Assistance dogs

• You have made sure that carrying your dog with you on your journey (outbound and return flight) as additional carry-on baggage in the cabin complies with the current entry and exit regulations of all the countries concerned.
• Any necessary veterinary examinations or treatments (e.g. vaccinations or microchipping) have been completed in good time before your journey.
• The official and veterinary documents required for your animal (e.g. pet passport) are available to hand.
• You have made sure that you can also take your dog with you into the cabin of other airlines involved in your itinerary.
• You have booked your flight and registered your dog for carriage in the cabin with Lufthansa or your travel agency and have received a passenger receipt to this effect.
• You have two completed and signed printouts of our form for the carriage of an animal in the passenger cabin.
• Please note that the form is not required for assistance dogs on direct flights to/from the USA.

Download the form for carriage of an animal in the passenger cabin (PDF)

• If you are travelling with an approved assistance dog: You have submitted a certificate proving your dog has been trained as an assistance dog (not required for flights to/from the USA) and received a passenger receipt for it.
• If you are travelling to/from the USA: you have completed and submitted the following forms to the Lufthansa Medical Operation Centre:

“U.S. Department of Transportation Service Animal Air Transportation Form” (PDF)

“​U.S. Department of Transportation Service Animal Relief Attestation Form” (PDF)

Your dog must fit in the footwell of your seat and must be attached to your seat belt with a pet harness provided by Lufthansa.

• A regular seat may not be used for the animal under any circumstances.
• We recommend securing your dog with a properly fitting harness rather than a collar.
• Please bring a muzzle with you for additional security and out of consideration for other passengers. You are not obliged to bring a muzzle on flights to/from the USA or Canada, but we recommend that you take one with you.
• If your dog poses a potential risk to other passengers, you may be required to fit the muzzle. Otherwise your dog may be denied carriage on Lufthansa flights.

Approved assistance dogs (service animals [SVAN]: e.g. guide dogs, hearing dogs, diabetic alert dogs and seizure alert dogs) can be taken into the cabin free of charge on all flights operated by Lufthansa.

Ideally, please register your dog for transport in the cabin no later than 48 hours before departure so that we can prepare everything optimally.

We also ask you to provide us with the following documents:

1. The training certificate for your assistance dog:

A training certificate from a training institution that holds accreditation from the following organisations:

• Messerli Research Institute
• Assistance Dogs International (ADI)
• Assistance Dogs Europe (ADEu)
• International Guide Dog Federation (IGDF)

or
A certificate issued by a recognised training facility or a qualified dog trainer (i.e. a person specialising in training service dogs) stating the name and address, details about the type and duration of training and the task on which the dog was trained and has successfully completed

or
For assistance dogs recognised and certified in Germany: proof of a human-assistance dog partnership. In addition, the dog must wear a clearly visible identification tag, e.g. on a vest, harness or collar.

Please note that a certificate of completed obedience training or the completed DOT Form is not sufficient for travel outside the USA. Teach-yourself and online training sites are also not recognised.

If you are unable to present this, your dog will travel under the usual conditions of carriage for pets, either in the cabin or in the cargo hold depending on its size and weight. Please also submit the breed, weight and age of the animal.

     2. For flights outside the USA, we also require your written confirmation that the dog fulfils the requirements for travelling as an approved assistance dog. Please present two printouts of this completed and signed form at check-in to confirm this.

Download form for the carriage of an assistance dog in the passenger cabin (PDF)

You will receive confirmation of your booking request from the Lufthansa Medical Operation Centre once this has been checked.

On direct flights to/from the USA, passengers are permitted to travel with an assistance dog, including a psychiatric assistance dog.

The requirement is that the dog has been individually trained to perform specific tasks that assist a person with a visual, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual or other cognitive impairment, in accordance with the specifications of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).

Lufthansa transports assistance dogs on these flights free of charge. A maximum of two (2) assistance dogs may be carried per passenger.

