Get in touch with your airline
Notify the airline that you will be taking your pet with you at an early stage.
Dogs and cats traveling within the EU must be at least 4 months old. Animals traveling into the EU from unlisted third states must be at least 7 months old.
Sick, injured animals and animals that might give birth while being transported, as well as animals that have given birth less than 48 hours beforehand, are excluded from transport.
Animals weighing up to 5 or 6 kg (depending on the airline) can be carried in the cabin in a suitable cage. Animals exceeding that weight have to be carried in the cargo hold.
Travel documents needed
To ease your pet’s journey, you must carry a standard pet passport based on an EU directive for every type of animal. Any registered vet can issue such a document as long as he holds a permit from the Veterinary Office. The pet passport contains information about the health status of the animal and confirmation that it has been vaccinated against rabies.
You’ll find more information about the pet passport and a checklist on traveling with dogs and cats at the Federal Ministry for Nutrition, Agriculture and Consumer Protection under www.bmelv.de.