Southwest Airlines limiting emotional support animals to dogs and cats

Southwest Airlines is limiting the emotional support animals that customers can bring on flights to cats and dogs, becoming the latest airline to place restrictions on the types of animals that can fly.

The new policy, announced Tuesday, goes into effect Sept. 17. It also limits the number of animals that can travel to one per person.

We’re updating our policies for Customers traveling
with an emotional support animal or trained service animals effective September 17, 2018.

— Southwest Airlines (@SouthwestAir) August 14, 2018

“Our updates are based on a careful review of the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) recent enforcement guidance and feedback we received from our Customers, Employees, and several advocacy groups and animal-related organizations,” the airline wrote in a statement.

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Additionally, the airline will only permit cats, dogs and miniature horses to travel as trained service animals.

American Airlines, United Airlines and Delta Air Lines have also each created new limits on the types of animals allowed to travel on those airlines.

American announced in May that it was banning a number of animals from its flights, including hedgehogs, sugar gliders and goats. The airline said it was banning those and other animals because of “safety and/or public health risks.” American’s new policy went into effect July 1.

Before that, United and Delta each announced their own restrictions that went into effect earlier this year.