If you or another passenger require an Assistance Dog, you are welcome to bring it on board the cabin under certain conditions for the sake of other passengers.

Your Assistance Dog, together with containers and food necessary for the duration of the flight, will be carried free of charge in addition to the normal free baggage allowance.

 

To request this service, you are kindly requested to forward a completed Application Form to our Medical Helpdesk on [email protected] at least 72  hours prior to your flight. Our team members will then look into your application and confirm the carriage of the assistance dog on board.

You are also requested to keep a copy of the application on person along on your trip.  

Please review the below conditions to ensure that you are in agreement with all conditions of carriage.

 

Terms and conditions

 

These conditions are published pursuant to Article 8.9 of the Air Malta General Conditions of Carriage (Passenger and Baggage) and are in line with Regulation (EC) No 1107/2006 [1]  and the Interpretative Guidelines [2] issued pursuant thereto. These conditions are subject to any applicable European or national legislation on the carriage of animals, including but not limited to the Pet Passport Regulation [3] .

1. A Recognised Assistance Dog which has been specifically trained to assist a disabled person or person with reduced mobility may be carried in the aircraft cabin at no additional cost subject to the following provisions:
    
   1. The Assistance Dog must have been specifically trained, assessed and accredited for this function by an organisation that meets the full membership criteria of the International Guide Dog Federation or Assistance Dog International, the accrediting body for assistance dog organisations worldwide.
       
   2. The following types of Recognised Assistance Dogs, in each case evidenced by a formal certificate of approval, shall be accepted on board subject to the conditions stipulated herein:
       
      1. Guide Dogs – they assist the blind and visually impaired;
      2. Hearing Dogs – they assist deaf or hearing impaired individuals;
      3. Service Dogs – they assist persons with disability or reduced mobility other than visual or hearing impairment. They can be trained to work with people who use power or manual wheelchairs, have balance issues, have various types of autism, need seizure alert or response, need to be alerted to other medical issues like low blood sugar, or have psychiatric disabilities.
          
   3. Other dogs not trained to meet the criteria set by Assistance Dog International, shall, unless complying with the criteria of Pets carried in the Passenger Cabin, be required to travel in the hold, at the applicable rates. The Assistance Dog must belong to the travelling disabled person or person with reduced mobility.
       
2. A request for the carriage of an Assistance Dog in the cabin shall be made to the Air Malta Call Centre at least 48 hours before the published time of departure of the flight. In the case of flights to/from the UK, a 7-day pre-notification period is required. This notification shall also cover a return flight, if the outward flight and the return flight have been contracted with Air Malta. This is required in order to ensure that appropriate assistance is provided.
    
3. Documentation required for your Assistance Dog
    
   1. Please download and complete the ‘Application Form Assistance Dog’ to apply.
      • Completed forms are to be sent to [email protected]. You can contact them the next day for confirmation on your request.

   2. A copy of the certificate which shows that the dog has been specifically trained, assessed and accredited for this function by an organization that meets the full membership criteria of the International Guide Dog Federation or Assistance Dog International, the accrediting body for assistance dog organisations worldwide.

   3. A copy of the Dog’s EU Pet Passport if the dog originates from an EU country or an official veterinary certificate for dogs originating from Non-EU countries.

4. The number of Assistance Dogs accepted in the cabin is limited. Please contact Air Malta for further assistance. Assistance Dogs shall be accepted on a first-come-first-served basis. Any dogs including Pets in Cabin will normally be accommodated a minimum of 10 rows away from eachother. They will not be seated in the same row as an infant unless they are travelling in the same group.
    
5. The owner must be in possession of a travel harness for the dog and other equipment or clothing with a logo that identifies it as an Assistance Dog and a moisture absorbent mat together with all the necessary documentation, which must be available in advance, to ensure confirmation of booking. The Assistance Dog shall meet all the standards as laid out in the minimum standards for ADI assistance dogs in public.
    
6. The owner shall ensure that the Assistance Dog is clean, well-groomed, and does not have an offensive odour.  In order to be allowed to travel in the cabin it is mandatory that the dog is obedient and behaves properly (i.e. no barking, growling, jumping at people or other animals, and/or relieving itself in the gate area or cabin, or doing so in a way that will not create a health or sanitation issue on the flight). If the animal misbehaves the owner can be asked to put its muzzle on for the trip or it can be confined to the aircraft hold (if a kennel is available), or carriage can be denied. (For this reason a muzzle should be made readily available by the owner).
    
7. Carriage of Assistance Dogs in cabin shall not be permitted on routes which do not have the approval of the competent authority at both the airport of departure,  the airport of arrival and, where applicable, at the airport of an intermediate stop (unless the passenger will be disembarking on the first sector or embarking on the last sector). Passengers accompanied by Assistance Dogs travelling to or from Malta are required to inform the veterinary office in Malta in advance of their arrival. Carriage of Assistance Dogs to the UK shall be as prescribed by DEFRA.
    
8. Air Malta shall have no liability in respect of any Assistance Dog not having all the necessary exit, entry, health and other documents with respect to the animal’s entry into or passage through any country, state or territory (including in case of a diversion and stop to an airport in a different state) and the person accompanied by the Assistance Dog must reimburse Air Malta for any fines, losses or liabilities reasonably imposed or incurred by Air Malta as a result. 
    
9. Air Malta reserves the right to refuse carriage of Assistance Dogs in the cabin in order to meet applicable safety requirements established by law, the competent authorities or by Air Malta, or where the size and configuration of the aircraft makes the carriage of the Assistance dog in cabin physically impossible. Should such a circumstance arise, Air Malta shall propose an acceptable alternative to the passenger in question, notably that the Assistance Dog be carried in the cargo hold. Otherwise, the passenger shall be offered the right to reimbursement or re-routing on any other services operated by Air Malta. The right to the option of a return flight or re-routing shall be conditional on all safety, legal and documentary requirements being met. 
    
10. These terms and conditions apply to Air Malta operated flights only.
     
11. The above terms and conditions may be subject to change from time to time with or without notice, and Air Malta assumes no liability for these changes. Air Malta also reserves the right to interpret and apply these terms and conditions. In each case, Air Malta’s interpretations and applications shall be final and conclusive.
     

[1]  Regulation (EC) N° 1107/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 July 2006 concerning the rights of disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility when travelling by air
[2]  Interpretative Guidelines on the application of Regulation (EC) N°1107/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 July 2006 concerning the rights of disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility when travelling by air
[3]  Regulation (EC) No 998/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 May 2003 on the animal health requirements applicable to the non-commercial movement of pet animals and amending Council Directive 92/65/EEC