Plan animal travel
with Saudia.

Choose the right animal-travel pathway

Ordinary cat or small bird: Saudia lists cabin and ventilated, climate-controlled hold carriage on direct routes, subject to approval. Ordinary dog: its general policy directs dogs to the hold; dogs travelling to the United States are directed to the separate cargo service, not passenger check-in. Falcon: use the distinct handler-accompanied cabin process. Task-trained assistance dog: read the route-specific sections below before accepting a hold or cargo answer.

This guide concerns Saudia-operated passenger flights and distinguishes separately booked Saudia Cargo. Do not apply it automatically to another operating airline, a codeshare sector or flyadeal.

Sources: Saudia pet policy · General Conditions of Carriage.

Get animal-space approval before committing

Tell Saudia about the animal when booking. Its conditions require prior agreement; a passenger ticket alone is not animal-space approval. Use the sales office or Guest Care Center linked from the pet page. For disability-related arrangements, the current Special Care page lists pwd@saudia.com.

Give the flight dates and operating carriers, all airports and connections, species, breed or crossbreed, age, animal measurements, carrier dimensions and combined loaded weight. Ask for written approval of each animal, placement and flight, including the return. Reconfirm after a flight or aircraft change.

Pets must be odorless, non-aggressive and not need crew attention. No general pet-booking deadline in hours was verified. The pet page describes direct routes; do not assume an itinerary connecting in Jeddah or another airport is accepted. Ask about through-checking, transfer care, transit permits and whether a change of aircraft or carrier ends the approved arrangement.

Sources: Saudia pet policy · General Conditions of Carriage · Special Care: Passengers with Disabilities.

Cabin cats and small birds: do not over-read the numbers

The cabin-cat limit is 5 kg for cat and carrier together. The container section gives 52.5 × 32.5 × 40 cm, without labelling the axes, and allows one pet per container. It requires ventilation and a leak-proof carrier; Saudia may inspect and reject an unsuitable carrier.

The page also lists small birds for cabin carriage, but does not clearly provide a separate bird-weight limit, eligible-species list, seat/class restrictions or carrier-placement instructions. Confirm those details rather than applying the cat allowance by analogy. Ask how the published carrier dimensions fit the actual seat and whether the carrier must be soft or rigid. Do not buy a carrier on dimensions alone.

Sources: Saudia pet policy.

Hold travel is not the same as manifest cargo

Saudia describes cats and small birds in a ventilated, climate-controlled hold and dogs in a ventilated hold. Its baggage conditions treat an accepted animal, cage and food as chargeable baggage outside the free allowance. Confirm that your proposed animal is booked as accompanied checked baggage, rather than assuming every reference to the cargo hold means a separate cargo shipment.

The fee paragraph mentions pets up to 5 kg including their container in cabin or hold. That is not a clear general maximum for all hold animals. Nor does the general container paragraph establish a larger-dog crate allowance. Ask Saudia to confirm the actual loaded-weight and crate limits, aircraft-door clearance, ventilation, temperatures and any seasonal restrictions for your flight.

No current airline-wide minimum age, complete restricted-breed list or brachycephalic-animal policy was verified. Disclose the exact breed/cross and age; an omission is not permission. Large livestock and wild animals are directed to cargo only, subject to cargo rules.

Sources: Saudia pet policy · General Conditions of Carriage.

Count animals, carriers and placements separately

The verified rule is one pet per container. No litter, mother-with-young or familiar-pair exception was verified. Do not put two cats, two birds or mixed species into one carrier on the assumption that living together makes it acceptable.

The reviewed policy does not specify the ordinary-pet total per passenger, the number of carriers per passenger or the flight-wide quota. It also does not establish permission to combine a cabin pet with a hold pet, a falcon or an assistance dog. Ask Saudia to confirm each animal and the combined booking. One pet per carrier is not a one-pet-per-passenger rule, and missing quotas do not mean unlimited space.

Sources: Saudia pet policy.

Falcons have a separate cabin procedure

The pet page permits a properly hooded falcon in the cabin with a handler and valid entry permits, health certificates and other required documents. This is not a general permission for other birds or pets to travel outside a carrier.

No current falcon count per handler, seat or flight, extra-seat requirement, route/class restriction or falcon-specific charge was verified. Confirm the complete arrangement with Saudia. Wildlife and Saudi import approvals must be checked with the responsible government authority separately; the airline’s brief entry summary is not a complete permit checklist.

Sources: Saudia pet policy · Saudi Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture.

