Southwest Emotional Support Animal: Everything You Need to Know about Flying

No, effective March 2021, Southwest emotional support animal flying is not an option. 

Service animals are covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), but emotional support animals are no longer protected under the law. This means the new rules the Department of Transportation (DOT) set do not legally require airlines to permit ESAs on board their planes, but trained service animals are still required to be allowed.

Since it is now up to the companies to determine whether or not it allows ESAs, Southwest Airlines has decided to restrict them. So, Southwest is not one of the emotional support animal airlines.

Yes, Southwest Airlines has banned emotional support animals in the cabin. New regulations put in place by the U.S. Department of Transportation have made it, so ESAs are not recognized as trained service dogs.

Southwest cites an incident where an American Airlines flight attendant was bitten as being the reason it became the last of the “big four” airlines to ban emotional support animals.

This was shortly following decisions made by American Airlines, United Airlines, and Delta Airlines to update their pet policies to ban ESAs on their flights.

In fact, all major US airlines updated their emotional support animal policies to ban ESAs, including Jetblue, Alaska Airlines, and Frontier.

Let’s take a closer look at the Southwest emotional support animal and pets policy.

Pets in the Southwest Plane Cabin. Pets like cats and small dogs are allowed in the cabins of aircraft, but reservations must be made ahead of time, and the animal must be confined to a pet carrier that will fit under the customer’s seat for the duration of the flight.

This requires a small carrier no larger than 18.5” long x 8.5” high x 13.5” wide. The carrier can contain no more than two of the same species of cat or dog per pet carrier, and flights are allowed up to six pet carriers per flight, and each carrier is considered a carry-on.

The exception to this is that trained service animals are allowed in the cabin with the proper documentation to prove they are trained service animals. Trained service animals also do not count toward the total number of pets a person may bring on board as they are not considered pets. Pet fees for each carrier will cost $95.00 each way.

Pets in the Southwest Plane Cargo. As Southwest says on its site, “Under no circumstances will we accept pets in the cargo hold. Southwest Airlines only accept cats and dogs in-cabin.” This is most likely because going into the cargo bay can be damaging to an animal’s health.

These are the steps to take for Southwest emotional support animal and pet flying:

Southwest allows only cats and small dogs that are able to stand up and turn around in the carrier small enough to fit under their seats. However, in the past, due to the loose regulations of the ESA standards, there have been an array of animals such as ferrets and guinea pigs, and there was once even a peacock on board a Southwest Airlines flight.

The process of traveling with a service animal is similar to that of traveling with small dogs. A person will need to book reservations stating a service animal will be accompanying them, they will need to check in at the ticket counter and present the required documentation proving the animal is a trained service animal.

The personnel may ask questions regarding the work the service animal is trained to provide. Once on board, the animal is not to wander into the aisle or occupy a seat, and those with service animals are not to sit in an emergency exit.

DOT service animal air transportation forms are available online here. This form must be completed accurately and presented at the ticket counter or the gate when check-in.

Service animals must meet specific criteria. For example, per Southwest’s animal policies, service animals must be dogs and “must be harnessed, leashed, or otherwise tethered to the handler at all times. Animals must also be well-groomed, free from odors, etc., and trained to behave properly in a public setting and under the handler’s control at all times,” according to their FAQ page.

Here are the Southwest emotional support animal and pet fees: