Porter welcomes certified, professionally-trained service animals and emotional support dogs in the aircraft cabin, as long as the animal is providing disability-related assistance to a passenger. If you plan on travelling with your service animal we recommend that you notify us at least 48 hours prior to departure, so that we can best accommodate you and your animal.
You will not be able to check in online, so please see a Porter agent at the Check-In counter at least 90 minutes prior to your flight’s scheduled departure time. The required documentation and behaviour of the animal will be assessed at the airport to ensure safety requirements are met before approving your animal for travel.
A service animal is trained to perform a specific task and/or function to assist an individual with a disability in the management of their disability (such as pathfinding, providing stability, alerting to sounds etc.).
When travelling within Canada, Porter will accept your service animal for carriage without charge if the animal is:
Porter is entitled to obtain assurances that we can safely transport your animal and that the animal behaves properly in a public setting. You may be asked to present supporting documents from the training institution.
When travelling to or from the United States, as proof of your animal’s status, you will need to provide at least one of the following:
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) requires all dogs entering the United States to be immunized against rabies. Proof of vaccination is required before air travel begins.
Emotional support animals provide comfort, affection and companionship to aid in emotional and/or psychiatric therapy of individuals who have been diagnosed with a mental or emotional disorder.
These animals are not trained service animals, as they are not trained to perform a specific task and/or function to assist an individual with a psychological disability.
Please note that Porter accepts only dogs as emotional support or psychiatric service animals.
To travel with an emotional support or psychiatric service animal, you must provide supporting documentation dated within 1 year of your scheduled flight. It must be on letterhead from either a licensed medical or mental health professional to be presented to an agent upon check-in stating the following:
Our Disability Assistance Desk must receive and validate the required documentation prior to the time of travel. Porter will make reasonable efforts to accommodate requests made within 48 hours of your departure.
Verification of documentation may include Porter contacting your mental health care professional. If we are unable to validate the documentation or if the advance notification is not given, you may be required to transport your animal as a pet, and in that case, pet policy including fees will apply.
Porter will not accept animals that could pose a safety hazard or a public health concern. Snakes, reptiles, ferrets, rodents, farm poultry or animals with hooves fall within this category of animals.
An animal may be denied transport if it:
Porter does not accept for transport service animals in training, rescue dogs or therapy dogs.
Porter will allocate an appropriate seat for you. Due to regulatory and safety requirements, exit row seats cannot be assigned when travelling with a service animal.
If you intend to travel with your service animal on your lap, please note that:
In the event that your service animal needs to relieve itself, please use the designated animal relief areas. Please ask our airport staff for directions or assistance.
If you need to leave the secure boarding area to relieve your animal, you must go through the security screening process again.
When booking your reservation, please consider that extra time may be required when connecting to another flight to allow for customs/security clearance and relief of your dog.
When connecting to or from any other airline, including interline flights; please contact them directly for their acceptance requirements and restrictions.
When travelling outside of Canada, keep in mind that restrictions on the entry of animals vary by country:
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