Flying with a pet
on LOT Polish Airlines.

1. Choose the transport format

LOT accepts accompanied dogs, cats and ferrets. Cabin carriage requires pet plus carrier at most 8 kg. Larger animals need hold assessment; separate freight uses a shipping company.

Record the actual operator and aircraft on every leg before buying a carrier. A LOT flight number alone does not establish another airline’s acceptance. A published size ceiling also does not establish that your animal fits comfortably.

Sources: LOT: travelling with animals · LOT: separate cargo transport.

2. Match the cabin carrier to the aircraft

Maximum outside dimensions, length × width × height: B787/B777/B737, 55 × 40 × 20 cm; E70/E75/E90/E95, 45 × 30 × 20 cm. The animal must fit completely and stand, turn and lie down.

Normally one animal per passenger; two small same-species animals may share one compliant carrier within 8 kg combined. The animal stays enclosed; the carrier goes under the seat for takeoff, landing and turbulence.

Check both legs of a connecting itinerary against the smaller applicable allowance. Measure the closed carrier, including protruding pockets, and leave the airline a clear record of the model and measurements.

Sources: LOT: animal in cabin.

3. Check hold size, weather and handover

Hold crate limits, length × width × height: B787/B777, 122 × 81 × 89 cm; B737/7M8/E70/E75/E90, 102 × 69 × 76 cm. One adult per crate; up to three same-litter animals aged at most six months may share.

Use a rigid, secure, absorbent-lined crate with food/water containers and at least three-sided ventilation; remove wheels. Entirely wire-mesh crates are excluded. LOT may refuse hold carriage in dangerous heat and offer a safer travel date.

The reviewed English hold page does not state a universal loaded-weight maximum or dimensions for every aircraft. Obtain written acceptance of the actual crate and loaded weight, including any replacement aircraft. Do not extrapolate the cabin table to the hold.

Sources: LOT: animal in hold.

4. Reserve the pet place, including the U.S. exception

Ordinary availability can be checked while buying on lot.com or later in Manage My Booking until 12 hours before departure. Capacity varies by aircraft; no universal flightwide quota is published. U.S./Canada hold limits are reduced without a published number.

1. For U.S.-bound dogs, compile the applicable documents and submit LOT’s linked review form.
2. Allow up to 48 hours for review.
3. After approval, contact LOT through its official messaging or hotline to purchase carriage.
4. Both submission and purchase have a 48-hour-before-flight deadline: begin earlier than that.

U.S.-bound cats currently require the Contact Center. Keep the pet confirmation alongside the passenger reservation; a request alone is not acceptance. Prices are shown in the reservation or Manage My Booking, so obtain the itinerary-specific quote rather than using an old fee table.

Sources: LOT: travelling with animals · LOT: animal in hold.

5. Resolve age, route and documents

LOT’s ordinary minimum is three months, with at least 21 days since the last valid rabies vaccination. It lists cargo-only carriage to the UK and UAE, no animal carriage to Iceland, and no ferrets to Canada. LOT recommends arriving at least three hours early for pet check-in.

Have a veterinarian map the microchip, rabies and destination-document sequence to your actual journey. These airline rules do not replace government entry conditions. Breed-specific eligibility was not fully established in the reviewed passenger pages; ask about the exact breed and any crossbreed before paying.

Sources: LOT: animal in cabin.

6. Treat freight as a separate booking

LOT Cargo carries live animals through shipping companies. The selected forwarder determines requirements and charges. LOT’s cargo guidance includes veterinary health certificates issued within 48 hours before departure, alongside the relevant identity and vaccination documents.

Request the precise certificate window for the origin and destination, the cargo-terminal addresses, delivery/collection times, receiver details and a breakdown of freight, handling and customs costs. A passenger hold confirmation is not a freight booking. Never assume airport passenger check-in is the cargo handover point.

Sources: LOT: separate cargo transport.

7. Assistance dogs have route-specific requirements

Qualifying dogs travel free without a carrier, in the handler’s floor space. LOT distinguishes U.S. travel, allowing up to two individually task-trained dogs including owner-trained dogs, from its non-U.S. pathway, generally one dog with an accepted training-organisation certificate. Emotional support alone does not qualify.

Use LOT’s Special Assistance Contact Form; its published advance request is 48 hours. U.S. travel uses DOT documentation; other routes require training evidence, animal documents and LOT’s declaration. Its current page excludes assistance dogs on flights to the UK and UAE.

For U.S.-covered flights, the relief attestation is associated with segments scheduled for eight hours or more. Federal rules allow gate submission when booking less than 48 hours before departure and require reasonable accommodation efforts when permitted advance notice is missed. Confirm the applicable pathway rather than treating LOT’s general deadline as an absolute legal cutoff.

Sources: LOT: assistance dogs · U.S. service-dog forms and notice.

Prepare your route for review

Send the cities, dates, animal’s breed and age, loaded carrier weight, outside carrier measurements and proposed operating flights. Include any airline acceptance already received. A useful proposal identifies who accompanies the animal, where each handover occurs, what is included and which costs remain separate. Request a transport proposal.

Related planning

Related reading: Compare airline pet travel · Measure and prepare a carrier · Plan connections.

Official sources and scope

• LOT: travelling with animals
• LOT: animal in cabin
• LOT: animal in hold
• LOT: separate cargo transport
• LOT: assistance dogs
• U.S. service-dog forms and notice

Official sources checked October 14, 2026. Published rules are not confirmation of space or acceptance on an individual flight. Differences between official sources are retained for direct confirmation.