Rejected petition Amend rule to permit small pets in cabin on EU/EEA-to-UK flights with safeguards

Amend UK rules so small cats and dogs can travel in the cabin on EU/EEA-to-UK commercial flights (under-seat carrier). Keep biosecurity by requiring Pet Travel compliance and mandatory microchip/document checks on arrival.

More details

Cargo-only air travel can be highly stressful for some pets and is not unsuitable for anxious, elderly or medically fragile animals and for some breeds with breathing difficulties. This pushes many owners into indirect travel (fly to near country, then enter GB by ferry or Eurotunnel), adding transfers and journey time. Indirect routes often rely on third-party transport services and can involve high fees. E.g. Ireland allows airlines to carry small pets in-cabin while import rules still apply.

This petition was rejected

Why was this petition rejected?

There’s already a petition about this issue. We cannot accept a new petition when we already have one about a very similar issue.

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You may wish instead to sign this petition which is already open:

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/750817
Allow small pets to travel in the cabin on flights entering the UK

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Date submitted 22 January 2026
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