Choose the right animal-travel option
with flydubai.

Start with the right travel option

Ordinary cats, dogs and other pets are not accepted as cabin or checked baggage under flydubai’s published passenger policy. Ask flydubai Cargo about a separate shipment; buying extra baggage does not create a pet reservation.

Cabin assistance is currently limited by the published service-animal page to seeing-eye dogs accompanying passengers with visual impairments, with itinerary restrictions. Other service animals are directed to cargo. Falcons have a separate possible cabin exception requiring special advance approval.

This guide covers flydubai-operated flights and flydubai Cargo. Do not apply Emirates’ pet rules merely because Emirates sold the ticket or appears elsewhere in the itinerary.

Sources: Baggage FAQ · Special baggage: Animals · Travelling with a service animal.

Request cargo acceptance before buying travel

Use the live-animal form linked from the Cargo page and email the completed request to Cargo.SHD@flydubai.com. It asks for animal type, breed, age, sex, each animal’s weight, each kennel’s dimensions and occupancy, purpose of transport, care or behavioural information, origin, destination, date, accompanied/unaccompanied status, shipper and consignee. It permits details of multiple animals; this is not permission to share a kennel.

Have the loaded kennel weight ready. As practical preparation, photographs can help the team assess the animal and kennel; the reviewed form does not state a universal photo requirement. The cargo page directs enquiries to its representative at the origin. Obtain written acceptance for every animal, kennel, flight and connection, and the final shipment reference. A submitted form is not approval.

No general cargo booking deadline was verified. Start before committing to a passenger ticket and ask for the local cutoff. Travelling on the same flight yourself does not turn the cargo booking into accompanied checked baggage.

Sources: flydubai Cargo: Live · Live animal transportation form · Live animal transportation guide, revision 7.

Check age, health, species and breed first

The linked revision-7 cargo guide requires headquarters approval for domestic animals such as cats and dogs under six months. This is an approval threshold, not a promise that every younger animal is eligible. It excludes pregnant, sedated/tranquillized, sick and unweaned animals, and females travelling with suckling young.

It also excludes invertebrates, poisonous animals, animals deemed to produce odours, and specified rodents including hamsters, chinchillas and guinea pigs. For animals listed in CITES Appendix II, the guide requires special approval from the flydubai Cargo Special Handling Desk and the relevant authorities. Appendix I animals are normally excluded, with only the guide’s stated special-approval exception; have the desk identify the exact approvals needed. Ask about the exact species rather than interpreting “live animals” as unrestricted acceptance.

The breed exclusions include short-nosed breeds and mixes and a separate range of listed dog breeds. Examples include all Bulldogs, Pugs, Boxers, Akitas, Rottweilers and Doberman Pinschers. The cat list includes British Shorthair, Burmese, Exotic, Himalayan, Persian and Scottish Fold. These examples are not the full dog list: check pages 3–4 of the official guide and submit the full breed or cross. Do not replace this airline list with a UAE import list.

Sources: Live animal transportation guide, revision 7.

Choose a kennel that fits the animal and the aircraft

The animal must be able to stand and sit without its head or ears touching the roof, turn and lie naturally. Kennels must meet flydubai’s requirements and IATA Live Animal Regulations. Use a sound, ventilated, escape-proof and leak-proof rigid-plastic, metal or wooden kennel, with a metal-grille door and secure metal nuts, bolts or screws. Screws must not be exposed; plastic-coated metal nuts and bolts are allowed. Remove or immobilize wheels. Buy the approved kennel early enough for the animal to become accustomed to it.

Folding or collapsible kennels, modified snap-side kennels even with added bolts, plastic or top-opening doors, and plastic that bends under pressure are rejected. A kennel incorporating an oxygen cylinder governed by IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations is not accepted.

The guide’s recommended kennel-size table gives these dimensions in centimetres, length × width × height, followed by maximum combined animal-and-kennel weight:

• 100: 60 × 40 × 40 cm / 17 kg
• 200: 71 × 52 × 55 cm / 34 kg
• 300: 81 × 57 × 60 cm / 48 kg
• 400: 91 × 63 × 68 cm / 67 kg
• 500: 101 × 68 × 76 cm / 90 kg

These are table-specific figures, not a universal 90 kg animal allowance or guaranteed aircraft fit. The guide calls for additional acceptance/compatibility advice when dimensions exceed those listed and warns that individual weight restrictions can apply. Send actual external dimensions and loaded weight; ask the cargo team to confirm fit before purchasing.

Sources: Live animal transportation guide, revision 7.

Several animals need an explicit arrangement

The reviewed sources do not establish a numeric cargo allowance per passenger or shipper, an aircraft-wide animal quota, a general animals-per-kennel maximum, or a shared-kennel exception for adult companions or litters. The form’s occupancy field does not grant one. Ask for the approved count and placement of every animal, including any same-species, age, weight and compatibility conditions.

Nor was a published combined allowance verified for a cabin seeing-eye dog or falcon plus separately shipped animals. Cabin service-dog numbers and space must be confirmed too. Use one animal per appropriately sized kennel as a conservative planning assumption until told otherwise, not as a claimed flydubai rule.

