# Travel to Dubai with dogs - Cargo or passenger plane?



## emegas (May 28, 2013)

Hello everyone, I need some clarification on pet travel (moving with my two dogs from Brussels) to Dubai. I've called around and have received conflicting information so I am hoping someone who has recently travelled with their pets to Dubai can give me some clarification.

I am being told that the UAE prohibits any dogs to travel on a passenger plane (called KLM and Lufthansa). Instead they need to travel on the airline's freight cargo plane which can only be organized by an animal transport service. In other words, we are unable to travel with our dogs on the same flight and are not allowed to organize/plan any part of the trip (must be organized by the animal transport service).

However, I have called one pet transport service in the UK and one relocation service in Dubai who say this is not the case. They say they send dogs all the time on passenger planes, only that they are prohibited on the flight and must travel in the cargo hold of the plane.

My question is, are dogs allowed to travel in the cargo hold of the same plane we will travel on or must they travel on a separate cargo plane? 

I really want to be able to travel with my dogs. If I need to use a transport service to organize travel for the dogs, that is fine, I just want to ensure I can plan to be on the same plane as them.

Can anyone shed some light on this matter? Perhaps I'm missing something!!!!

Many thanks in advance for your help.


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## TallyHo (Aug 21, 2011)

There may be confusion over the terminology involved.

'freight cargo' versus 'cargo' on a passenger plane. Call centre people aren't necessarily the best informed people when it comes to the fine details of policies. 

It may be worth it to go to a KLM or Lufthansa office in person to speak directly with the manager there. 

I know people who exported pets from the UAE on passenger planes so it'd be quite odd if dogs weren't allowed in the country via a passenger plane. 



emegas said:


> Hello everyone, I need some clarification on pet travel (moving with my two dogs from Brussels) to Dubai. I've called around and have received conflicting information so I am hoping someone who has recently travelled with their pets to Dubai can give me some clarification.
> 
> I am being told that the UAE prohibits any dogs to travel on a passenger plane (called KLM and Lufthansa). Instead they need to travel on the airline's freight cargo plane which can only be organized by an animal transport service. In other words, we are unable to travel with our dogs on the same flight and are not allowed to organize/plan any part of the trip (must be organized by the animal transport service).
> 
> ...


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## Chocoholic (Oct 29, 2012)

They travel in hold as cargo, not on a cargo flight.


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## BravoMike (May 21, 2013)

Emegas, I work for a major airline and can guarantee you that pets do travel on passenger aircraft. They will only be allowed in the passenger cabin under certain circumstances i.e guide dog but they will be accommodated in the hold. It's likely that you will need to arrange this through an agent.


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## emegas (May 28, 2013)

Thank you everyone for replying. Perhaps as TallyHo mentioned, it all comes down to terminology when referring to cargo. Either way it's good to know they can travel on a passenger plane and most likely we can arrange they travel on the same flight.

Thanks again!


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## Chocoholic (Oct 29, 2012)

emegas said:


> Thank you everyone for replying. Perhaps as TallyHo mentioned, it all comes down to terminology when referring to cargo. Either way it's good to know they can travel on a passenger plane and most likely we can arrange they travel on the same flight.
> 
> Thanks again!


Any airline will either want you on the same flight, or you must provide someone to drop them off and receive them at the other end.

I brought mine over with Emirates - who were amazing. I was on the flight, dropped them off several hours beforehand and staff came and tole me they were loaded, that the pilot had switched the heaters on etc. Then I picked them up from Cargo Village after the flight, did all the vet checks etc.

I didn't use an agent. I did everything myself - you save a lot of money that way.

FYI, you must book you animals in advance, as airlines will fly only ONE set of animals at a time.


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## TheStegg (Jan 12, 2011)

Chocoholic said:


> Any airline will either want you on the same flight, or you must provide someone to drop them off and receive them at the other end.
> 
> I brought mine over with Emirates - who were amazing. I was on the flight, dropped them off several hours beforehand and staff came and tole me they were loaded, that the pilot had switched the heaters on etc. Then I picked them up from Cargo Village after the flight, did all the vet checks etc.
> 
> ...


Chocoholic- My wife and I are considering doing the same thing. Do you mind sharing the cost involved in shipping them over? How quickly after you landed were you able to pick them up? How did you get them home from the airport (assuming it wasn't by taxi).


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## Chocoholic (Oct 29, 2012)

Oh gosh, this was 10 years a go now. I got all my info from DEFRA and liaised with the guys at Emirates. I was lucky in that my parents were living in Dubai at the time, so I came over to get all their import permits - which have to be obtained from the ministry of fisheries and agriculture, flew back to the UK, got all the export permits, blood tests etc done and I flew back with them. The cost is done on the volume and weight the crates take up in the hold of the plane. You might require someone to help you with the permits this end. It's worth speaking to Dubai Kennel & Cattery as they can assist in as little or as much as you want.

