American Airlines won't be allowing emotional support animals aboard its planes.
- The airline is changing its rules starting next week, when new Department of Transportation regulations take effect.
- The new rules declare that airlines "are not required to recognized emotional support animals as service animals" and can subject them to the same flight rules as pets.
- While emotional support animals can be prescribed by mental health professionals, they are not trained to perform physical tasks like service animals.
Jessica Tyler, American Airlines' president of cargo and vice president of airport excellence, said in a statement.
"Our team is motivated by a purpose to care for people on life’s journey, and we believe these policy changes will improve our ability to do just that,"
Tyler added-
"We're confident this approach will enable us to better serve our customers, particularly those with disabilities who travel with service animals, and better protect our team members at the airport and on the aircraft,"
The DOT (Dept. of Transportation) announced last month a revision to the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA), which goes into effect on Monday, January 11.
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