places.
Every animal and cage is actually included in the checked baggage count. So make sure that you reduce the amount of luggage you are carrying to avoid playing excess charges for additional baggage. Most airlines across the globe also charge an extra fee foe special treatment of the pets being transported. This will make sure that they have additional space in the aircraft and get special attention from the airline staff as well.
Since space on an aircraft is always limited, travel agents recommend making sure that you arrive at least 60 minutes ahead of a domestic flight so that your pet will be accepted as checked in baggage without any problem. While offloading luggage, pets are often offloaded last, yet they are delivered only after all the baggage from the aircraft has been offloaded. Passengers who are travelling with their pets often to wait longer than the other passengers to get hold of their precious animals. In case you are planning on purchasing a new container for the air travel, make sure you get one which is made using wood or plastic. The ones made out of wire mesh are not suitable for air travel. The containers also need to be a specific size (length, width, breadth) so as to the offer the animal being transported enough space to move around with ease.