As soon as I landed I went around to Cargo Village - but you have to wait for the municipality vet to give them the all clear, pay the fees etc before they are released. It didn't take very long at all.

You won't be able to take them in a taxi, so you need a friend with a car or have a hire car to hand or as I said DKC can assist with picking them up.


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## Jynxgirl (Nov 27, 2009)

Animals can not be brought in as checked luggage, like other countries. They have to come in throught the cargo facility. They can come on the exact same flight as you do, but it is considered 'cargo' and will need to be picked up as cargo. When you get ready to leave, they can leave as checked luggage though. 

You can contact the companies directly in the usa and fly them without using a carrier. Europe though may have these restrictions. I do not know. I would suggest to call a few more airlines, but their cargo department to see if you can do it yourself. That one phone call is the difference between the plane ticket being 400$ for each cat (this is from the usa) or like 1000$ for one cats flight. Maddening they can get away with ripping people off like that! Oh I forgot, they come and pick up the pet, and drop the pet off at the airport too..... 

You will need to pick them up though at the cargo departmetn and need to have paperwork ready. This is the issue with flying them on the same plane as you and not using one of the pet transport companies. It is located a little ways down from the airport. If you are renting a car, you will be able to pick them up. If just taxi'ing, you will run into an issue as they will not allow them in the car. 

The paperwork you have to do on this end, prior to picking them up/getting them here, needs to be done like 7 or less days in advance, and they said 48 hours, but it ended up being like 4 days for me to get the approval paperwork back, not including weekend days so dont count on exact days. Do seven days to the day in advance is my suggestion. You can find the simple document on the animal ministries page. I have referenced it before so if you do a search it will come up easy enough. It takes just a few minutes to fill out and that is all you have to do prior to them coming here, on this end. 

Also there is a company that has been referenced a few times on here that is like a third of the price of the big guys. I think the persons name is Steve and jet pets or something like this. Everyone praises the operation and seems to save people like 2/3 of the price of using the kennels.


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## TallyHo (Aug 21, 2011)

Also check out Alison Doghouse Dubai. Google those three words and you'll find her website. She's handled the permit paperwork for a few colleagues and is very reasonable.



Jynxgirl said:


> Animals can not be brought in as checked luggage, like other countries. They have to come in throught the cargo facility. They can come on the exact same flight as you do, but it is considered 'cargo' and will need to be picked up as cargo. When you get ready to leave, they can leave as checked luggage though.
> 
> You can contact the companies directly in the usa and fly them without using a carrier. Europe though may have these restrictions. I do not know. I would suggest to call a few more airlines, but their cargo department to see if you can do it yourself. That one phone call is the difference between the plane ticket being 400$ for each cat (this is from the usa) or like 1000$ for one cats flight. Maddening they can get away with ripping people off like that! Oh I forgot, they come and pick up the pet, and drop the pet off at the airport too.....
> 
> ...


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## Jynxgirl (Nov 27, 2009)

Side note...  Travel embargos when you go to leave as is during the summer months (going back to the usa, not sure about other countries). Can't go out if over 85 degrees on either side of the flight. YEA!!!.... ??? !!!! 85 did you say??? WHAT????????????????????

Cargo vs Checked luggage.... HUGE OUCH. Plan your escape out of this place well is my advice. 

Pammy or Ari are gona be house sitting two adorable ragdolls until sept 15th and then coming for vacation


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## jbabyme (May 30, 2013)

In which airline you are traveling .


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## Jynxgirl (Nov 27, 2009)

n/m


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## catherine ber (Jun 12, 2013)

*pets flying to Dubai*

Your dog can travel on the same plane as you if it is a cargo. It won t be allowed (any pet) to travel with the passengers but in the pets zone of the plane.
Dogs in Dubai are quite happy except from june to October because of the heat.
The ticket for the dog is expensive.


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## Difi1000 (Jun 23, 2013)

We brought our Dog over a few months ago. 

The dog can travel on the same plane as you but it must go cargo. This does not mean it is a 'cargo flight' but a separate part of the plane where the cargo is stored. I got confused with this too. We used Emirates and we flew on the same plane as our dog. We did not sedate her and she was absolutely fine, we, on the other hand, could have done with a lot of sedation worrying about how she was as we took off!

The reason for the confusion on the terminology is that some airlines/countries allow pets to go hand luggage, i.e. they can actually sit on the seat next to you (in a cage). Dubai does not allow this and all animals must go in the cargo section of the plane. 

The cargo area is heated/air conditioned and they give them water through the flight. So it’s not along with the suit cases or anything like that! 