Definition of an assistance animal (for compliance with 14 CFR 382):

• A dog, irrespective of type or breed
• The dog is individually trained to assist a person with an impairment.
• These include visual, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual or other cognitive impairments.
• Animal species other than dogs, emotional support animals, comfort animals, companionship animals and assistance animals in training are not assistance animals.

Note: In accordance with 14 CFR Part 382, emotional support animals are no longer classified as assistance animals under U.S. Department of Transportation regulations. Lufthansa will no longer recognise or accept this category.

Forms required

You must complete and submit the following forms to Lufthansa when travelling with an assistance dog as a condition of carriage. You must do so on or after the date you purchase your ticket.

Note:

If you are travelling with an assistance dog and made a reservation more than 48 hours before the first scheduled departure time in your itinerary, you must submit these forms to Lufthansa electronically or in hard copy at least 48 hours before your date of travel.

If you are travelling with an assistance dog and made a reservation less than 48 hours before the first scheduled departure time in your itinerary, you must hand over these forms to Lufthansa at your departure gate on the day of travel.

Please complete the following forms and send them by email to the Lufthansa Medical Operation Centre ([email protected]):

• Download “U.S. Department of Transportation Service Animal Air Transportation Form” (PDF)
• Download “U.S. Department of Transportation Service Animal Relief Attestation Form” (PDF)
• Send forms to the Lufthansa Medical Operation CentreThe link will be opened in a new browser tab
• Send forms to the Lufthansa Medical Operation Centre in the USA The link will be opened in a new browser tab

If you have a connecting flight/feeder flight outside the USA, we also require a training certificate to book your assistance dog. Please send us the certificate together with the above forms by email.

It is a federal crime to knowingly and wilfully make false, fictitious or fraudulent statements on the Service Animal Air Transportation Form or the Service Animal Relief Attestation Form in order to claim disability support provided under the U.S. Department of Transportation regulations.

Travel permission: in accordance with the U.S. Department of Transportation regulations, Lufthansa may check whether an animal is recognised as an assistance dog. To determine whether an animal is an assistance dog, Lufthansa may (1) observe the animal to ascertain whether it displays disruptive or aggressive behaviour that demonstrates that it has not been successfully trained to behave properly in a public setting, or (2) check for certain physical indicators.

Size of assistance dogs: all assistance dogs must fit in the footwell at the passenger’s seat unless this would conflict with U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) safety requirements or German/European law, or would restrict the space of another passenger.

Tethering/restraining/leashing: Lufthansa requires that all assistance dogs be kept on a lead by their owners or handlers (where applicable) at all times while on board Lufthansa aircraft and in airport areas that are owned, leased or controlled by Lufthansa.

Refusal to carry an assistance dog: Lufthansa may refuse to carry an assistance dog in accordance with the U.S. Department of Transportation regulations in the following circumstances:

1. The assistance dog poses a direct threat to the health or safety of other people.
2. The assistance dog is causing a significant disturbance in the cabin or gate area of the airport, or if its behaviour in the aircraft or gate area of the airport indicates that it has not been adequately trained to behave appropriately in public areas.
3. Carriage of the assistance dog would violate applicable safety or health requirements of a US federal agency or US territory, or those of a foreign government.
4. The disabled passenger who wishes to travel with an assistance dog in the aircraft cabin does not present the completed relevant forms required by Lufthansa.

Damage: Lufthansa reserves the right, in accordance with the U.S. Department of Transportation regulations, to take legal action against any passenger travelling with an assistance dog for any damage caused by the assistance dog.

Please present the following documents for your animal at the check-in counter:

• The official and veterinary documents for your dog (e.g. pet passport)
• Proof that the animal has been trained as an assistance dog, where applicable (not for flights to/from the USA)
• Two fully completed and signed printouts of our ​form for the transportation of an animal in the passenger cabin.
• Please note that the form is not required for assistance dogs on direct flights to/from the USA. Download the form for carriage of an animal in the passenger cabin (PDF)
• You have your booking confirmation or passenger receipt in your carry-on baggage.
• Your dog is wearing a harness (recommended) or collar, and you have a muzzle with you.