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Airlines will no longer be required to transport emotional support animals
Airlines no longer will be required to accommodate travelers who want to fly with emotional support animals such as pigs, rabbits and turkeys under a final rule announced Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Transportation. The new rule now defines a service animal to be a dog that is “individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of a person with a disability” and limits the number of service animals a person can travel with to two. It also requires airlines to treat… (www.msn.com) Más...Sort type: [Top] [Newest]
Finally common sense prevails! As a recently retired FA with 43 years of seniority, I can tell you this "thorny issue" impacted crewmembers on a daily basis.
This is awful! I was going to fly with my emotional support murder hornet nest next week!
My emotional support rhinoceros is not happy, either.
What the fuuuuuu.....
My point was that because there are NO established certification regulations to identify "Service" animals (now limited entirely to dogs and miniature horses by ADA definition) from "emotional support" animals, those of us who are tasked with screening abusers have no support or backup. We must take the word of the owner. While airlines apparently have their own set of standards, government agencies use ADA guidelines. We are seeing countless abuses of this lack of certification with "emotional support" animals being presented as "service" animals which is frustrating for us and angers those who respect and follow the rules.
We don't have to just "take the word of the owner". What needs to happen here is that since the airlines are bound by the ACAA - that supplements and at a point supersedes the ADA - the airlines can ask for the documentation I mentioned earlier at the time of booking the flight, if not at the time of check-in at the airport. If they can't provide that at that point, they don't get through security.
Passengers are t protected by HIPAA in this case, because HIPAA would come into play with accidental disclosure or theft of healthcare data. This would be the airlines requiring the passenger to give them that data to prove that they need the ESA onboard.
Once they have that, then they've fulfilled the ACAA requirement, have the paperwork to back up their claim at security, the ADA kicks in, and they are all good.
It is all about process here, and a lot of that is being overlooked due to naivety of the laws governing this.
Passengers are t protected by HIPAA in this case, because HIPAA would come into play with accidental disclosure or theft of healthcare data. This would be the airlines requiring the passenger to give them that data to prove that they need the ESA onboard.
Once they have that, then they've fulfilled the ACAA requirement, have the paperwork to back up their claim at security, the ADA kicks in, and they are all good.
It is all about process here, and a lot of that is being overlooked due to naivety of the laws governing this.
concur!