Plan assistance-dog travel
on Ryanair.

Ordinary pets are not carried

Ryanair excludes ordinary pets; its animal-carriage exception is for qualifying guide and assistance dogs on certain routes.

There is no ordinary-pet cabin or checked-hold option. The carriage conditions also exclude cargo.

If travelling with an ordinary pet, choose another transport option before buying a passenger ticket. For an assistance dog, prepare every flight number, operating carrier, travel date, dog size and training evidence, then obtain itinerary-specific confirmation. Recheck changes to flights or aircraft.

Sources: Ryanair animal exclusion · Ryanair carriage conditions, section 8 on guide dogs.

Check the exact route

Ryanair lists intra-EU/EEA and domestic flights as eligible for guide/assistance dogs. It excludes flights to and from Morocco and Israel. Its help section also supplies UK and Republic of Ireland document instructions.

These statements do not settle every international route outside the EU/EEA. Ask about your exact departure and arrival airports, each direction and every operating carrier. The absence of a destination from the exclusion list is not an acceptance guarantee.

Sources: Ryanair routes and document guidance.

Guide, assistance and psychiatric service dogs

Ryanair’s published policy requires disability-task training, including for physical, sensory or psychiatric disabilities, and certification by an organisation that is a full member of Assistance Dogs International (ADI), Assistance Dogs UK or the International Guide Dog Federation (IGDF). It excludes emotional-support or therapy dogs without recognition as assistance dogs by those organisations.

This is the airline’s stated acceptance policy. Its reviewed guidance does not explain a separate individual-trainer or owner-trained pathway. Ask for an assessment of the actual evidence. Do not assume that a vest, purchased certificate or emotional-support label qualifies a dog.

Sources: Ryanair guide/assistance-dog guidelines.

Regulatory recognition is a separate question

For journeys covered by EU Regulation 1107/2006, recognised assistance dogs are accommodated subject to applicable national rules. Its airport-assistance provisions require reasonable efforts when advance notice is missing. It does not establish a universal training certificate.

UK CAA guidance concerns flights departing the UK and flights arriving in the UK on UK/EU carriers. Its training standard is broader than an ADI/IGDF-only rule: it also includes Assistance Dogs Assessment Association (ADAA) accreditation, or evidence of training to an equivalent or higher standard. The CAA calls for training evidence and a handler declaration of disability-related tasks. Psychiatric task-trained dogs are included; emotional support alone is insufficient.

For an individually or owner-trained dog on a UK-covered journey, ask Ryanair to assess the evidence against the applicable framework and explain any refusal. The difference between its published wording and CAA guidance needs resolution for your booking. Neither this guide nor a certificate guarantees carriage, border clearance or local public-access rights.

Sources: EU Regulation 1107/2006 · UK CAA accessibility guidance, paragraphs 81–88.

Booking channel, notice and confirmation

Notify Ryanair preferably when booking, including when no airport help is needed.

For an existing reservation, open My Bookings, manage the booking, then select Assisted Travel. Choose the passenger and assistance for each direction, save, and check the updated email itinerary. SVAN is for a guide/assistance dog without airport help; BDGR adds a walker through the airport to the seat and a separate safety briefing.

General assistance requests can be made online until 48 hours before departure. After that, contact the Assisted Travel team until 12 hours before departure, subject to opening hours. Late requests may be unavailable. These are assistance-request windows, not a guarantee of dog acceptance.

The reviewed dog guidance does not link a dedicated downloadable service-dog application form. Ask the team where to submit training and veterinary documents, which documents it accepts, and when a dog-specific decision will be issued. A saved assistance request is not government entry approval.

Sources: Ryanair guide/assistance-dog guidelines · Ryanair Assisted Travel booking and airport guidance.

Assisted Travel contact and airport timing

The UK English contact page lists +44 20 3808 8855 and free Assisted Travel chat. Check the linked page for current opening hours and call charges.

For pre-booked assistance, report to the airport assistance desk at least two hours before departure and reach the boarding gate at least 30 minutes before departure.

Confirm any earlier document-inspection appointment and the check-in deadline for your flight date. Keep the booking response and the exact document list available during travel.

Sources: Ryanair Assisted Travel contacts · Ryanair Assisted Travel booking and airport guidance.

