Even Good Dogs Can End Up on a No-Fly List
True or false: There’s a no-fly list for dogs and your pet might be on it. Travelers like Megan Moskowitz say it absolutely exists. When Moskowitz tried to fly with her dog, an English cocker spaniel named Maci, to visit family in Indiana, she says United Airlines agents at Newark Liberty International Airport wouldn’t let Maci on the plane.
She says the agents took photos of Maci and informed her that Maci was permanently banned from traveling with the airline. United declined to comment beyond pointing to the section of its website that details its policies on flying with pets. The Transportation Department granted airlines more leeway in 2021 to keep pets off planes if they aren’t service animals.
Pet owners have tangled with airlines in recent years as carriers have cracked down on people traveling with animals. Airlines said more people traveling with pets led to an uptick in incidents involving these animals, including bites, urination and defecation. They also received complaints from some passengers, including those with allergies, about the animals.
Dog owners say United Airlines has developed the strictest reputation for its policy of banning furry companions judged not to fit comfortably in a kennel, even if they behave well in the air. Moskowitz had chosen Maci because she wanted a small dog she could bring on trips. Her first flight with Maci in November went off without a hitch.
But since the Newark incident, Moskowitz, an advertising professional in New York City, has hesitated trying flying with Maci again. “It seems like such a gamble," she says. Teddy makes the list Gabriela Garcia-Orth says she never used to encounter any difficulty flying with her 8-year-old Pomeranian, Teddy.
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