Pet and animal transport by air is by far the most popular mode of pet travel. Not only is it obviously the fastest option, which means less time spent in a travel kennel and less travel stress for parents and pets alike, but it is also the more affordable option.
PETport has decades of experience shipping animals by air behind us, you can rest assured knowing that you and your pets are in good hands throughout the entire pet relocation process. Â We tailor your travel plans based on airline handling, transit point handling and pets welfare which remain paramount to us during your entire relocation.
We offer 3 types of delivery or collection services for your convenience:
1. Door to door:
Our Animal Handlers will collect your pets from the agreed upon residence, transport them via air or road and after arrival at destination, deliver them to their new home address.
2. Door to airport:
Our Animal Handlers will collect the pets from your home or agreed upon address, check them in at the airport to fly to your chosen city, and on arrival at their destination airport you will be able to collect your pets. Next step is for you to finalise customs and airline procedures, and then you and your fur-babies can head off to explore your new home!
3. Airport to airport:
In this instance, you will deliver the pets to the airport, where one of our Animal Handlers will meet you for check in. We arrange to fly your pets to the destination airport and you will collect your pets upon their arrival and finalise customs and airline procedures before taking them to their new home and giving them all the catch up cuddles they deserve.
Information about the aircraft:
Your pets will be booked in as manifest cargo into the cargo hold of the aircraft, which means that they will travel in the livestock hold below the passenger cabin. This area is temperature controlled (18C – 25C dependent on temperature at origin), dimly lit and pressurised. All pet and animal crates are secured to pallets within the aircraft ensuring optimum safety and security for the duration of the trip. No pets are removed from their travel crates during flight for their safety and all water bowls are filled prior to take off.  Your pets do not travel in the luggage compartment of the aircraft.
General tips before your pet’s air travel:
Feeding your pet:
Because pets will be in their travel kennel for an extended period of time, we ask that parents please do not feed their pets a large meal on the day of departure, but rather give them a small light meal (chicken and rice is a great light option) to avoid in flight discomfort. A large meal often results in constipation which leads to discomfort or a large toilet break when the pets need to relieve themselves and this in turn will lead to a very messy and uncomfortable dog and travel kennel. We strongly suggest that parents please feed their pets well the night before departure along with a long leisurely walk prior to collection of the pets, in which they will have enough time to stretch their legs and relieve themselves before their journey.
A Familiar scent:
As pet owners ourselves, we know the bond shared between pets and pet owners is unbreakable. Our pets find security in our scent and we understand that. For this reason, we often suggest for parents to send an old T-shirt with their pets to put in the travel crate with them, this gives them a sense of being close to their mums and dads while they travel and in turn calms them further.
For further safety, we advise parents to ensure that items of clothing being sent with do not have any buttons, buckles or zips which could be chewed off as this is a chocking hazard for our furry friends. We recommend just a small doggy or kitty blanket or an old T-shirt, no toys, collars or thick blankets will be put into the travel crate as these could also be hazardous to the pets and take up additional space.
Pet travel accessories
As briefly mentioned above, please do not send your pet with their accessories i.e. feeding/water bowls, pet beds and toys. The travel crates are made specifically to your pets dimensions and anything put in with them would become a choking hazard or cause discomfort due to space constraints.
We strongly suggest that all these items rather stay with the parents and taken onboard in your hand luggage as it sometimes happens that one of the airline staff may remove it from the travel kennel for safety or arrival reasons and in turn not reattached, which we definitely don’t want to happen.
Original documentation
Please note that all pets have to travel with their original documentation securely attached to the top their travel kennel. This will be communicated with you by your travel consultant prior to travel and arrangements will be made to ensure we have all that we need long before departure.
Securing your cat:
Cats sense change and we often hear of our feline friends vanishing the night before or morning of collection! To avoid this, we urge all kitty parents to please keep their cats securely closed in a room from the evening before the scheduled collection so there are no last minute surprises.