Dog limits, fees, placement and restraint

Ryanair’s carriage terms state one guide/assistance dog per passenger and up to four per flight. The dog, its containers and food travel without charge.

The dog stays on the cabin floor at your feet and wears an identifying jacket or harness throughout the journey. Bring suitable restraint for take-off, landing and turbulence: Ryanair describes attachment to your seat belt or buckle and accepts other arrangements that adequately secure the dog.

Emergency equipment and escape routes must remain accessible; seating may be changed for safety.

Confirm sufficient floor space for your dog and the required leash, muzzle and behavior arrangements. The reviewed dog guidelines do not state a separate continuous-leash rule, a muzzle rule or a detailed behavior checklist. That silence does not waive safe control or establish acceptance of a dog still in training.

Sources: Ryanair carriage conditions, section 8 on guide dogs · Ryanair guide/assistance-dog guidelines · Ryanair Assisted Travel booking and airport guidance.

Document wording that needs clarification

The carriage terms require a current EU pet passport or, for countries without pet passports, an official veterinary health certificate with required medical documents; they except domestic flights from this document paragraph.

The help section instead describes passport/veterinary documents on all EU/EEA flights. Its EU/EEA affiliation list names IGDF and ADI, while its general and UK/Republic of Ireland guidance also names Assistance Dogs UK.

Resolve these scope and organisation-list differences directly, especially for domestic routes or Assistance Dogs UK evidence. Ask what Ryanair means by affiliation or certification and obtain a written document list. The airline’s entry-labelled summary is not a complete statement of government border law.

Sources: Ryanair carriage conditions, section 8 on guide dogs · Ryanair routes and document guidance.

Great Britain: arrange the arrival check

Government guidance says assistance dogs must satisfy normal dog-entry rules. Give the airline at least 48 hours’ notice and check whether it needs more. If advance notice was impossible, reasonable efforts are still required; unsafe carriage can remain a barrier.

The government register lists Ryanair for all airports with an approved assistance-dog checker. Use its airport-specific checker details to arrange the arrival-document check. This registration does not establish acceptance of your dog on a particular flight.

Confirm document pre-checks, meeting arrangements and any checker deadlines before travel. Airline confirmation and the arrival checker’s process are separate steps.

Sources: Great Britain assistance-dog entry guidance · UK registered airlines and assistance-dog checkers.

Northern Ireland: check residence and direction

Ryanair’s summary says a pet travel document is needed between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Government guidance is more specific: it covers travel from Great Britain to Northern Ireland and exempts Northern Ireland residents from the PTD requirement for travel to/from Great Britain. Microchipping still applies. For travel by air to Northern Ireland, it directs travellers to notify DAERA at least 10 working days ahead.

Use the current government page for the applicable documents, onward-travel rules and notification address. Confirm your residence, journey direction and document arrangements with Ryanair; do not treat the airline’s domestic-flight document exception as a border exemption.

Sources: Ryanair routes and document guidance · Government guidance for travel to Northern Ireland · Ryanair carriage conditions, section 8 on guide dogs.

Other government-entry and return checks

The European Commission’s pet-movement portal separates travel within the EU from entry from a non-EU country and links the applicable non-commercial rules and entry checks.

Verify departure, transit, destination and return requirements with the relevant authorities, including the Republic of Ireland when applicable. Keep veterinary entry documents separate from disability-task training evidence and airline booking confirmation. Admission to a country and access to local venues require their own checks.

Sources: European Commission pet-movement guidance.

Related planning

Related reading: Service-dog planning · Connections.

Official sources and scope

• Ryanair animal exclusion
• Ryanair routes and document guidance
• Ryanair guide/assistance-dog guidelines
• Ryanair carriage conditions, section 8 on guide dogs
• Ryanair Assisted Travel booking and airport guidance
• Ryanair Assisted Travel contacts
• UK CAA accessibility guidance, paragraphs 81–88
• EU Regulation 1107/2006
• Great Britain assistance-dog entry guidance
• UK registered airlines and assistance-dog checkers
• Government guidance for travel to Northern Ireland
• European Commission pet-movement guidance

Official sources checked October 18, 2026. Resolve the route, document and recognition differences with the airline and relevant authorities.