Finnair Easy News

Restrictions on travelling with dogs to the USA as from 1 August 2024

Latest update: Temporary exemption received for importing dogs to U.S.
 

U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is implementing new rules regarding the import of dogs to the United States due to the risk of rabies. The new rules are forcing Finnair to restrict the transportation of dogs in the cabin and in the hold to the United States as of 1 August 2024. The new regulatory requirements will require dogs to have an air waybill document. Finnair has applied for and received a temporary exemption from the CDC, which allows dogs to be transported with customers in the cabin or in the hold without an air waybill document for the time being, provided that all other CDC requirements are met.  

The customer is responsible for ensuring the dog meets the entry requirements of the destination country. Read more about the CDC requirements here. Finnairs´ ground crew at the airport will check that customer has the required dog import form for the United States. The customer should be prepared for U.S. authorities to verify the dog also meets all other CDC requirements. If health regulations are not followed, customer may face challenges in the U.S. entry process; for example, the dog may be denied entry into the country and returned to the country of origin.

If your dog’s reservation has been cancelled in July 2024

Before we received information about the exemption, we unfortunately had to cancel all reservations for dogs confirmed on our flights from Helsinki to the United States starting August 1, 2024. If your reservation was cancelled, you can contact our customer service to rebook your dog’s reservation and make any necessary changes. We will contact you personally via email.

If you are planning to travel with your dog to the USA

We are accepting new reservations for dogs travelling to the United States with you in the cabin or as checked baggage on flights arriving in the country after 1 August 2024.

What documents does my dog need to enter USA? 

We kindly ask you to check the current requirements for bringing dogs into the United States on the CDC's website here.

Travelling with a Service or Assistance Dog 

Service and assistance dogs are also subject to the new requirements set by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). We can transport service and assistance dogs on our flights, provided that all CDC requirements are met.  

 

Exceptional policy and handling the bookings/confirming transportation regarding the scenario as of 26 July 2024:

Scenario 1: If the affected customer 1) still have their booking on AY flight 2) has not yet travelled and 3) would like to return the previously cancelled SSR booking (PETC/AVIH/SVAN), this can be confirmed free of charge.  

• Please contact Customer Care Support PETC/AVIH for the confirmation when travel date is in next 3 days. Otherwise, normal AVIH/PETC process → Contact FBS back office.
• Regarding SVAN confirmation, please contact Medadesk.

 Scenario 2: Customer has chosen to change flight date and has not travelled yet

•  Second change free of charge allowed.

 Scenario 3: If customer has cancelled their flight booking among the AVIH/PETC/SVAN reservation due to embargo

•  No policy needed. In this scenario they are not AY customer anymore.

Scenario 4: Customer has chosen to change flight date to July and has already travelled

• No policy needed. In this scenario they are not AY customer anymore.

Scenario 5: Customer has booked their dog via cargo and would like change it as SSR booking with AY

• To cancel the cargo, please ask customer to contact the handling company (not AY Cargo) which they have made the contract with. Normal process free of charge when booking the SSR with Finnair.

We are very sorry for the inconvenience and the worry this situation may cause to the customer.

For bookings made via NDC: same policy applies and for booking handling contact our Agent Help Desk. The smoothest option for contacting is by clicking on the chat icon at the bottom right corner of the page (select NDC Support) for the change or cancellation.

 

PLS NOTE! Exceptional policy below was valid from 10 to 26 July 2024. 

Event	Restrictions on travelling with dogs to the USA as from 1 August 2024
Routes impacted	All AY USA destinations:  AY1 HEL-LAX  AY7 HEL-MIA  AY9 HEL-ORD  AY15 HEL-JFK  AY19 HEL-DFW  AY33 HEL-SEA
Travel dates impacted	01AUG24 - until further notice
Applies to tickets issued by	10JUL24
New travel dates	Disrupted SSR (PETC/AVIH/SVAN) on flight: One change free of charge within booking window     Please note that PETC/AVIH/SVAN cannot be accepted to AY flights from HEL to the USA until further notice.
Changes to origin/destination/stopover	Not allowed
Airlines allowed	Finnair (AY) operated and marketed only, rerouting to other airlines not allowed
Booking class to be used	Same or lowest available booking class within same cabin  Only same booking class possible (please contact agent info to reinstate original booking class)
Number of allowed changes	One change free of charge, further changes according to normal ticket rules
Mandatory waiver text in OSI element	OS AY CHANGE DUE TO USA DOGS PETC/AVIH/SVAN EMBARGO OS AY REFUND DUE TO USA DOGS PETC/AVIH/SVAN EMBARGO
Mandatory indicator in front of fare calculation on the reissued ticket	‘S’ -indicator
Mandatory text in the endorsement	SKCHG to be used for involuntary changes when there is more than 2 days before departure (together with ‘S’ indicator in the fare calculation)
Changing bookings made via NDC	The same change policy applies. For booking handling, in case not possible in the booking tool, contact our Agent Help Desk
Refunds for bookings made via NDC	Full or partial refund is allowed, even if any of the booked flights are not cancelled by Finnair.  Before requesting refund, the booking must be cancelled.  1) If the flight is not cancelled by AY, contact Agent Help Desk and request the cancellation of the booking. Proceed with the refund request via BSP/ARC.  2) If the flight is cancelled by AY, booking can be cancelled using Manage booking on Finnair.com or by contacting Agent Help Desk. Apply for refund via BSPlink Refund Application. ARC-agents, see more information about refunds on general Refunds-instructions.
Refunds for bookings made via Edifact	Full or partial refund allowed, even if any of the booked flights are not cancelled by Finnair.  Cancel the booking/remaining segments and refund the ticket directly in your own GDS. If that is not possible, apply for refund via BSPlink Refund Application. ARC-agents, see more information about refunds on general Refunds-instructions.
Ancillaries	The above-mentioned change policy applies also to ancillaries for the one free change. In most cases the service will be automatically transferred to the new flight at the time of ticket revalidation/reissue. Otherwise, please re-associate the EMD and SSR manually or contact our Agent Help Desk.  Refund allowed only in case a similar ancillary service is not available on the new flight. Process EMD refunds via BSPlink refund application (ARC users: apply for refund via Refund Web-form, mention “ARC Agent” in the additional information box)
Groups	If tickets have been issued, Finnair will re-route to alternative services  If tickets have not yet been issued, Finnair will rebook on alternative Finnair operated flights. In case an alternative option is not available and therefore offered, please contact Finnair Group Sales Support for further information
Important information	Full instructions for involuntary changes are available here.  “Finnair (AY) only” also includes those flights which are operated by NoRRA or by Iberia for Finnair/Widerøe for Finnair  These same rules apply also to individual bookings with TO fares.  Adhering to this policy is the user’s responsibility. Finnair reserves the right to change or withdraw these guidelines at any time.

Passenger rights can be checked here.

More information about the customer communication at finnair.com.