Transporting animals in the aircraft
You can take your dog or cat with you on Lufthansa flights. Please read the following information carefully before booking a flight with your pet.
A good trip for your precious pet
Depending upon the kind of animal, its weight and size, and the regulations applicable in different countries, transport is possible at an extra cost either as additional carry-on baggage in the passenger cabin or as excess baggage in the aircraft’s air-conditioned cargo hold. Lufthansa Cargo also offers the transport of the above-listed animals and other species as air freight. Special rules apply to assistance dogs. Please note that because of local circumstances and restrictions, the transport of large animals in the cargo hold to certain destinations is not possible.
What travel options apply to which animals?
The transport options for animals with Lufthansa depend upon the kind of animal, as well as its weight and size. Further information is available on this page and the following pages.
Only smaller dogs and cats weighing no more than 8 kg including their carrying container may be transported under certain conditions as additional carry-on baggage in the passenger cabin. Larger dogs and cats and all other animal species, regardless of their weight and size, are not allowed in the cabin. You must register no later than 72 hours before departure. Otherwise, please contact the Service Centre up to 24 hours before departure.
To enable you to take your pet with you into the cabin as carry-on baggage, we need your confirmation that the animal meets the stated requirements. Please present two copies of the completed and signed form at the check-in counter to confirm this.
Dogs and cats weighing more than 8 kg including their carrying container may be transported under certain conditions as excess baggage in the aircraft’s air-conditioned cargo hold. You must register no later than 72 hours before departure. Otherwise, please contact the Service Centre up to 24 hours before departure.
For the carriage of all other animals, please contact Lufthansa Cargo.
You can take your assistance dog with you on board Lufthansa flights free of charge. Please find out about the general requirements for taking an assistance dog into the aircraft cabin with you.
Special regulations apply if you wish to take any breed of fighting dog with you when you fly.
Dogs and cats belonging to snub-nosed breeds have anatomically restricted airways with the accompanying difficulty in breathing. For this reason, there are special instructions and rules for transporting these animals.
If you are unable to travel together with your pet, country regulations stipulate that animals must be transported by air freight. If you would like to transport an animal not listed on lufthansa.com, you can have your animal transported as cargo. Different prices apply to shipping animals as air freight (for example, with Lufthansa Cargo). You require a carrier which specialises in the carriage of animals for this. You can find the contact details of one near you with the help of the animal freight forwarder search.
If you have any questions about this, the Lufthansa Cargo Service Center will be happy to help you further. It is contactable in Germany on tel. 0180 6 – 747 100 (calls cost EUR 0.20 per min. from the German landline network; max. EUR 0.60 per min. from mobile phone networks).
General advice on transporting animals on Lufthansa flights
Please make sure that you find out about the import and export regulations applicable to your pet in your departure, transit and destination countries in plenty of time and before booking your flight. Such information is available from the relevant consulates, for example. Lufthansa also reserves the right to apply even stricter regulations where necessary and refuse bookings on certain routes (such as to the UK, Ireland, or Bangalore in India, for example) to exclude the animal from travel. Please also ask your vet about applicable animal welfare provisions for travelling with your pet. Obtain all the travel documentation required for your pet so that nothing stands in the way of your trip. Lufthansa also reserves the right to refuse to transport animals in the cargo hold if there are extreme weather conditions at the destination. This can happen at short notice or seasonally.
Please note: each passenger is allowed to take a maximum of two animals with them (in an approved carrying container). Animals can be transported either in the cabin and/or in the cargo hold:
- No more than two animals (dog or cat) in the cabin (in an approved carrying container) or no more than two animals in the cargo hold (in one or two approved carrying containers)
- One animal (dog or cat) in the cabin (in an approved carrying container) and one animal in the cargo hold (in an approved carrying container)
Please also note the minimum age of the animals to be transported. For dogs and cats the minimum age is:
- 12 weeks,
- and 15 weeks for carriage from/to/via Germany.
In the event of Lufthansa having to refuse the carriage of your pet because of non-compliance with the regulations, Lufthansa is not liable for any resulting costs (e.g. rebooking charges, animal boarding costs, hotel accommodation).
Due to the risk of rabies, there are currently restrictions on importing dogs into the United States. You can find more detailed information about these CDC restrictions and the possibility of obtaining an exemption on the website of the United States Center for Disease Control.
If you have an existing booking confirming transportation of a dog, please contact the relevant Service Center.
For new bookings, please observe the new transport restrictions. You can find further information about these restrictions and the possibility of gaining an exemption on the homepage of the United States Center for Disease Control.
The restrictions apply to all dogs transported to the USA by aircraft, including assistance dogs.
You can find further information about the transport restrictions here:
All the regulations mentioned here apply exclusively to flights operated by Lufthansa. On code-share flights, please therefore make sure that you check the regulations of the airline operating the flight concerned. If you are travelling with several airlines, please ensure you have confirmation from all the airlines concerned that they will transport your pet.
Your pet must be registered and confirmed for the flight by Lufthansa no later than 24 hours before departure (for assistance dogs, the deadline is 48 hours before departure).
As the allocation is limited, we recommend that you book your pet in early, preferably at the same time as you book your own flight.
- If possible, get your animal used to its carrying container at home before the journey by putting it into the closed carrying container several times for about two hours at a time and rewarding it afterwards with a treat.
- Many animals get very nervous both before and during a flight. Nevertheless, you should think very carefully before giving your pet a sedative. This makes it difficult to predict how your animal may react. It can, for example, cause circulatory problems during the flight. Please ask your veterinary surgeon’s advice about this.
- Put your pet’s "comfort blanket" and its favourite toy in the carrying container in order to soothe and calm it with familiar smells.
- Ask your vet how to adapt your pet’s food needs for the flight.
Online and mobile check-in 23 hours before departure is possible for all passengers travelling with animals. The boarding pass must be picked up at the check-in counter at the airport.
You are welcome to take your four-legged friends with you into our lounges. Please understand, however, that out of consideration for our other guests, your dogs or cats should not be allowed to wander freely around Lufthansa lounges and should await their onward journey in their carrying container or pet carrier.