A guide dog

An assistance/guide dog is an appropriately trained and specially marked dog, in particular a guide dog of a blind or visually impaired person, and a dog assisting a person with a physical dysfunction, which helps the person actively participate in social life.

Types of assistance dogs:

  • Assistance dog for a person with physical disabilities
  •  Guide dog of a blind or visually impaired person
  • Signal dog of a person with auditory dysfunction
  • Dog signaling disease attacks (e.g. diabetes, epilepsy)

An assistance/guide dog:

  • is transported in the passenger cabin free of charge,
  • does not have to be placed in a transport container,
  • is not subject to any weight limit
  • must have a harness,
  • does not have to wear a muzzle, but for safety reasons please bring one with you,
  • should be protected against any possible contact with other passengers on board (e.g. kept on a harness),

Please remember that you need to hold all the required documents, including a certificate confirming the status of your assistance dog, a certificate of the required veterinary vaccinations, a passport, etc.

If you are travelling with an assistance dog, please contact us at least 48 hours before departure.

Fill in the form special assistance, accompanied by:

  • A certificate confirming your dog's training, issued by a reputable training institute,
  • Certificate of completion of required veterinary vaccinations,
  • Passport,
  • A statement that the dog meets the requirements to travel as a certified assistance dog. 

 

Download the statement

Fill out a statement that certifies that the dog is a certified assistance dog.

PDF (739 KB)

Fill in the special assistance form (opens in a new tab)

 

* LOT Polish Airlines reserves the right to transfer a dog which behaves in an inappropriate manner to the baggage hold for an additional charge or to refuse carriage. The owner of the dog will be held fully responsible for all damages and additional costs resulting from the dog's carriage.

Additional requirements on flights to/from the USA

According to the US definition, a service animal (or an assistance animal) means any dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability. 

Under US regulations, if you wish to travel with an assistance animal on flights to/from the USA, you need to remember that:

  • a single passenger may take maximum of two assistance dogs,
  • the passenger must fill in the documents listed below and send them with a contact form 48 hours before the scheduled departure at the latest.

Remember that the assistance dog allowed to travel to from the US in the passenger cabin :  

  • Obediently responds to its owner's commands and behaves appropriately in a public place 
  • Does not pose a direct or indirect risk to the life AND health of fellow passengers. 
  • Does not satisfy physiological needs in the passenger cabin or at the gate, unless this is done in a manner that does not cause health risks or hygienic problems. 
  • Has the necessary documents and its owner has completed the necessary forms for travel on this route

» USA - Service Animal Air Transport Form

» USA - Service Animal Relief Attestation Form

*It is a criminal offence to knowingly and wilfully make false, fictitious or misleading statements on a Service Animal Air Transportation or Service Animal Relief Attestation form in order to secure disability services provided in accordance with US regulations.

Verification of service animal service prior to departure

The carrier has the right to ask two questions related to service animal verification on flights to/from the US:

  • Whether the dog is trained to assist a person with a disability
  •  What tasks and activities the dog is prepared for.

Refusal to transport an assistance dog

We may refuse to transport an assistance dog in accordance with US DOT regulations in the following circumstances:

  • The assistance dog poses an immediate threat to the health or safety of others.
  • The assistance dog is disruptive in the cabin or gate area, or its behaviour on the aircraft or at the airport indicates that it has not been trained to behave appropriately in public.
  • Carriage of an assistance dog would violate applicable health and safety regulations of the US federal government, US territory or foreign government.

Emotional Support Animal - ESAN

According to U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations, emotional support animals are no longer classified as assistance animals, and we will no longer use this category.

Animals that are not trained assistance/guide dogs may be carried for a fee on board the aircraft (within the allowed number and weight limit), in an appropriate carrier or in the cargo hold.

 

Learn more about travelling with animals