Ever dreamed of riding in a Venice gondola with your pet? Well, pet travel in Italy may have gotten much easier as Italy’s civil aviation authority, ENAC, has just approved a new resolution that allows the transporting of pets in the airplane cabin even beyond the current limit of 8-10 kg (depending on the airline).
So if you have a medium-sized or bigger dog, you may be able to fly into Italy with them.
The new rules, developed by the National Civil Aviation Authority, allow airlines to adopt dedicated procedures.
Your pet must be placed in approved carriers, which can also be placed on seats, without obstructing emergency exits or crew operations, ensuring their well-being. The containers must be secured with belts or specific anchoring systems.
However, before we all pack our suitcases and our pet’s bags, The Local.it and Pagella Politica have pointed out that the measure is not as revolutionary for pet travel as it may seem.
The publications report that the new resolution does not actually require airlines operating in Italy to increase their weight limit for pets, but merely gives them the option of doing so.
The publications also pointed out that that despite the removal of weight limits, ENAC states that animals must be placed in approved carriers, which can also be placed on seats, without obstructing emergency exits or crew operations, ensuring their well-being. The containers must be secured with belts or specific anchoring systems.
“The resolution makes it rather difficult, if not impossible, for medium or large-sized dogs to travel in the cabin, for which there are no carriers or containers available that can fit within the limits of an airplane seat (usually between 40 and 50 centimeters),” Pagella Poltica’s article states.
Ultimately airlines will still have their own rules for petss, including size limit and the limit of the number of pets that will be accepted in the cabin.
“ENAC confirms its ability, as the national civil aviation authority, also on the basis of a specific direction from the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Matteo Salvini , to open up to regulatory solutions that, in full compliance with flight safety, at the same time respond to new social needs, making it easier for a greater number of passengers to transport their pets by air,” President of ENAC, Pierluigi Di Palma said.
ENAC added that the measure makes air transport more pet-friendly.
The decision could be a move to more pet-friendly skies, especially as more of us continue to travel with our pets.
Could other countries follow suit? We hope so, because we believe the best travel companions are the four-legged kind.