There are two sides to the process, the country of origin and the Dubai side. We came from the UK and needed the following:

UK SIDE

1. Export Certificate from DEFRA (form EXA1)
2. Air way bill

For point 1, we had to apply to DEFRA for this no sooner than 10 days pre travel using form EXA1. DEFRA send a certificate to your nominated vet about 3-5 days before you travel and the vet then carries out an inspection on the animal. If the animal is fit, the certificate is signed and this is your Export Certificate. It is only valid for 10 days from signature, so the flight must be soon after this. The vet also needs to recognized by DEFRA so you need to check the vet has the right qualifications/memberships. 

To qualify for the license the animal needs to have all vaccines up to date, including Rabies. Vaccines must be no older than 1 year but no newer than 20 days pre travel date. Note that certain breeds are prohibited. You also need an 'approved' microchip - your vet can tell you if your microchip is compliant. I think most are so this wasn't an issue. 

It is worth noting that Rabies takes about six months to get. It not just a simple first vaccine and there is a process involved, including blood testing. 

For point 2, we got Animal Airlines to handle the air way bill so I have no idea how you get this. They sent this to us about 48 hours pre travel by courier. They also booked the ticket for the dog. I know they needed the export license from DEFRA for the air way bill. The ticket cost more than both of ours put together 

The animal needs to travel in an approved crate. These can be obtained from approved vendors. Animal Airlines sourced this for us and delivered it to the drop off point at Emirates Cargo. You need to measure up the animal to get the correct size. Too big is OK, but too small and they won't let you fly. But I doubt anyone would want to cram their poor pet into a tiny box! Consider getting the box into your car too, we originally were going to have it delivered so she could get used to it, thankfully we considered the fact it wouldn't fit in the car when we came to it drop off! 

The animal needs to be dropped off at a certain place about 4 hours pre flight with all the paperwork. The airline will tell you where this is located once you have booked the animal’s ticket. Paperwork we needed was ORIGINAL DEFRA/export certificate, ORIGINAL airway bill, ORIGINAL vaccines, record of microchip. These all stay with the animal during transport. 

The only issue we encountered, which we did not expect in London, was that no taxi driver would take us to the airport with a dog, this despite specifying that a dog would be present! We finally found one who would but it was cut pretty fine.

DUBAI SIDE

An import licence was needed. DKC (Dubai Kennels and Cattery) dealt with this. They needed copies of the airway bill, DEFRA/export certificate and the vaccine certificate including Rabies, in order to get this. Animal Airlines and DKC got in touch with other and dealt with all this which made it hassle free. 

DKC were brilliant. We got a text three hours after landing to say that our dog had cleared customs (almost faster than us with the awful visa queue!). We could have picked up her then, but we had nowhere for her to stay (hotel was not dog friendly). So she had to go into kennels. 

She was absolutely fine after the flight. I am not sure she realises she is in another country and maybe thinks England has suddenly got very hot. The heat is getting bad, you cannot walk them after about 9am and before 6pm. Always take off your shoes and check the heat of the pavement. Animals are always getting burnt paws. Walking at night or very early in the morning is really the only option. We have also given ours (a westie) a very short hair cut too! 

DKC publish a very comprehensive guide to importing animals into the UAE on their website. I have met a few people who have done it themselves though. Our neighbours did it many times, although one time there were told that their cat had died. On demanding to see the body, they found that the cat was just scared and not moving. So if that every happens, make sure you check! Whilst they said the process was doable, they did say it was a constant nightmare dealing with the paperwork Dubai side, especially after a long flight and usually at 3am in the morning. 

And finally, we searched high and low for pet friendly short term accommodation with no luck. Unless you are going straight into rented accommodation that allows pets, don't expect to find a hotel or short term place that will let you have dogs. Thankfully we had some nice friends who looked after ours whilst we found our villa. Kennelling is not cheap, it is comparable to UK prices, so a month of kennelling will be expensive. Also they book up over summer so check availability. Don't use Doggies Palace, it’s not very good. Woof, DKC and Paws Pets Planet are all OK.

All in, the process cost us just under GPB 1,500, that included the ticket and an agent on both sides plus vet fees and registration of the dog with the Dubai authorities. We were too worried to do it ourselves so got the full bells and whistles option. The only thing we did ourselves was drop our dog at the airport and send off the DEFRA application form. DEFRA were remarkably helpful and guide you though this. If you have a good vet, they will have experience of this process too and can ensure you stay on track. 

Incidentally, it is possible for the pet to travel without you being on the same plane. You just need someone to drop it off and deal with the paper work in the country of origin.


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## terdubai (Feb 15, 2012)

If the pet travels with you, it is shockingly cheaper. We used an agency the way to Dubai and paid $6000 USD for 2 dogs. To leave, we were quoted $16000 USD by the same company! That forced me to do my research and we are now flying with the dogs for under $1000 USD. Granted, we have to change the airline and the routing, but for that price difference it's fine with me,


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