First flight in Italy with large dogs to take off next week.
The first plane to embrace Italy’s new travel rules allowing large and medium-sized dogs in the cabin will take off next week, transport minister Matteo Salvini said on Wednesday.
The move comes a few months after the transport ministry loosened the rules, with the approval of Italy’s civil aviation authority ENAC, to allow large dogs to travel in the cabin alongside their owners, instead of in the hold.
Until now, airline companies have had varying rules relating to the transportation of pets, with many low-cost carriers prohibiting all animals in the cabin except for guide dogs.
Last year, Italy’s flag carrier ITA Airways raised its weight limit for pets in the cabin from 8 kg to 10 kg on domestic flights.
News of the first flight to carry large dogs, scheduled for Tuesday 23 September, was announced by Salvini during a live broadcast of the Italian Pet Summit.
Salvini did not specify which airline will operate the flight, but newspaper Corriere della Sera understands that it will be ITA Airways and that the maiden flight for one or more large dogs will be on the Milan-Rome route.
Under the new rules, dogs must be housed inside a special carrier, “adequately secured” to the seat of the plane.
The total weight of the animal and the carrier must “not exceed the maximum weight foreseen for an average passenger”, the transport ministry said in a statement, leaving it up to the airlines to define the fares and travel conditions for passengers flying with their four-legged friends.
“The issue of pets is indirectly and significantly economic as well as social, due to all the sentimental and practical implications” – Salvini said on Wednesday – “We have exceeded the old limit of 8-10 kg for air transport, and the news has brought comfort in Italy and sparked discussion around the world”.
Salvini also underlined that the government has increased penalties for motorists who abandon animals on the roadside, and announced his intention to allow transport ministry employees to take their dogs with them to the office, in line with measures adopted by the senate earlier this year.
The move by the Italian air sector to open up to pet travel comes as Italy’s railways make it increasingly easier to travel with dogs by train, particularly during the summer.
