Flying a Dog in the Hold: The Official Figures, the Risks and How to Do It Safely

If your dog is bigger than a small terrier, it cannot fly in the cabin, and the question becomes whether to put it in the hold. For most owners that is a frightening thought. The hold is out of sight, the stories people tell about it are the bad ones, and nobody at the airline seems able to say what it is really like down there. This guide sets out what is actually known. It gives the official safety figures, explains where the real danger lies, lists the dogs that should not fly this way, says which airlines still offer it, and goes through how to prepare, so that you can make the decision with facts in front of you.

What the Hold Is

The part of the hold where animals travel is pressurised and temperature controlled, like the cabin above it. It is dark and it is noisy, but it is not the unheated baggage space that people imagine. Your dog travels in a rigid crate, secured so that it cannot slide, and on most airlines animals are loaded last and unloaded first so that they spend as little time as possible waiting on the ground.

There are two ways a dog gets there, and the difference matters. On some airlines you check the dog in at the airport as accompanied baggage, and it travels on the same flight as you. On others, and on all flights into Great Britain, the dog is booked separately as cargo, through the airline's freight arm or a pet shipping company, and handed over at a cargo terminal some hours before departure. Cargo costs more and involves more paperwork, but the conditions in the air are the same.

What the Official Figures Say

American airlines are required to report to the Department of Transportation every animal that dies, is injured or is lost in their care, along with the total number they carried in the year. The results are published every February. For 2025, the Department's report shows that the reporting airlines carried 117,861 animals. Three died, five were injured and one was lost. That is nine incidents in all, or fewer than one for every ten thousand animals carried.

Alaska Airlines carried more than half of them, 64,217 animals, with two deaths and one injury. Several regional airlines carried thousands each with no incidents at all. Alaska, which carries by far the most, had an incident rate below the average for all the airlines, which is what you would expect of any skilled job done every day.

Those numbers put the fear in proportion. The great majority of animals that fly in the hold arrive safe and well. But the figures have limits. They cover American carriers only, they do not measure how frightened a dog was on a flight where nothing went wrong, and every one of those nine was somebody's dog. A low risk is not the same as no risk, and it is not spread evenly across all dogs.

Where the Danger Really Is

The risk is concentrated in two places, and neither is the flight itself. The first is the ground. A dog in a crate has to wait in a holding area, be driven across the apron to the aircraft and be loaded, and on a hot day or a freezing one that is when things go wrong. Airlines know it, which is why their temperature rules are about the airport and not the air. American Airlines will not accept a checked pet if the forecast temperature at any point on the journey is above 85°F or below 45°F, and Air Canada may refuse pets in the hold above 85°F as well.

The second is the dog. Some dogs are far more at risk than others because of their build, their age or their temperament, and they are the ones the airlines turn away. If you take one thing from this guide, let it be that the hold is safe for a fit adult dog of normal shape in mild weather, and much less safe for a dog that is none of those things.

The Dogs That Should Not Fly in the Hold

Flat faced breeds come first. Bulldogs, French bulldogs, pugs, boxers, Boston terriers and similar dogs have short airways, breathe less efficiently and cope badly with heat and stress. Most airlines restrict or refuse them in the hold. KLM does not carry snub nosed breeds there, Air Canada does not, and Alaska Airlines refuses them and places an embargo on bulldogs in late summer. The airline industry's own body, IATA, says a snub nosed dog needs a crate ten per cent larger than the standard size, to give it more air. If you own one of these breeds, the honest advice is not to fly it in the hold at all.

Very old dogs, very young ones, dogs with heart or breathing trouble and dogs that panic when confined are poor candidates too. Ask your vet directly whether your dog is fit for it, and take a hesitant answer seriously. Our guide to the vet visit before you travel explains what to ask. A dog that would be distressed by hours alone in a crate at home will not be happier at thirty thousand feet.

Which Airlines Still Do It

In the United States, the option has almost gone. United no longer lets ordinary passengers check pets. American accepts checked pets only for military and State Department staff travelling on official orders. Southwest, JetBlue and Frontier carry no animals in the hold. Alaska is the main airline that still does, at $200 each way, in a climate controlled baggage compartment, and our guide to flying with a dog on Alaska Airlines gives its rules in full.

