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A place I stay regularly at in Portugal now allows dogs to stay for 25Euro per night. It has got me thinking about whether to maybe take our Jack Russell with us sometimes when we visit. Our options are to drive with him (26 hours door-to-door each way) or to fly him. I have previously read about pressure on flights causing some/all dogs ear pain and so on, and I’m still considering whether 52 hours in a car or 5 hours in a plane is preferable (both round trip durations).
Firstly, does anyone know which airlines that fly between UK and Portugal allow dogs and do any allow the dog in the cabin rather than the hold? He’s about 8kg so we would definitely consider putting him in one of those small carry cases in the cabin if possible.
Secondly, does anyone with experience of taking their dog on a plane have any guidance to make the experience as pleasant as possible for the dog, the owner and everyone else (other passengers, crew, etc.)?
Thanks!
I think Iberia takes animals – you might not get a direct flight to your nearest airport in Portugal but you might be able to get close and get a hire car to go the rest of the way.
But first of all have you checked what sort of bureaucracy you might have to negotiate in both directions?!
Fortunately quite a few people do it these days – I took our little westie to France for a month a couple of years ago fortunately being in the EU it was easier given the pet passport scheme available.
You’ll have to see which airline you’re able to fly with and whether they accept animals. If they are under 8Kg they can be allowed into the cabin on some airlines. TAP, Air France and KLM all allow in the cabins. BA do not and outsource the booking of animals to another company – they can only fly in the hold. Not sure on Easyjet etc.
Either way you travel you will need your vet to issue a certificate to travel. More importantly where ever you end up staying in Portugal you will need a vet to administer and certify that your dog has had the anti-worming tablet, no more than 3 days prior to travel back to the UK. Like anything as long as you have done your homework and have everything arranged you will be fine.
If you don’t already have an EU Pet Passport, probably worthwhile finding a friendly Portuguese vet whilst you’re out there and getting one sorted – will save you a fortune in AHCs if you are a frequent visitor to Europe with your dog.
Plenty of specialised Facebook groups can direct you to a vet that is willing to do this – we got one in the Netherlands and one in Ireland for our 2 dogs. Still need the worming treatment on return though.
You need to double and triple check the rules of each airline you are considering using.
IB for example has a weight limit of 8kg for being in the cabin. That’s the weight of the animal and the transport container. And then there are limits on the size too as well as minimum and maximum connection times.
And then as the UK is a non Schengen arrival there are restricted airports that can be used.
And then there are different rules for transporting pets to the UK as opposed to from it.
Not that IB will carry a pet back to the UK
IBERIA is still not authorised to transport animals to the United Kingdom and will there-fore not accept any pets for this destination
See https://www.iberia.com/gb/fly-with-iberia/pets/
And that’s just IB.
KL has its own set of rules for e.g. carrier size.
Not that KL can transport a pet as baggage back to the UK …
Way back in 1996 I flew a dalmatian and a boxer from LHR to IAD. You have to use approved crates, but it was very straightforward. At IAD they arrived in the oversized baggae section looking abolutely fine. US CBP didn’t bat an eyelid as we wheeled the two large crates through customs.
Returning IAD-LHR in 1998 was slightly different as it was rabies quarantine time still. In those days you needed an appointed agent who would receive them and take them straight into quarantine. This is the hardest part. We sent ours 3 months before our return, so the wait when we got back wasn’t so long. It all seemed to go uneventfully and after the quarantine period they were fine. Sadly no longer with us.
Way back in 1996 I flew a dalmatian and a boxer from LHR to IAD. You have to use approved crates, but it was very straightforward. At IAD they arrived in the oversized baggae section looking abolutely fine. US CBP didn’t bat an eyelid as we wheeled the two large crates through customs.
Returning IAD-LHR in 1998 was slightly different as it was rabies quarantine time still. In those days you needed an appointed agent who would receive them and take them straight into quarantine. This is the hardest part. We sent ours 3 months before our return, so the wait when we got back wasn’t so long. It all seemed to go uneventfully and after the quarantine period they were fine. Sadly no longer with us.
These days, I’m not sure many airlines will allow boxers or other brachycephalic breeds in the hold (and maybe not in the cabin). We had a friend who used to travel regularly with a pekinese or a shih tzu but the airline will no longer accept them. The OP’s Jack Russell should be OK though!
Thanks to everyone who replied for their input. It seems there aren’t too many carriers who would take the dog. TAP also aren’t allowed to fly animals into the UK. For direct flights it looks like only BA or TUI (Easyjet, Ryanair, Wizzair, Jet2 are all guide-dog only), and both require use of a third-party company to provide the service. I fear driving 26 hours at the beginning and end of the trip would make it more of an ordeal than a holiday. I will continue to look into it, but maybe it’s more hassle than it’s actually worth!
It can seem daunting at the start but we found once we had the research done the actual travelling was a breeze. As you say I think you will find that you will have to use an outsourced agent which will at least make the paperwork easy as they will know what to expect. The main thing is find your vet for the worming tablet to come back but again in the holiday hotspots most vets are used to it and the paperwork needed.
We took our Westie to France for a month, dropped him off with SAS, was able to pick him up in Oslo to walk for an hour between flights before handing him back for the flight to CDG. They could even give me a temperature readout of the hold space below. We took him for a walk on the beach everyday and loved having him with us.
Was IB also a no-fly? I agree with Norsksaint that once you’ve sorted it out it’ll make the holiday more enjoyable. From having cats, it’s also a lot of hassle making alternative arrangements for them while one is away, and then one feels guilty and misses them! (Though fortunately ours mainly stays at home with our son these days).
Unless it’s changed recently then UK does not accept pets in the cabin on any airline. You may find someone that will take them as luggage, otherwise you’re in the realms of a pet transport company which will be expensive and probably unrealistic for a holiday!
What we did coming from Singapore to the UK was fly to Amsterdam as KLM do allow pets in the cabin and then took a ferry to the UK from there
There’s a handful of European airlines listed here:
It’s quite simple actually. A limited number of airlines allow ex uk pets up to 8kg in the cabin on certain routes eg IB LHR to MAD if pre booked on the phone and only 2 or 3 max animals per flight.
We took our elderly cat out to Spain on a one way in January this year.
Uk regulations don’t allow any animal arrivals in the cabin, hold only. Folk often use Brittany ferries or car in the euro tunnel for a returnYes. You can actually book a “dog taxi” to come from the UK and collect you and take you back through the euro tunnel!
Just throwing it out there but what about taking the ferry to Northern Spain then driving from there?
Just throwing it out there but what about taking the ferry to Northern Spain then driving from there?
I actually took a look at this option earlier today. I haven’t totally ruled it out, but it’s 20 or 26 hours on the ferry and still leaves quite a long drive to get to the Algarve from Bilbao/Santander, making it a longer journey than if I drive direct, albeit that on the ferry I wouldn’t need to be driving for that time. And prices were over £200 per person, probably more expensive than flying.
So far there isn’t a clear best option – all have some good points and some bad points. And I may still abandon the idea. Thanks again for everyone’s input.
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