Regulation No. 17.476\/SAS, published by ANAC last week, reinforces the autonomy of air carriers in defining their policies for the transport of animals, while also introducing new regulatory guidelines on the matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Below are five key points to be aware of under the new regulation:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1. Distinction Between Service Animals and Emotional Support Animals<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The new Regulation reinforces that only guide dogs, as defined under Law No. 11.126\/2005, are formally recognized as service animals. Emotional support animals, although they may be accepted at the airline\u2019s discretion, are not legally equivalent to service animals, as they lack the specific technical training and do not benefit from the same regulatory recognition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2. Nature of Animal Transport Services<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The new Regulation reaffirms that the transport of pets and emotional support animals is considered ana non-mandatory and optional service, meaning that air carriers are not obligated to offer it. Although this discretion was already recognized under the previous regulation, Article 2, item IV of the new Regulation further reinforces the carrier\u2019s autonomy in determining whether and how to provide such services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
3. Sanctions for Noncompliance by the Passenger<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The new Regulation provides that the passenger responsible for the animal must fully comply with the contractual obligations and follow all instructions issued by the airline staff and the pilot in command. Failure to do so may result in administrative measures, including denial of boarding for the animal, as well as potential actions related to unruly or noncompliant behavior onboard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
4. Passenger Assistance \u2013 New Requirements<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The new Regulation expands the obligations of air carriers regarding passenger assistance in cases involving animal transport. In addition to complying with the provisions of Chapter IV of ANAC Resolution No. 400, which governs the availability of customer service channels for inquiries, requests, and complaints, airlines are now required to provide specific support to the person responsible for the animal, both during the booking\/commercialization stage and throughout the actual transport process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
5. Potential Sanctions Against the Air Carrier<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Regulation provides that failure by the air carrier to comply with its obligations may result in the application of sanctions established under ANAC Resolution No. 400\/2016. The regulation also reinforces the requirement to provide assistance to both the passenger and the animal, in accordance with applicable regulations, in cases where boarding is denied at the carrier\u2019s discretion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a recent decision (REsp 2.188.156\u2011PR), the Brazilian Superior Court of Justice (STJ) upheld the validity of the prior ANAC regulation by ruling that emotional support animals cannot be equated to guide dogs for purposes of in-cabin air travel, even in exceptional circumstances raised by their handlers. The Court emphasized that, in the absence of specific legislation on emotional support animals, air carriers retain the discretion to define operational and technical requirements for their transport. This ruling reinforces the importance of maintaining aviation safety standards, ensuring that the in-flight environment remains controlled, secure, and compliant with civil aviation regulations.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A Portaria n\u00ba 17.476\/SAS, publicada pela ANAC na \u00faltima semana, refor\u00e7a a autonomia das companhias a\u00e9reas na defini\u00e7\u00e3o de pol\u00edticas para o transporte de animais, ao mesmo tempo em que estabelece novas diretrizes regulat\u00f3rias sobre o tema. Confira a seguir cinco pontos de aten\u00e7\u00e3o que merecem destaque na nova regulamenta\u00e7\u00e3o: 1) Distin\u00e7\u00e3o entre animal de […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.santosesantana.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3502"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.santosesantana.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.santosesantana.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.santosesantana.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.santosesantana.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3502"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.santosesantana.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3502\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3505,"href":"https:\/\/www.santosesantana.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3502\/revisions\/3505"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.santosesantana.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3502"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.santosesantana.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3502"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.santosesantana.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3502"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}