British Airways Pet Policy: Flying With a Dog or Cat in 2026

Pets in the Cabin

British Airways does not allow pets (dogs/cats) in the cabin as of our last check. Not applicable for standard pets. N/A for standard pets - use IAG Cargo / PetAirUK for freight pet transport instead.

• British Airways does not carry ordinary pets as cabin or checked baggage; non-cabin pet transport is handled as freight via IAG Cargo (with PetAirUK specifically for pets departing the UK), separate from passenger ticketing.

Pets in the Hold

British Airways does not transport pets in the cargo hold. No passenger-checked-baggage pet service; routed to IAG Cargo/PetAirUK as freight instead.

Service Dogs

British Airways accepts trained service dogs in the cabin, free of charge. Documents typically needed: Proof of official training/accreditation; Identification documents sent to BA after booking. Emotional support animals (ESA) are not treated as service animals — since 2021, US DOT rules no longer require it, and an ESA flies under ordinary pet rules here. CORRECTED (2026-10-20): British Airways does NOT accept emotional support dogs in the cabin on ANY BA-operated flight; an emotional support dog must instead travel as an ordinary pet (i.e. via IAG Cargo/PetAirUK, not in the cabin). This directly contradicts the previous version of this entry, which stated ESAs were accepted in cabin on direct US flights with 14 days' notice - that claim came from a GHA-partner mirror site (csair.com) describing an OUTDATED policy, now confirmed superseded by britishairways.com's own current 'travelling with pets' pages (consistent across the UK, Australia, and Italy locales). Trained assistance dogs remain accepted free of charge in the cabin on most flights; this service cannot be booked online and the number of assistance dogs carried per flight may be limited.