Southwest Airlines accepts both emotional support animals as well as service animals at no extra cost. Other animals are not allowed to board the plane as an ESA under any circumstances.
A Customer seeking to travel with an emotional support animal must satisfy all of the following requirements:
- The emotional support animal must be either a dog or cat.
- The Customer has only one emotional support animal.
- The emotional support animal must be in a carrier that can be stowed under the seat in front of the Customer or on a leash at all times while in the airport and onboard the aircraft.
- The Customer must provide to a Southwest Airlines Employee documentation (not more than one year old) on letterhead from a licensed health professional.
Treating the Customer’s mental health-related disability. The letter must state all four items below:
- The Passenger has a mental or emotional disability recognized in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
- The Passenger needs the emotional support animal as an accommodation for air travel and/or for activity at the Passenger’s destination.
- The individual providing the assessment is a licensed mental health professional or medical doctor, and the Passenger is under his or her professional care
- The date and type of the mental health professional’s or medical doctor’s license and the state or other jurisdiction in which it was issued.
An animal that is not trained to behave in a public setting or engages in disruptive behavior may be denied boarding.
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