The UK’s national carrier, British Airways, flies direct to over 150 destinations worldwide, and it is hardly surprising that they are one of the largest and most popular pet travel companies from the UK, with most pets departing from London Heathrow. British Airways operates a hub and spoke system within the UK, meaning that we can also accept pets from departure points such as Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Manchester and Newcastle. However, for international deaprture, all pets will transit via London Heathrow. BA operate some pet friendly departures from Gatwick; however, this is only for their long-haul routes, as the subsidiary BA Euroflyer is not licensed to transport pets on short-haul routes from London, Gatwick.
British Airways is a popular choice for pet transport as they have a small embargo list of brachycephalic (snub-nosed) pets, which only includes Pugs, Bulldogs and Pekinese.
During the Summer months, British Airways implements very little temperature restrictions, meaning that popular destinations in warmer climates can be serviced all year round, when other airlines may have a summer embargo. However, these benefits may be offset by the high minimum rates on their long-haul network (introduced in 2024), which means that for smaller dogs and cats, it can be uneconomical to fly direct. They also have some aircraft restrictions on both crate size and weight, which can further affect costings.
In collaboration with Animal Air Care, one of London Heathrow and Gatwick’s dedicated animal reception centres, all pets for export (and arrival) will pass through this pet handling centre, enforcing British Airways' reputation as a pet handling and care leader.
Furthermore, the airline only requires pet travel documents (Export Health Certificate, etc.) at check-in, which means we can complete the vet inspections and pet travel documentation at the airport on the day of departure. This means your pet can travel and land at many destinations all on the same day (no overnight boarding).
A Middle Eastern-based carrier, Emirates provides pet transport options to over 150 destinations worldwide via its transit hub in Dubai Airport (DXB). A hugely popular carrier with an excellent pet service, Emirates operates all wide-body aircraft (such as A380S and 777s) from many major UK airports—Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester, Gatwick, and London Heathrow—with no weight or size restrictions. They have no minimum charges, making them an extremely popular pet airline, especially when flying East from the UK.
Some of our most popular routes (Melbourne and New Zealand) are quoted on Emirates via Dubai, where pet transit times are at least four hours. The state-of-the-art pet reception centre in Dubai means all pets will be unloaded from the aircraft and transported from the plane to the centre in temperature-controlled (AC) vans. There, they will finally be unloaded from their travel crates, fed, watered, and, if time permits, exercised before their onward journey.
Emirates do have a fairly long list of banned breeds. However, they will now allow snub-nosed pets to travel during cooler months (including on transit flights), provided temperatures are below 28 degrees (including the transit in Dubai) and that the pets have passed an IPATA BOAS assessment. This window is generally between April and November, when temperatures in Dubai are cooler.
Emirates' pet travel policy dictates that all documentation is received at least 24 hours before departure (for pre-checking). This means that if we are completing pet travel documents (Export Health Certificates/ Fit-to-Fly) as part of our service, then our quotes will include overnight boarding the night prior to departure, before your pet is transported to the airport for its flight!
Offering direct flights to 9 major US destinations from London Heathrow, American Airlines is a favourite airline choice when taking pets to the USA. Major pet destinations include New York, Dallas, Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, Raleigh, Durham (Seasonal), Phoenix (Seasonal) and Charlotte.
All routes are served by wide-body aircraft, meaning they have no weight or size restrictions for pets, with multiple daily departures. Once in the US, they operate a hub and spoke system, meaning that upon arrival, your pet could board overnight before flying to over 50+ regional destinations that are served by their US network, making it possible to transport pets to over 50 destinations in the US!
American Airlines does not accept snub-nosed pets on its flights, even with IPATA BOAS assessments. Therefore, it has a fairly extensive list of 40 banned breeds for cats and dogs. In the summer months, they also have temperature restrictions when temperatures regularly exceed 28 degrees. This means that some of the popular pet destinations embargo pet arrivals during all the summer months (however, they can be serviced by other carriers).
