Service Dogs Only – Not Snakes – on Planes: Dept. of Transportation Issues New Rule

Originally published by Sabrina Davis.

Image by Krista Grear from Pixabay

On December 2, 2020, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) issued a final rule which, among other things, defines a service animal as “a dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of a person with a disability.” This is a revision of the DOT’s Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) regulation “on the transportation of service animals by air to ensure a safe and accessible air transportation system.” The effective date is 30 days after it was published in the Federal Register, which was December 10, 2020.

The Air Carrier Access Act of 1986, codified at 49 U.S.C. §41705, prohibits air carriers from discriminating against individuals with “a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities.” The DOT issued implementing regulations at 49 C.F.R. Part 382, and 14 C.F.R. 382.117 is titled, “Must carriers permit passengers with a disability to travel with service animals?” This new final rule “removes 14 C.F.R. 382.117 and adds a new subpart, Subpart EE, on service animals.” The new rule explains in footnote 1 that:

“The Department’s ACAA definition of a service animal in this final rule is similar to the definition of a service animal in the Department of Justice (DOJ) regulations implementing the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 28 CFR 35.104 and 28 CFR 36.104. Although DOT has chosen to closely align its ACAA service animal definition with DOJ’s service animal definition under the ADA, the substantive requirements in this final rule differ from DOJ’s requirements for service animals under the ADA in various areas, e.g., allowing airlines to require service animal documentation and prohibiting the use of voice control over a service animal.”

According to the DOT briefing, also issued on December 2, emotional support animals are specifically no longer recognized as service animals. It is important to note that, according to the DOT FAQs on this rule, “Although emotional support animals and other pets are not service animals, the rule does not prohibit their transport. An airline may choose to transport them as pets pursuant to its established policy.”

In addition, the DOT briefing explains that airlines are required “treat psychiatric service animals the same as other service animals,” but airlines are also allowed “to limit the number of service animals traveling with a single passenger with a disability to two service animals.” There are other provisions as well, which are summarized in the DOT brief and detailed in the final rule.

For additional information on federal and Texas state laws regarding service animals, please refer to the Texas State Law Library’s Guide on Service Animals.

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