Virgin Australia bans ‘flat-faced’ animals from their planes

If you are planning to travel with your pets, make sure you don’t travel Virgin Australia as the airline has stopped taking new bookings for ‘flat-faced’ dogs and cats until further notice. According to the airline, it would not cancel the bookings that were made before the announcement but would take no further bookings.

What prompted such a decision was the death of two dogs on Qantas flights during the month of December last year.
In fact, the airline is also ready to give full refunds for any travellers who wish to cancel their existing bookings with their snub-nosed pets. As per airline’s spokesperson, the firm has seen a 'tragic spike' in the number of problems suffered during transporting snub-nosed breeds.

He further said, “While we understand that snub-nosed breeds are a popular choice of pet, they are a high-risk animal to transport due to their known respiratory issues and other health problems that may be compounded inflight'.
So considering all the issues, the airline had to take this difficult decision of no longer transporting the flat-faced animal breeds until further notice. The work is on its procedures with animal welfare institutes like the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) to make sure the safety of animals travelling across its networks.

The RSPCA has accepted the decision from both Qantas and Virgin and has also agreed to the dangers of flying flat-faced dog and cat breeds as they face breathing issues.
RSPCA scientific officer mentioned that the flat-faced or ‘brachycephalic’ breeds particularly are at more risk in air given their extreme features. They struggle to breathe and regulate their body temperature in mild conditions too.