Travelling to the US with pets is relatively straightforward, with only a fit-to-fly within 10 days of departure and, for dogs only, a CDC Dog Permit (importation form), all of which American Airlines requires the day before the flight. At Heathrow, the American Airlines Pet Departure lounge offers overnight boarding and completion of all necessary travel documents, meaning pet transport on American Airlines is a fan favourite due to their simplified approach in pet travel to the US from the UK.
Lufthansa is an extremely popular pet airline with no snub-nosed pet restrictions, meaning that cats and dogs of all breeds can travel to over 100 destinations worldwide! Unsurprisingly, this makes Lufthansa a very popular pet airline when transporting pets both West, to the USA and beyond, and East, to the Middle East and Asia. We have successfully shipped bulldogs, pigs, and many more snub-nosed pets to destinations from Los Angeles on the West Coast of the USA to Hong Kong in East Asia!
Understandably, there are temperature restrictions in place for snub-nosed (and non-snub-nosed to many destinations when temperatures increase above 28 degrees for sustained periods of time; therefore, planning ahead is advisable.
Snub nosed or not, almost all pets travelling on Lufthansa from the UK will travel via their renowned pet reception centre at their hub in Frankfurt Airport, where they will undergo a vet inspection and be processed as an arrival into the EU. This means that the EU pet travel entry criteria must be met (in addition to the final destination entry criteria), which includes a rabies vaccine at least 21 days before arrival. You will also be required to complete an EU Pet Travel Health Certificate and any health certificate required by the country of destination. Therefore, it's always worth planning ahead when transiting via the EU, as the pet requirements may differ from your final destination!
With over 100 destinations served worldwide, and favourable shipping rates, Lufthansa are an extremely popular pet travel airline for all pet breeds alike, with few height and weight restrictions due to the aircraft type they operate. A client-favoured feature is the premium pet service they offer, where, for an extra fee, you can receive photos during the transit along with a specialised feeding and medication program and a bigger kennel for your pet to spend time during their transit period!
Another Middle Eastern carrier operating via its hub in Doha, Qatar Airlines, flies pets to over 150 destinations worldwide, making it another top pet travel airline. With a modern fleet of aircraft and multiple departure times each day from London, Manchester, Gatwick, Edinburgh, and Glasgow, we can transport pets from these major UK airports to almost anywhere in the world.
Their reception centre in Doha has recently undergone a complete rebuild, and no expense has been spared. Pets receive top care and attention during the required minimum of three hours between flights. They are also one of the few airlines that will send a photo during transit when requested! When transported between the centre and the planes, they have specially adapted temperature-controlled vans just for pet transport, ensuring their comfort in the Qatari heat before boarding the plane!
Similar to Emirates, Qatar has an embargo on many sub-nosed dogs but will allow certain other banned breeds to travel in special reinforced crates. This applies to powerful dogs, such as Mastiffs, Dobermans, and Chow Chows, which other carriers may not accept.
Qatar Airways pet transport has a fantastic safety record and has various awards for its input to pet transportation worldwide. However, they do have some minimum rates on more popular far eastern destinations, which means other Middle Eastern carriers can sometimes be preferred. However, unlike some airlines that require the documents the day before, Qatar Airlines will only need these at check-in, which can be favourable to some owners to avoid overnight boarding before departure.
Another airline which offers access to over 100 international destinations via an EU transit is KLM, which, coupled with favourable shipping rates and low minimums, makes it a top and favoured pet travel airline. As with other EU operators, pet transit via the continent must abide by the EU pet transport regulations and any destination health certificates. Therefore, when transiting via the reception centre in Amsterdam, a Rabies Vaccine at least 21 days before departure will always be required, as well as completion of EU Pet Travel Documents, which can differ from the country of destination.
KLM does not have many banned breeds for brachycephalic (snub-nosed) when being transported as cargo via an approved IPATA agent. Therefore, with an IPATA BOAS assessment, they will accept snub-nosed to many destinations worldwide, provided temperatures are below 28 degrees at the destination and departure.
KLM operates narrow bodies (B737S) on the initial sectors from London Heathrow, Manchester, and Edinburgh, which have some height restrictions and may not be suitable for larger dogs. However, this may change in 2025 as they update their fleet to newer Airbus A320 aircraft, which may remove many of these restrictions and enhance their global reputation further as a key pet travel airline.
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