Airline in hot water for new infant and pet policy | Official Website of Louis Velazquez, entrepreneur, finance guy and tech innovator

The major change to rules involving animals one can bring aboard flights was cemented in 2020 when the Department of Transportation (DoT) removed accommodations for emotional support animals. Tweaks that airlines make to their policy continue to sow confusion among travelers, however.

In 2024, American Airlines updated its pet policy to no longer count pet carriers as an additional item; most major North American airlines allow animals that stay within a carrier of 18 x 11 x 11 inches throughout the flight to be brought into the cabin for a fee of $150.

But in Canada, a couple traveling on Alberta low-cost airline Flair Airlines was recently denied boarding on a flight between Vancouver and Toronto with their two dogs and 10-month-old daughter.

As Vancouver residents Ryan Coulson and Rebecca Bordeiasu described to Canadian newspaper National Post, they made it to the gate. Then the agent informed them that the airline’s policy required each infant and pet to travel with a ticketed adult, and they had three pets and children between the two of them.

“Trying to make us choose between our dog and our baby”: Flair Airlines traveler

“The lady was almost trying to make us choose between our dog and our baby,” Bordeiasu said.

After being denied boarding, the couple ended up going home and booking a flight with national airline Air Canada a few days later (this airline did not have an issue with their passenger count) and reaching out to Flair Airlines to figure out whether they were incorrectly denied boarding.

“We were told, without warning, that Flair had implemented a new internal policy on November 20 stating that a passenger cannot fly with both a dog and an infant,” Coulson said to the National Post. In fact, Flair’s website still allows passengers to book a flight with both an infant and a dog.”

Flair Airlines ended up contacting them to confirm that it had in fact changed its policy on traveling with pets and infants.

While the denial of boarding automatically entitled Coulson and Bordeiasu to a refund, the uproar around the incident caused the airline to issue another statement trying to pin responsibility on the Canadian government agency overseeing transportation.

Flair Airlines tried to pass off its policy on transporting pets and infants as a government requirement.

Image source&colon; Shutterstock

“Individual airlines may have policies or restrictions for passengers transporting animals”

“The rule in question is longstanding and comes directly from Transport Canada-approved manuals for this aircraft type,” Flair Airlines said in a statement.

But in yet another twist to the strange tale, Transport Canada also gave the National Post a statement saying that it has “no requirements related to passengers traveling with both infants and pets.”

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As a result, it is looking increasingly like the airline tried to hide behind the government after getting called out for changing its policy with inadequate notice to passengers.

“Individual airlines may have policies or restrictions for passengers transporting animals while also traveling with infants,” the Transport Canada statement said further.

“It is therefore recommended that travelers contact their airline well in advance to inquire about their specific situation.”