Use the published fees as a starting point, not a total quote

The live pet page lists USD 100 in cabin and USD 300 in the hold for its stated domestic/international scope, excluding U.S. and Canada routes. Its fee paragraph refers to pets up to 5 kg including the container. It says charges may change and refers U.S./Canada passengers to regional information, without supplying a usable regional fee table on that page.

Ask for the charge basis, currency, taxes and total for every approved placement and journey. The page does not clearly establish whether the amount is per flight segment or per whole journey. Confirm heavier animals, falcons, changes, refunds and separate cargo/terminal charges. Do not assume a passenger-pet fee includes cargo handling or import clearance.

Sources: Saudia pet policy · General Conditions of Carriage.

Assistance dogs: resolve the route, not just the label

Saudia’s general pet page says guide/hearing dogs for passengers with visual or hearing impairments travel free in the hold. Its carriage conditions also provide free carriage for qualifying trained guide dogs. However, its accessibility plan expressly refers to U.S. Part 382 and Canada’s accessibility regulations. The general hold wording must not be presented as a universal rule for every service-dog itinerary.

Ask the disability-assistance team at pwd@saudia.com to confirm the applicable process, cabin arrangement, recognized task-training evidence, forms, notice and secure submission route. Obtain a separate answer for every connection outside the covered U.S./Canadian service. No universal Saudia requirement for ADI/IGDF membership, commercial registration, muzzle, maximum dog weight or non-U.S. dog count was verified. Do not present an emotional-support label or purchased certificate as task training.

Sources: Saudia pet policy · General Conditions of Carriage · Special Care: Passengers with Disabilities · Saudia accessibility plan · U.S. DOT service-animal guidance.

U.S. service-dog flights: use the disability process

On a covered U.S. flight, a qualifying service dog must be allowed to accompany its handler in the cabin, subject to lawful safety, behavior and animal-entry requirements. U.S. rules recognize individually task-trained dogs assisting a person with a disability, including psychiatric disabilities; emotional-support-only animals and dogs still in training do not qualify. For a foreign carrier, coverage normally concerns a flight beginning or ending at a U.S. airport, not automatically a separate foreign connecting flight. Ask Saudia to resolve any hold-only or U.S. cargo-only answer with its disability team or Complaints Resolution Official (CRO).

The airline may require the current DOT air-transport form and, for a scheduled segment of eight hours or longer, a relief attestation. Forms must be completed on or after ticket purchase. The airline cannot require additional training certificates or other service-animal documents beyond the permitted DOT forms, except to meet governmental animal-transport requirements. Up to 48 hours’ form notice may be required for earlier bookings; for bookings made less than 48 hours ahead, the rule allows gate submission. Reasonable efforts still apply to late notice without delaying the flight.

Carriers may limit service animals to two per passenger. Arrange safe foot/under-seat space, control and unobstructed aisles; this is not the ordinary 5 kg cat-carrier pathway. We did not verify a current Saudia-specific DOT upload form. Obtain its submission instructions, and keep animal-entry documents separate from disability forms.

Sources: U.S. DOT service-animal guidance · U.S. rule: covered flights · U.S. rule: service-dog numbers · U.S. rule: forms and notice · Current DOT air-transport form · Current DOT relief form.

Canada services: confirm training evidence and space

Saudia identifies itself as a large foreign carrier subject to the applicable Canadian accessibility requirements. Section 51 provides for an eligible service dog to accompany its handler on board. The carrier may request a training declaration at reservation and, before departure, a document from a person or organization specializing in service-dog training that identifies the handler and attests to the dog’s task training. The carrier may also require control by leash, tether or harness. This is not a universal ADI/IGDF-only certification rule.

The Canadian rule provides additional adjacent floor space when needed. Do not assume any extra seat is free on an international journey: the charging rule has a Canada–foreign-country exception. Arrange the service at booking. The notice rule uses 48 hours, with a conditional documentation-assessment exception for requests made less than 96 hours ahead, and still requires reasonable efforts for shorter notice. Ask Saudia to confirm training acceptance, seating, any charge and the onward sector separately.

Sources: Saudia accessibility plan · Canada: service-dog carriage · Canada: advance notice · Canada: international charging exception.

U.S.-bound ordinary dogs: cargo and CDC are separate checks

Saudia’s pet page directs dogs travelling to the U.S. to cargo, not passenger check-in. It states a six-month minimum, a microchip and a CDC Dog Import Form receipt. It also asks for the form at least 15 days before departure for dogs aged six to twelve months. Treat that as Saudia’s published instruction to clarify with cargo, not a universal CDC deadline.

