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Paw-some news: Lift Airlines now offers dog-friendly flights

Local budget carrier, Lift Airline, recently announced a new offering for passengers with four-legged friends. Photo: canva / @AirTravel_News - twitter

Local budget carrier, Lift Airlines, recently announced a new offering for passengers with four-legged friends. Here are all the details…

Local budget carrier, Lift Airlines, recently announced a new offering for passengers with four-legged friends. Photo: canva / @AirTravel_News – twitter

Small dogs get a Lift

Here’s something new – South African carrier Lift Airlines will now allow dog owners to bring their furry friends on board flights with them.

According to the airline’s website, dogs will now be able to travel in a pet-friendly carry bag with their owners, in a special blocked window seat allocated for them.

Only a limited number of pets are allowed to travel on selected flights‚ and a rigorous cleaning schedule is conducted in between flights to ensure that safety and hygiene standards are maintained.

ALSO READ: Pet-friendly air travel: Top 10 airlines for you and your pet

“Many ‘paw-rents’ can’t always make use of kennels, family or friends to look after their pets,” said Lift Airlines co-founder Jonathan Ayache.

“And they want their four-legged family members to be included when they travel. Until now, this hasn’t been possible when travelling by plane.” Ayache added.

ALSO READ: Most Animal-friendly safaris: SA shines at PETA Awards

Allocated seating for people with pets. Photo: Lift website

What are the travel requirements?

Lift Airlines revealed that there are certain travel requirements for this new service. These include only allowing small dogs no bigger than 28 cm x 20 cm x 45 cm for now. Others include:

Only having one dog allowed per adult passenger
Dogs must be at least 10 weeks old.
A dog travelling in the cabin must be carried in an approved purpose-built soft-case dog carrier bag‚ that is well ventilated‚ at all times.
A dog will not be permitted to occupy a seat‚ and the dog carrier bag must fit completely under the seat in front of the window seat reserved and remain there at all times.
Puppy training pads/absorbent sheets must be placed in the dog carrier bag.
See the website for all requirements and details.

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Sundeeka Mungroo

Sundeeka Mungroo is a content writer, foodie and all-round adventure-seeker. She's a graduate of the University of South Africa with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature, and has worked as a copywriter and editor in the digital marketing industry. Sundeeka currently writes for I Love South Africa and The South African. She lives in the beautiful Mother City and loves exploring all that South Africa has to offer.