Twinkie

Airline Flying with a Guide Horse

All Guide Horses are certified to fly with the major airlines and the GHF has a special relationship with Accessibility departments of the major airlines.

All guide animals are subject to the "direct threat" test, and there are specific protocols for flying with a guide pony:

"Factors to consider are the animal’s size, weight, state and foreign country restrictions, and whether or not the animal would pose a direct threat to the health or safety of others, or cause a fundamental alteration (significant disruption) in the cabin service. If none of these factors apply, the animal may accompany the passenger in the cabin."

All GHF horses experience flying as a standard part of their training and the GHF work's closely with the airlines to help them distinguish between a GHF certified Guide Horse and an owner-trained guide which may not meet the basic safety standards:

[This document] uses the concept of ‘‘direct threat’’ as the standard for when a carrier may conclude that there is a safety basis for excluding a passenger from a flight.  . . . If the pilot-in-command makes a decision to restrict the animal from the cabin or the flight for safety reasons, the CRO cannot countermand the pilot’s decision.

Because owner-trained Guide Horses are also allowed to fly on commercial airlines, the owner-trainer must prove to the airline, prior to flying, that the individual horse is small, quiet, housebroken and well-mannered.  This has not been a problem, and Confetti, an owner-trained guide horse was permitted to fly.