We’ve got four steps to share with pet parents who experience a pet move delay or flight cancellation.

We’ve all seen videos of luggage and travelers piled up in airports because of: 

• Scheduling glitches.
• Severe weather.
• Labor shortages. 
• Mechanical failures. 

Pet moves are also delayed by:

• Temperature. Temperature regulations assure pet safety. Anything below 45 or above 85 degrees Fahrenheit (7 to 27 degrees Celsius) at origin, all transit points and the destination cause cancellations. 
• Space. When there are too many animals booked, airlines cancel or reschedule pet flights. It’s similar to bumping people from overbooked flights.
• Destination limits. Pet import departments at popular destinations are fully booked during much of the year. 

When people on airplanes are delayed or cancelled, so are pets. Sometimes even more so because there is less space for pets.

If your pet move manager tells you your pet move is delayed or the flight canceled:

• Prepare to adapt to a new itinerary, airline change or new pick-up and arrival arrangements.
• Understand that a supplemental health certificate or a new international health certificate may be required if the move is delayed beyond the original health certificate expiration.
• Watch your email or overnight mail for updated pet export and import papers if needed. Put them in your carry-on. 
• Follow all instructions prepared by your pet move manager.

“At Air Animal we’re really good at what we do. We know all the airline regulations for pets. We know all the pet import rules for countries around the world. But we can’t control the weather, and we don’t fly the planes,” says Walter M. Woolf, owner and founding veterinarian of Air Animal Pet Movers. “If a pet move is delayed or flights canceled, we work hard implementing Plan B, C or D.”

Air Animal has helped more than 50,000 families move their 110,000 furry, feathered and scaly pets around the globe since 1977. Air Animal is an appointed and endorsed IATA air cargo sales agency working with all airlines that move animals. They are an Indirect Air Carrier cleared by the U.S. Transportation Security Administration for tendering live animals to airlines.

Benny relocated from Sao Paulo, Brazil to St. Paul, MN