Red Tape Travel

British Airways pet policy

Flights operated by British Airways. Its pets fly as cargo through IAG Cargo, its cargo arm.

Last verified 43 primary sources

British Airways carries pets in the hold, never in the cabin.

Cabin
Assistance dogs onlyPet dogs never fly in the cabin; assistance dogs can, free, on most flights.
Hold
Not allowedPets are booked as cargo, not as checked baggage.
Manifest cargo
AllowedPets travel as cargo in a temperature-controlled hold.
Snub-nosed
Case by caseSome snub-nosed breeds of cats and dogs may not be accepted.

Routes British Airways flies with pets

Fees are per animal, one direction, as published on .
RouteCabinHoldManifest cargoFee fromSnub-nosed
Great Britain → European Union, dogAssistance dogs onlyNoYesQuoted on requestCase by case
Great Britain → European Union, catNoNoYesQuoted on requestCase by case
Great Britain → European Union, ferretNoNoYesQuoted on requestn/a
Great Britain → United States, dogAssistance dogs onlyNoYesQuoted on requestCase by case
Great Britain → United States, catNoNoYesQuoted on requestCase by case
United States → Great Britain, dogAssistance dogs onlyNo(Great Britain rule)YesQuoted on requestCase by case
United States → Great Britain, catNoNo(Great Britain rule)YesQuoted on requestCase by case
United States → Great Britain, ferretNoNo(Great Britain rule)YesQuoted on requestn/a
  • Great Britain → European Union, dog: British Airways' Conditions of Carriage still allow checked baggage; its current pet pages say cargo, which is what we show.

Notes

  • IAG Cargo asks for live animals to be checked in 4 hours before departure, subject to the station; some stations set their own cut-off.

    All routes (dogs, cats and ferrets)

  • IAG Cargo takes no dangerous dogs at Heathrow or Gatwick, and restricts some snub-nosed (brachycephalic) breeds there.

    All routes (dogs and cats)

  • No live-animal exports from Houston (IAH) from June to September.

    United States → Great Britain (dogs, cats and ferrets)

  • No live-animal exports from Phoenix (PHX) from 15 March to 31 October, and no live-animal imports there at weekends.

    United States → Great Britain; Great Britain → United States (dogs, cats and ferrets)

  • No live-animal exports from Austin (AUS) in the summer. The page gives no dates.

    United States → Great Britain (dogs, cats and ferrets)

  • IAG Cargo's New Orleans (MSY) station takes imports from Heathrow only, with a full export embargo.

    United States → Great Britain (dogs, cats and ferrets)

  • At Cincinnati (CVG) the live-animal cut-off is 300 minutes before scheduled departure.

    United States → Great Britain (dogs, cats and ferrets)

  • IAG Cargo's St. Louis (STL) flight is seasonal, from 19 April until 23 October 2026.

    United States → Great Britain; Great Britain → United States (dogs, cats and ferrets)

  • IAG Cargo takes no live-animal imports at Denver (DEN) on days 6 or 7, and restricts live animals at Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) on days 6 and 7 and on holidays. Neither page defines the day numbering.

    Great Britain → United States (dogs, cats and ferrets)

  • Collect the pet on the day it lands at New York (JFK), which has no storage, and on arrival at Philadelphia (PHL).

    Great Britain → United States (dogs, cats and ferrets)

  • British Airways cargo at Birmingham (BHX) moves by truck only, with no live animals, and IAG Cargo's Inverness (INV) station takes no live animals.

    Great Britain → European Union (dogs, cats and ferrets)

  • IAG Cargo's Glasgow (GLA) and Edinburgh (EDI) pages limit the hours and weekdays for live animals, and each page gives conflicting hours. Confirm with the station.

    Great Britain → European Union (dogs, cats and ferrets)

  • IAG Cargo lists live animals as embargoed at Munich (MUC), Stuttgart (STR), Nuremberg (NUE), Berlin (BER), Hamburg (HAM) and Dusseldorf (DUS). The Berlin, Hamburg and Dusseldorf pages still show live-animal times, so treat them as embargoed until the station confirms otherwise.

    Great Britain → European Union (dogs, cats and ferrets)

  • IAG Cargo's Stockholm (ARN) and Helsinki (HEL) stations say no live animals. Helsinki's own table says only "no live animals at the weekend", so confirm with the station.

    Great Britain → European Union (dogs, cats and ferrets)

  • IAG Cargo's Copenhagen (CPH) station takes live animals as exports only, so a pet cannot fly in to Copenhagen on it.

    Great Britain → European Union (dogs, cats and ferrets)

  • At Gran Canaria (LPA), Seville (SVQ) and Tenerife South (TFS), IAG Cargo carries live animals on Iberia flights only, not on British Airways. Valencia (VLC) takes live animals as imports on British Airways flights only.

    Great Britain → European Union (dogs, cats and ferrets)

  • No live animals may land at Dublin (DUB) on Saturday or Sunday, and IAG Cargo's Cork (ORK) station takes no live animals.

    Great Britain → European Union (dogs, cats and ferrets)

  • Pick the pet up straight away at Paris Orly (ORY) and Amsterdam (AMS); Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) has no live-animal storage.

    Great Britain → European Union (dogs, cats and ferrets)

  • Flights between London and Larnaca run a reduced schedule.

    Great Britain → European Union (dogs, cats and ferrets)

Where every rule above came from

Rules change without notice. Confirm each item against the linked official page before you book: we re-check weekly and date every check, but the official page is the authority.