The Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) is the law that protects people with disabilities from discrimination in air travel on all flights of U.S. airlines and on flights to or from the United States by foreign airlines. For more information about the rights of passengers with disabilities under the ACAA regulations, check out Airline Passengers with Disabilities Bill of Rights. For information about air transportation regulations applicable in Canada, check out our transportation page.

On September 22, 2023, The Seeing Eye’s Dave Johnson, Melissa Allman, and Sandee Moreta presented a webinar on air travel.

On January 11, 2021, the Department of Transportation’s updated final Air Carrier Access Act Regulations on Traveling by Air with Service Animals took effect. You can read a full version of the regulations in the Federal Register. Here are some important points to keep in mind about the regulations.

• Only dogs are service animals under the current regulations. A service animal is defined as a dog, regardless of breed or type, that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of a qualified person with a disability. This definition does not cover emotional support animals, which can now be classified as pets by the airlines. Note that psychiatric service animals are included in the definition.
• Airlines can determine if a dog is a service animal by 1) asking if the dog is a service animal needed because of a disability and what task it is trained to perform; 2) observing the animal’s behavior; or 3) taking note of indicators like leashes, harnesses, or vests.
• Airlines are allowed to require people traveling with service animals to submit a form called the Service Animal Air Transportation Form, attesting to the animal’s health, training, and behavior.
• If a service animal handler is traveling on a flight that is 8 hours or longer, airlines can also require them to complete a Service Animal Relief Attestation Form stating that the animal will not need to relieve during the flight or that relieving can be managed in a safe and sanitary way.
• If airlines choose to require the forms, they must use standard forms developed by DOT. Find an accessible and fillable copy of the Service Animal Air Transportation Form on DOT’s web site.
• The regulations require U.S. airlines to provide an accessible and fillable version of the forms on their web site and at airports where they operate. Foreign airlines must have copies of the forms at each airport serving flights that begin or end in the U.S.
• Airlines are allowed to require passengers to submit the forms electronically or in hard copy. Airlines can require passengers to submit the forms 48 hours in advance of a flight or at the gate. However, airlines are supposed to try to accommodate passengers who do not complete the forms in advance if doing so will not delay the flight. For reservations made less than 48 hours before the flight, airlines cannot require the forms in advance but can require the passenger to submit the forms at the gate. An airline is required to accommodate a passenger who requests assistance completing the forms. 
• The handler must submit current forms. This means they have to be completed on or after the date the ticket was purchased. Airlines can require the forms for each round trip but not more than once in a trip.
• Airlines are not allowed to require people with service animals to check in at the airport. They must be allowed to check in online if they choose to do so.
• Airlines can limit the number of service animals traveling with a person with a disability to two. This means no more than two animals per person. There is no restriction on the number of service animals per flight.
• Airlines can require service animals to fit within the passenger’s foot space or on their lap. However, airlines are still required to accommodate passengers with large service animals that cannot fit in the foot space by offering another seat in the same class of service if available.
• Airlines are allowed to require that service animals be harnessed, leashed, or tethered at all times in the airport and on the aircraft. Guide dog handlers who choose to remove the harness so the dog can fit under the seat must leave the leash on.
• Airlines are allowed to charge service animal handlers for damages caused by the animal if they would charge passengers without service animals for similar damage.
• Airlines are allowed to refuse transportation to animals that are aggressive or engaging in behavior that shows they are not trained to behave appropriately in public. The assessment must be based on objective observations by airline personnel. An airline may choose not to classify a dog as a service animal if it is observed biting; barking; jumping; lunging; injuring people or other animals; or urinating or defecating on the aircraft or in the gate area.
• Passengers working with guide dogs may want to ask to preboard in order to have additional time to get situated at their seat with their dog. The handler must affirmatively let the airline know they are a person with a disability and that they need to preboard and the airline should make this accommodation.
• A person with a service animal cannot be required to sit in a bulkhead seat unless they purchased a bulkhead seat, but they can request a bulkhead seat as an accommodation.
• A service animal team cannot be seated in an emergency exit row seat. An airline is not required to upgrade the passenger to a different class of service to accommodate their service animal.
• Once you’ve decided which airline you will be flying on, it’s a good idea to check out their policies on service animals so you know how they are applying the regulations. Check out this information from some major U.S. and Canadian carriers:
  • Air Canada
  • Alaska Airlines
  • Allegiant Air
  • American Airlines
  • Breeze Airways
  • Delta Airlines
  • Frontier Airlines
  • Hawaiian Airlines
  • Jet Blue
  • Southwest Airlines
  • Spirit Airlines
  • Sun Country Airlines
  • United Airlines
  • West Jet

• Passengers who feel that an airline has discriminated against them should request immediate on site assistance from a Complaint Resolution Official (CRO). The airline is required to make a CRO available either in person or via phone. If an airline does not provide a CRO or the passenger is dissatisfied with the resolution of the complaint, they can also file a complaint with the Department of Transportation Office of Aviation Consumer Protection. Discrimination may include an airline’s failure to provide required DOT forms in an accessible format. For questions or assistance with a disability-related matter, passengers may also call the Aviation Consumer Disability Toll-Free Hotline at (800) 778-4838 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.