Sources: Live animal transportation form · Live animal transportation guide, revision 7 · Travelling with a service animal.

Separate the shipment paperwork from border clearance

For cargo, arrange the air waybill and confirm who prepares it. The guide requires a round-the-clock emergency telephone number and the animal’s recommended temperature range on the container and in the waybill’s handling information. Use the exact temperature-label wording on page 2 of the guide, with the minimum and maximum values agreed for the animal. Confirm feeding and watering arrangements with the cargo team; the label does not guarantee a constant temperature.

A veterinarian’s fit-to-travel certificate may be required. Ask the relevant authorities about identification, vaccinations, health certification, permits, inspections and transit rules for the actual route, including the return. These are document categories to investigate, not a claim that the same checklist applies everywhere.

Airline approval does not grant entry or transit permission. This guide does not verify a complete UAE or other country import process. Send personal documents only through the airline’s verified submission channel.

Sources: Live animal transportation form · Live animal transportation guide, revision 7 · Cargo conditions of carriage.

Confirm the handover, connection and collection plan

The Cargo page identifies the dnata Cargo Export Customer Service Center at Dubai Airport Freezone for live animals at DXB and lists acceptance as “Up to 4 hours before departure”. Ask the origin team what this means for your shipment, including the actual appointment and latest handover time; do not substitute the passenger check-in deadline or assume the same facility applies at other airports.

For a cargo connection, ask who receives and cares for the animal, where it waits, whether clearance or a new air waybill is needed, and who collects it at destination. Do not rely on ordinary through-checked baggage arrangements.

The Live product advertises an available specific-flight guarantee, but the general cargo terms do not commit to a particular aircraft, route or scheduled connection unless specifically agreed and recorded in the air waybill or shipment record. Ask for the agreed flight arrangement, disruption plan and any guarantee terms in writing, especially if you intend to travel with the shipment. Confirm aircraft suitability, temperature/seasonal restrictions and handling at every airport; no universal weather threshold was verified.

Sources: flydubai Cargo: Live · Cargo conditions of carriage · Passenger check-in.

Seeing-eye dogs: request cabin acceptance at least 72 hours ahead

Contact flydubai’s Customer Centre at least 72 hours before departure and provide all supporting documents with the request. The published cabin service is free for eligible seeing-eye dogs accompanying visually impaired passengers; emergency-exit-row seating is excluded. Itinerary limitations apply, but the page does not provide their complete list.

Ask the Customer Centre to identify the accepted training evidence, health and entry documents, any airline form, submission route, dog count, age/breed restrictions, size/weight or floor-space limits, seating, restraint or muzzle requirements, toileting plan and airport reporting time. These details were not fully specified in the reviewed page. Do not substitute a commercial registration or a universal “service-dog certificate” for the airline’s assessment.

For onward travel on another airline, obtain that carrier’s acceptance and be ready to show flydubai proof. The published page directs other service animals to cargo; it does not establish a cabin pathway for emotional-support animals. If applicable accessibility law may affect your itinerary, ask flydubai to assess that route specifically. Do not infer a broader cabin entitlement from another airline’s policy or an import permission.

Sources: Travelling with a service animal · Passenger conditions of carriage · Customer support.

Falcons are a separate exception

flydubai says falcons may be allowed in the cabin only with special prior approval. Contact customer support rather than treating them as ordinary hand baggage. The reviewed passenger pages do not publish a complete procedure, numeric bird or seat allowance, fee, booking deadline or route list. Ask for the bird count, restraint/container and seat arrangement, permits, price and every-flight approval in writing. Do not transfer the seeing-eye-dog fee waiver or 72-hour deadline to falcons.

Sources: Special baggage: Animals · Baggage FAQ.

Resolve the operating carrier and total cost

An FZ flight code does not always mean flydubai operates the aircraft: its conditions explain that codeshare operating-carrier rules can differ. Check each operator, direction and connection. Reconfirm the animal arrangement after a flight, aircraft or routing change.

No reliable published flat pet-cargo price was verified. Obtain a dated quote specifying currency, kennel/weight basis, transport, origin and destination handling, clearance, storage, care during a delay, and any collection or delivery service. Ask which charges are included and what happens if the animal is refused, you change travel, or the flight is disrupted.

The confirmed cabin seeing-eye-dog service is described as free; this does not establish that cargo for other service animals or extra services are free. Before paying, you should have an accepted animal/kennel plan, verified border pathway, complete price and handover/collection instructions. Keep the written answers in your journey worksheet.

Sources: Passenger conditions of carriage · Cargo conditions of carriage · flydubai Cargo: Live · Travelling with a service animal.

Related planning

Related reading: Service-dog planning · Journey worksheet · Emirates: separate airline guide.

Official sources and scope

• Baggage FAQ
• Special baggage: Animals
• Travelling with a service animal
• flydubai Cargo: Live
• Live animal transportation guide, revision 7
• Live animal transportation form
• Passenger conditions of carriage
• Cargo conditions of carriage
• Passenger check-in
• Customer support

Official passenger and cargo sources checked October 23, 2026, including the currently linked revision-7 live-animal guide and form. Confirm acceptance for the specific itinerary before committing to travel.