Prepare your journey
with SriLankan Airlines.

1. Prepare the journey

Prepare the operating flight numbers, travel dates, connections, animal age, breed, weight and standing measurements, and container measurements. For a service dog, prepare a description of its trained tasks and available training evidence. Discuss fitness and preparation with your veterinarian. Keep airline acceptance, animal welfare and country entry as separate checks.

2. Read the published conditions

Pets may travel as checked baggage; aircraft heating limits acceptance. Charges cover animal, container and food. Published assistance rules: seeing/hearing dogs, free cabin carriage; one service animal per flight. Notify ≥48 hours ahead; check in ≥3 hours ahead. Provide credible verbal disability-service assurance. Keep the dog muzzled, harnessed, clean, controlled and beside you; attach its leash to your seatbelt, with absorbent bedding. Keep aisles, exits and neighboring space clear. If unsuitable at the seat, the page describes free hold carriage in your compliant kennel. A continuous journey in the same aircraft or under one flight number beginning or ending at a U.S. airport has a seat-relocation option. For U.S. travel, it links transportation and relief forms, requesting submission ≥48 hours ahead if reserved more than 48 hours in advance. Present vaccination certificates and relevant permits at reservation and airports. Confirm connections separately.

Source: Policy. Checked October 16, 2026.

Treat these as the airline’s published statements requiring confirmation for your particular route. Ask the carrier to reconcile any restriction with the rules applicable to your itinerary before buying a ticket or agreeing to an alternative arrangement. Do not assume a hold alternative is available, suitable or mandatory for your case.

3. Obtain a confirmed request

The contact page lists +94 117 77 1979, reservations@srilankan.com and chat-only WhatsApp +94 744 44 1979.

Source: Contact. Checked October 16, 2026.

The online disability request includes a service-animal option and passenger, ticket and contact fields. Its stated scope is a continuous journey in the same aircraft or with one flight number beginning or ending at a U.S. airport. This online option is unavailable for departures within 72 hours.

Source: Request. Checked October 16, 2026.

Ask which channel handles your exact request: ticketing agent, airline office, telephone, email or online form. Establish who will approve it and where that approval will appear. A passenger ticket, an enquiry or a submitted form is not evidence that animal space has been confirmed. Obtain the submission destination, required attachments and response arrangements before sending documents. For a last-minute booking, ask how the airline will assess the request; this guide does not establish a guaranteed late-booking process.

4. Resolve capacity and equipment

No verified numeric answer is supplied here for ordinary-pet limits per flight, pets per passenger, animals per container, maximum pet weight or kennel dimensions. Ask each question separately. Ask about same-species sharing, littermates, age limits and mixed species; do not assume that two animals may share because they live together. Establish whether the proposed aircraft can carry your animal and what happens after an aircraft change.

Before buying a kennel, obtain the exact size, construction, door, ventilation, bedding, feeding and water arrangements required for your shipment. Send the animal’s standing measurements and the proposed container specifications. Ask about breed restrictions, temperature limits, transit care and acceptance inspections. Use the existing carrier guide to organize the measurements.

5. Resolve assistance eligibility

Explain the disability-related tasks the dog performs and ask which eligibility standard applies to each operating sector. Obtain a written answer about psychiatric task-trained dogs, emotional-support-only animals and any difference between those categories. Do not present emotional support alone as established service-dog eligibility.

This review does not establish an accepted training-organization list or an owner-trained route for this airline. Ask whether evidence from ADI, IGDF, another organization or an individual trainer is accepted on your route, and precisely what evidence is needed. Do not buy a certificate expecting universal recognition or guaranteed approval.

Confirm the allowed number of dogs for your booking, seating position, available floor space, behavior expectations, leash attachment, harness and muzzle instructions. Ask how a disability-related difficulty complying with a restraint instruction will be handled. Resolve any mismatch before travel.

For U.S.-related travel, use the existing U.S. airline reference, forms reference and training-evidence reference. For other routes, consult the UK and Europe reference. These links do not establish airline approval. Ask which forms apply to the actual flight duration, when they are due, where to send them, and what originals or copies to carry.

6. Arrange a separate shipment

The cargo product directory includes live animals. Its online reservation wording describes general freight; it does not establish instant live-animal approval.

Source: Cargo. Checked October 16, 2026.

At Colombo, the cargo centre describes export acceptance at Terminal 5 and import delivery at Terminal 4. Only booked shipments are accepted. Shipment declarations include the air waybill number, shipper or agent details, package count, weight, dimensions and volume. Consignees or authorized agents arrange clearance with the applicable regulatory approvals.

Source: Handling. Checked October 16, 2026.

For cargo, obtain a live-animal quotation and confirmed shipment arrangement through the responsible cargo office or agent. Ask whether you can book directly or need a freight forwarder. Establish acceptance deadlines, handover and collection locations, handling contacts, transit arrangements and contingency care for each airport. The Colombo terminal information should not be applied to other airports.

Ask for the complete charge breakdown: freight or baggage charge, kennel, handling, documents, clearance, storage, collection and any taxes. Obtain the currency, payment deadline, refund terms and cost of changes. This guide does not establish a fixed pet fare, cargo price, ordinary-pet booking deadline or live-animal cargo cutoff.

7. Check government entry separately

This is not a country-entry checklist. For Sri Lanka, start with the Authority and obtain the instructions applicable to the animal’s origin and travel arrangement. For every destination and transit point, verify identification, vaccinations, tests, certificates, permits, inspection and arrival procedures independently. Do not infer that service-dog status removes entry requirements.

Keep the existing U.S. entry reference separate from airline paperwork. Ask the relevant authority or official veterinarian about timing and document validity. Airline approval and government permission must both be resolved.

8. Keep the confirmation together

Before committing, collect written confirmation of the operating flights, animal category, available space, approved container or seating arrangement, required documents, training evidence, charges and airport schedule. Recheck unresolved points if the aircraft, route or operating carrier changes. Carry copies of the confirmations and the contact details for the offices handling the booking.

Questions before you book

Related reading: Airline guides · Service-dog reference.

Official sources and scope

• Policy
• Contact
• Request
• Cargo
• Handling
• Authority

Official references checked October 16, 2026. Obtain confirmation for the actual operating flight.