Delta Bans Pit Bulls As Service Dogs Due To Safety Concerns
ATLANTA (CBSDFW.COM/AP) - Delta Air Lines says it's no longer allowing passengers to fly with "pit bull type" dogs as service or support animals.
The Atlanta-based airline describes its ban announced this week as an "enhancement" to its policy on animals in passenger areas. Delta also says it's limiting travelers to a single emotional support animal per flight. The changes take effect July 10.
The airline's statement says its new ban on pit bull type dogs responds to "growing safety concerns" after several employees were bitten. But the ban is prompting a social media backlash, and figuring out exactly which dogs fall under the policy could be a challenge.
Delta describes them differently, as "Bull type dogs," on its online list of prohibited animals, which includes reptiles, spiders and goats, among others.
"Putting this into perspective, Delta carries more than 180 million passengers annually. Customers have attempted to fly with comfort turkeys, gliding possums known as sugar gliders, snakes, spiders and more," the airline said in a statement on their web site.
American Airlines recently updated their support animal policy as well. Starting July 1, ferrets, goats and hedgehogs can no longer fly American Airlines, even if they're support animals. They're just three of a somewhat lengthy list of barred animals the airline has put out in response to an increase in customers transporting a service or support animal onboard their aircraft — more than 40 percent from 2016 to 2017.
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