Travelling with Pets

If they’re part of the family, they can be part of the holiday! With a range of options available, we can carry your beloved pet safely and ensure that its handled with care.

• If you are entering Ireland or an EU country your pet must comply with EU Pet Travel rules.
• If you are entering the UK, your pet must meet the requirements of the UK Pet Travel Scheme.
• Pets entering the USA must comply with the US Department of Agriculture entry requirements.
• Pets entering Canada must comply with Government of Canada entry requirements.

 

EU Pet Travel Rules

 

All animals entering Ireland must comply with the EU Pet Travel Rules. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine is responsible for administering the EU Pet Travel Scheme in Ireland, please see their website here for full details of the scheme rules and the Department's requirements.

Advance Notification and Compliance Checks

• If you are entering Ireland from a non-EU country (which includes the UK excluding Northern Ireland), you must notify the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine at least 24 hours before your departure time of your intention to bring the animal into Ireland by completing an advance notice form and scheduling a compliance check on arrival. At check-in on departure you will be required to present evidence that a compliance check has been scheduled.
• If you are transiting through another EU Member State, you may have the compliance check carried out at the first point of entry into the EU or in Ireland. If the compliance check was performed in another EU Member State, you should produce proof of this on arrival into Ireland. If you originally came from outside the EU and a compliance check was not carried out in another EU Member State, then you must have a compliance check carried out on arrival into Ireland.
• If you are transiting Ireland from a non-EU country on the way to another EU country, it may be possible to arrange for the compliance check to be carried out in Ireland, provided the animal is travelling in the cabin of the plane with you and the compliance check can be facilitated at your point of entry. You should contact the relevant email address provided on the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine website to confirm if they can accommodate a compliance check. The checks can also be carried out in the EU country that is your destination if they cannot be facilitated in Ireland.

 

Please ensure you retain all paperwork for the animal as you may be asked to present documentary evidence of the animals' compliance with the pet travel rules throughout your journey. Pets must be accompanied by their owner or an authorised person.

If your flight or any part of your journey is with an airline other than Aer Lingus, please contact the airline directly for information about their policies and procedures.

At this time, if your flight or any part of your journey is with Aer Lingus Regional, operated by Emerald Airlines, the transportation of pets is not permitted.

Pets must be booked through a pet agent at IAG Cargo for carriage on Aer Lingus flights in the aircraft hold.

Customers travelling with pets from North America can contact our North American Pet Desk on 1 (866) 300-4004 (Monday through Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. EST or via email to petdesk@iagcargo.com to make arrangements to bring your pet(s) into Ireland via IAG Cargo.

Animals presented for travel at passenger check-in won't be accepted under any circumstances.

Contact IAG Cargo

There are some instances when animals cannot be accepted for travel:

• Some dangerous dog breeds and snub-nosed breeds of cats and dogs may not be accepted for travel.
• Animals must be at least 15 weeks old.
• Maximum weight limits apply to containers and animals. Please refer to IAG Cargo to confirm the applicable limits.
• No live animals can be carried on our A321neo LR aircraft as the cargo holds are not ventilated.

Please refer to IAG Cargo for further information.