Starting January 11, Alaska Airlines will be the first major airline in the United States to ban emotional support animals.
The move comes after the Department of Transportation revised their Air Carrier Access Act on Dec. 2, which no longer classifies service animals as service animals.
“This regulatory change is welcome news as it will help us reduce nuisance onboard while continuing to accommodate our guests traveling with qualified service animals,” said Ray Prentice, Alaska Airline’s director of customer interests in a statement.
Under the new policy, the airline said passengers would be required to complete a DOT form stating that “the animal is a legitimate service dog, has been trained, vaccinated and will behave appropriately during the journey”.
Alaska said it will continue to accept emotional support animals under current policies for flights booked before Jan. 11 and flights on or before Feb. 28.
The airline said they would no longer accept emotional support animals on their flights after Feb. 28, the company said.