Less than a week ago, the great and the good of the civil aviation sector gathered in Montreal, Canada, for the grandly-titled Joint Symposium on Accessibility in International Civil Aviation.
Despite the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) designating 2024 as the Year of Facilitation, the symposium program contained no reference to assistance or guide dogs, and neither Assistance Dogs International (ADI) nor the International Guide Dog Federation (IGDF) were among the international NGOs listed invited to attend.
Jointly organized by ICAO, Airports Council International (ACI) and the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the two-day program aimed to promote ‘Inclusive and universally accessible Air Transport for Persons with Disabilities and Reduced Mobility.’ But as any assistance dog team will tell you, even with the correct documentation and an ADI-certified dog, ‘inclusive and universally accessible air transport’ is still the exception rather than the norm - so much so that ADI recently had to update its travel guide for assistance dog teams.
As we mark United Nations International Civil Aviation Day, which aims to celebrate ‘the marvels of flight and the interconnected world it has created’, many ADI member organizations still regularly report clients experiencing significant hassles navigating airports or even refusals at the boarding gate.
“A seemingly endless list of obstacles from dogs not being allowed in the cabin to the bureaucratic nightmare of international pet passports seem designed to exclude assistance dogs and their partners from enjoying the same access as the rest of us,” says ADI Executive Director Chris Diefenthaler. “The challenges are made worse by different laws and regulations in different countries. Being refused permission to board is a humiliating and stressful experience.”
Some of the confusion is down to individual airlines either misunderstanding or misapplying the rules - hardly surprising since they are so confusing and vary significantly between different countries. From Canada to Australia, airlines are finding themselves caught in legal rows over what is and what isn’t an assistance dog - and who can fly with one.
The rules themselves are often vague or even contradictory. A recent update to the European Civil Aviation Conference policy statement refers to ‘recognized service dogs,’ without defining what recognition is or who does the recognizing. As a result, it’s down to individual airlines to make that judgement call. Brexit further complicated life for assistance dog teams, introducing new rules for travelling to Europe or Northern Ireland from Great Britain with an assistance dog. The ICAO itself simply describes ‘service animals’ as ‘normally being dogs or other animals specified in national regulations, for the purpose of accompanying persons with disabilities with the purpose of providing them with physical and/or emotional support.’
It’s not all bad news though, and there are some hopeful signs that attitudes are changing. When army veteran Dan Trampenau boarded EasyJet flight EZY811 with his assistance dog Otto for the one hour hop from London to Edinburgh recently, the short haul service could not have been smoother. The flight marked a major milestone for the pair and for Bravehound, the recently accredited ADI member organization which trained Otto.
“Huge thanks to the EasyJet staff for looking after us all so well and welcoming Otto,” says Dan. “I was honored to be the first veteran to fly with an assistance dog trained by Bravehound.” The pair were allowed to fly because Otto was trained by a member of ADI, one of only two accrediting organizations (the other being IGDF) recognized in the UK and many other countries as having high enough standards to enable dogs to fly safely in aircraft cabins.
In another major first, British Airways - which offers free cabin travel for all recognized service dogs - last year helped former police officer Brian Hickman achieve his ambition of flying again, 15 years after he suffered life-changing injuries on duty. Accompanying Brian was his Cockapoo mobility assistance dog Lily, trained by ADI member Dog A.I.D. in the UK. “Everyone from British Airways was so nice and helpful from start to end of our journey,” recalls Brian. “It was a day to remember for all the good reasons. Lily and I had a great day out and I now know we can fly whenever we want to.”
“Stories like those of Dan and Brian go to show it is possible for assistance dog teams to enjoy the same access to air travel as anyone else,” says Chris Diefenthaler. “Sadly, that’s not always the case, and ADI will continue to advocate and raise awareness to remove barriers and challenges for our graduates.”