Outside the United States there is more choice. Air Canada carries dogs in the hold up to 45 kg including the crate. Air France and KLM carry them up to 75 kg. Iberia and TAP carry them up to 45 kg. Above those weights, or on routes where no airline takes checked pets, the dog travels as cargo.

Flights into Great Britain are a special case. Pets arriving by air must travel as cargo, whatever their size, unless they are assistance dogs. That applies to a chihuahua as much as to a Great Dane. Our guide to taking a dog from the US to the UK explains the rule and the ways people avoid it.

Choosing the Flight

Three choices do more for your dog's safety than anything else. The first is to fly direct. Every connection means another unloading, another wait on the ground and another loading, and a chance for a crate to miss the second flight. If there is no direct flight from your nearest airport, consider driving to one that has it. A few hours in the car is far easier on a dog than a change of planes.

The second is to fly in mild weather. Avoid the height of summer and the depth of winter if you possibly can, and if you must fly in summer, take the first flight of the morning or the last of the evening, when the tarmac is coolest. The third is to book the dog when you book yourself. Airlines limit the number of animals on each aircraft, and some aircraft types cannot carry them at all. Ring the airline, get the booking confirmed in writing, and ring again a few days before to check that it is still on the system.

The Crate

The crate is the most important thing you will buy, and the rule for its size is simple. In the words of IATA's guidance for pet owners, the container must allow the animal to turn about normally while standing, to stand and sit erect, and to lie in a natural position. Measure your dog and buy to that, not to the size on the label, because airlines refuse crates that are too small and you will not find another at the airport.

It must be rigid, well ventilated and securely fastened, with a water container that can be filled from outside without opening the door. American Airlines, for example, asks for a door made of metal, fastenings at top and bottom, and absorbent material on the floor. Check your airline's own requirements before you buy, because some add rules of their own and limit the height of crate that will fit a particular aircraft.

Then give your dog time. Buy the crate weeks ahead, put its bed in it, feed it in it, and let it sleep there with the door open and later closed. A dog that regards its crate as its own safe place travels calmly, and a dog shut into a strange box for the first time at the airport does not. Our guide to training your dog to travel explains how to build that up.

Sedation

Do not sedate your dog for a flight. IATA discourages it, and airlines go further. American Airlines, following the advice of the American Veterinary Medical Association, will not accept a pet that has been sedated or tranquillised, because sedatives raise the risk of breathing and heart problems at altitude. A sedated dog also cannot balance itself when the crate is moved, and may be injured as a result. If your dog is a nervous traveller, talk to your vet well in advance about what is safe, and put your effort into crate training, which does far more good than any tablet.

On the Day

Give your dog a long walk before you leave for the airport. IATA's advice is to reduce the amount of food the day before, give plenty of water, and offer only a light meal about two hours before you hand the dog over. Line the crate with something absorbent, and put in a worn T shirt or a blanket that smells of home. Leave out toys and anything the dog could chew apart and choke on.

Label the crate with your dog's name, your name and mobile number, and a contact at your destination. Fix a photograph of the dog and a copy of its papers to the top, and tape a small bag of its food there in case of a delay. Take off the lead and any collar that could catch on the crate. When you board, tell a member of the cabin crew that your dog is in the hold and ask them to confirm that it has been loaded. Most are glad to check, and on some airlines you will be told as a matter of course.

When to Use a Pet Shipping Company

For a long international journey, a country with quarantine, or a dog the passenger airlines will not carry, a specialist pet shipper is often the right answer. They book the dog as cargo on a suitable route, supply the right crate, handle the paperwork and the customs clearance, and look after the dog at each end. It costs a good deal more than a checked pet fee. For a big dog on a difficult journey it can be worth every penny, and for flights into Britain or Australia there is often no other way. Our guide to the quarantine countries explains what those journeys involve.

A Closing Thought

Flying a dog in the hold is neither the horror it is made out to be nor something to do lightly. The figures show that it almost always goes well, and the airlines' own rules on heat, breed and crates show exactly where it can go wrong. The first decision is the most important one: does this journey really need a flight? If it can be driven, drive. If it cannot, choose a direct flight in cool weather, a crate your dog already loves, and an airline that still does this every day.