Top 10 Tuesday: Keep Your Animal Companions Out of Cargo Hold

Posted on by Ashley Fruno

Flying might sometimes seem like the fastest and least stressful option when traveling, but it can turn out to be just the opposite for your animal friends if they are forced to fly in the cargo hold. Here are just a few reasons why flying an animal in the cargo compartment can be extremely dangerous—and even fatal.

1. When There’s an Opportunity to Escape …

Because the conditions in the cargo hold are so scary, animals will often take any opportunity to escape—from the hold or even from the runway itself.

2. Lost in Translation

Animals can be lost, mixed up, sent to the wrong city, or (severely) delayed in arriving to your destination.

3. Boiling or Freezing: Take Your Pick

The temperatures inside a cargo hold can become extremely cold or unbearably hot, usually without warning.

4. Nightmare at 30,000 Feet

It’s bloody scary in the cargo hold for your animal companions—and worse, you aren’t there to explain to them what is happening.

5. Cargo Hold Noise

Think that airplane engines are too noisy? Imagine what they must sound like in the cargo hold! Plus, our furry friends have much more sensitive hearing than we do.

6. Risking Life and Limb

The stats indicate that air travel is a bad idea for companion animals. According to the Airline Transportation Association, more than 5,000 animals are killed, injured, or lost on commercial flights each year.

7. Fasten Your Seatbelts

Some airlines actually do allow animals to travel in the main cabin.

8. There Isn’t a Fragile Sticker for Rover

There’s no 100-percent guarantee that animals will be handled safely by workers (and carriers can always break).

9. Consider Alternative Arrangements

If you can’t arrange for your animal companion to travel with you in the main cabin, be kind and  make it a road trip.

10.   Get a Sitter

Make it a stress-free trip: Hire a sitter to take care of Princess or Rover.

Here’s wishing you and all the members of your family a safe and fun-filled journey!

Posted by Ashley Fruno