Finnair Easy News
Updated
Published
Restrictions on travelling with dogs to the USA as from 1 August 2024
Operational news
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:
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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 |
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 |
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) |
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Important information |
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Passenger rights can be checked here.
More information about the customer communication at finnair.com.