Military Pet Travel

At Delta, we’re here to assist all U.S. Military family members who travel, including pets. That’s why we only accept animals as checked baggage for active U.S Military or Active U.S. State Department Foreign Service Officers (FSO) and their spouses with active transfer orders.

Military members and U.S. State Department Foreign Service Officers can check their pets as baggage for a fee, when traveling on active transfer orders. You or your spouse must book your pets as checked baggage at least 48 hours before arrival. Pets must comply with federal regulations, including proper documentation based on current policies and procedures. The following fees apply. 

The following animals are accepted as checked baggage and you may transport two crates per flight. Giant-sized crates may only be shipped as cargo; additional restrictions apply according to aircraft and class of service.

• Cats (except snub-nosed cats)
• Dogs (except pug or snub-nosed dogs)
• Household birds (domestic U.S. only)
• Guinea pigs (domestic U.S. only)
• Rabbits (domestic U.S. only)
• Hamsters (domestic U.S. only)

All other animals, including reptiles and primates (including lemurs, monkeys, orangutans, gorillas and chimpanzees), must be shipped as cargo.

• Animal fees are charged each time the pet is checked in at the airport. Fees will be assessed at each stopover point
• Exceptions may apply to routings that require connections greater than 6 hours.
• Animals are not included in the free baggage allowance or the free baggage allowance with a Delta SkyMiles American Express Card
• No excess size or weight fees apply

To transport your pet as checked baggage, you must use an approved shipping crate, and it must ship in accordance with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and International Air Transport Association (IATA) guidelines. The crate must provide enough room for your pet to stand and sit erect — without the head touching the top of the container — and to turn around and lie down in a natural position.

Crates are available for sale to booked Delta passengers and shippers at most Delta Cargo locations, as well as many pet supply stores. If you would like to purchase a crate from Delta, check with the local cargo facility for availability of the crate size you need in advance of your travel date.

In addition, USDA rules state that the crate must:

• Be constructed of rigid plastic, wood, metal or material of comparable strength with solid roofs; no cardboard kennels
• Must not have wheels (if your crate does have wheels they must be removed or inoperable)
• Have ventilation openings on 3 sides, in addition to the door opening.  Ventilation must cover only the upper 2/3 of the crate. 
• Have functional handles on the kennel's exterior to prevent tilting and any direct contact with the animals
• Close securely to allow personnel to open it in case of emergency.  Zip ties will be applied prior to shipment to ensure the door does not open in transit. 
• Display labels with the words "Live Animal" in 1-inch letters on the crate's top and on at least 1 side
• Display upright arrow labels indicating crate's correct position; Delta Cargo can provide these labels
• Contain bedding, shredded paper or towels to absorb “accidents”
• Contain 2 dishes (1 for food and 1 for water) attached to the inside of the crate door — they must be easily accessible to Delta agents without opening the kennel door
• Display feeding instructions and food, if applicable — these instructions should be affixed to the top of the crate, along with shipper and consignee information

The following is a list of crate sizes, costs, and the types of aircraft in which each crate can fit. The crate costs below do not include tax and are subject to change.

To keep your pet safe, we observe a few seasonal restrictions on pet travel. For your pet’s safety, we don’t accept animals as checked baggage during extreme weather. This includes if the temperature exceeds 80 ˚F  (26.5 ˚C) or if the temperature falls below 20 ˚F  (-6.5 ˚C) at any point during the animal’s trip (at origin, transit, or destination). A Certificate of Acclimation is required when temperatures fall between 20˚F (-7˚C) and 45˚F (7˚C).

We reserve the right to refuse travel to any live animals as checked baggage or as cargo if the animal’s health is in question, or if the health of the animal could be jeopardized by extreme conditions.

For any travel to, from, or transiting the following destination pets are not permitted as checked baggage:

• Australia
• Barbados
• Hong Kong
• Iceland
• Jamaica
• Liberia, Costa Rica
• New Zealand
• Senegal
• South Africa
• United Kingdom
• United Arab Emirates

There are additional requirements or booking rules that must be followed when traveling with animals to or through some locations, including: France, the Netherlands, and countries in the European Union. Please contact the Customer Service Center (1-800-352-2746) for more information.

The health requirements required to ship your pet also apply pets traveling as checked baggage with Military or U.S. State department families. Delta also no longer accepts snub-nosed or pug-nosed dogs and cats as checked baggage. 

For the safety and comfort of your pet, some restrictions apply to checking your pet as excess baggage. There are no exceptions to these aircraft or flight-level restrictions.

• Animals will not be accepted as checked baggage or cargo on any Delta-operated 767 aircraft.
  
• Animals will not be accepted as checked baggage on any Delta-operated A330-200 aircraft.  
• Animals will not be accepted as checked baggage on any Delta-operated B757 aircraft on flights to or from Europe. 
• Animals will not be accepted as checked baggage on itineraries with more than 1 connection.
• Animals will not be accepted as checked baggage on any (single) Delta-operated flight that exceeds 12 hours in duration.