CDC’s current low-risk-country pathway permits completing the form on the day of travel and recommends doing it earlier. Requirements depend on the dog’s countries during the previous six months and where it was vaccinated. Use CDC’s current website to reach the form, rather than relying on an older airline-linked form address. High-risk histories can require a different arrival route and animal-care-facility arrangements.

Service dogs must meet CDC entry requirements too, but the airline’s broad cargo wording does not settle their U.S. cabin rights. Use the service-dog section above and arrange any required arrival handling with the airline.

Sources: Saudia pet policy · CDC dog-entry requirements · CDC: low-risk-country route · CDC: service dogs and entry.

Separate airline paperwork from Saudi entry clearance

Saudia requests valid health/vaccination documents, including rabies, plus the permits and documents required for destination and transit. Its pet page also points to NAAMA registration and Saudi import permission. Verify the current application and eligibility requirements through MEWA/NAAMA, including species/breed, age, identification, vaccination timing, certificate endorsement, arrival port and transit or return permissions.

Do not turn the airline’s Saudi-entry summary into a worldwide legal checklist. For U.S.-origin dogs and cats, the current USDA APHIS page specifies a Saudi import permit, an APHIS-endorsed health certificate and a certificate of origin. It says that the certificate of origin does not require Saudi Embassy attestation in the U.S. That does not resolve every health-certificate attestation question or apply automatically to exports from another country.

APHIS also describes Saudi dog eligibility as generally limited to hunting, guarding and disability-guide purposes. Resolve the animal’s actual eligibility with MEWA; do not relabel an ordinary pet as a guard or assistance dog to obtain permission. Airline approval, import permission and public-access rights are different decisions.

Sources: Saudia pet policy · General Conditions of Carriage · Saudi Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture · NAAMA government services · USDA APHIS: U.S. pets to Saudi Arabia.

Arrange a separate cargo shipment when needed

Saudia Cargo’s live Chinese-language FAQ says its service is airport-to-airport, directs rate enquiries to the local cargo agent and requires the shipper to supply an IATA-standard crate. Its current contact page lists cargoCIC@saudiacargo.com and +966 92 000 3111, extension 1.

Ask cargo to confirm the species/breed, route and aircraft, loaded weight, crate dimensions, age, documents, weather limitations and acceptance deadline before committing. Obtain the air-waybill arrangement, exact freight terminal, handover time, destination handling/clearance fees, consignee and collection process. An airport-to-airport quote does not include home collection or delivery unless separately arranged. Passenger-ticket confirmation is not cargo confirmation.

Sources: Saudia Cargo FAQ, Chinese site · Saudia Cargo contacts.

Finish the airport and disruption plan

Saudia’s web check-in terms list passengers travelling with pets among those not eligible for web check-in. Arrange staffed check-in and the required arrival time with the departure station; the general counter-closing time is not an appropriate pet-arrival target. U.S.-bound ordinary dogs follow the cargo handover process instead.

Carry the written animal confirmation, original documents and accessible copies. Have the approved carrier, animal identification and loaded weight ready for inspection. Ask who provides water and care during transfers, where the animal is collected, and what happens after a cancellation, aircraft change or overnight delay. Recheck operating-airport and flight advisories before departure.

As a preparation benchmark, not an additional Saudia rule, settle carrier suitability and all unresolved answers before buying non-refundable travel. Record them in the journey worksheet.

Sources: Web check-in terms · Saudia pet policy · General Conditions of Carriage.

Related planning

Related reading: Service-dog planning · Canada: service-dog entry planning · Journey worksheet.

Official sources and scope

• Saudia pet policy
• General Conditions of Carriage
• Special Care: Passengers with Disabilities
• Saudia accessibility plan
• Web check-in terms
• Saudia Cargo FAQ, Chinese site
• Saudia Cargo contacts
• U.S. DOT service-animal guidance
• U.S. rule: covered flights
• U.S. rule: service-dog numbers
• U.S. rule: forms and notice
• Current DOT air-transport form
• Current DOT relief form
• Canada: service-dog carriage
• Canada: advance notice
• Canada: international charging exception
• CDC dog-entry requirements
• CDC: low-risk-country route
• CDC: service dogs and entry
• Saudi Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture
• NAAMA government services
• USDA APHIS: U.S. pets to Saudi Arabia

Official sources checked October 23, 2026. Confirm flight-specific arrangements and the unresolved limits with Saudia before booking.