Flying With a Dog on Delta in 2026: Fees, Carrier Size, Cargo Limits and Paperwork

Flying with a dog on Delta means booking your small dog as a carry-on pet in the cabin. As of October 2026, Delta Air Lines charges $150 each way within the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands and $200 on international routes. Your dog must stay in a leak-proof, ventilated carrier that fits under the seat in front of you. Delta does not take pets as checked baggage, and Delta Cargo currently ships pets only for military and Foreign Service families.

This guide is published by Animal Passport and was last updated in October 2026. Every fee, age limit and size rule below comes from Delta Air Lines' official pet pages or from U.S. federal agencies. Airline pet policies change several times a year, so check Delta's Pet Travel Overview before you book.

What Does Flying With a Dog on Delta Involve?

Delta Air Lines lets small dogs, cats and household birds that meet its age, health, size and kennel requirements travel in the cabin on domestic flights within the contiguous United States, for a one-way fee collected at check-in (Delta Air Lines, Pet Travel Overview, 2026). On trips outside the contiguous U.S., you also need every document required for your dog to enter the destination and to return home.

There are three ways a dog can fly on Delta, and each has its own rules:

• In-cabin pet: a small dog in a carrier under the seat. This is the only option open to most travellers.
• Delta Cargo: for larger dogs, but as of October 2026 only for active U.S. military or U.S. State Department Foreign Service Officers with permanent change of station orders (Delta Air Lines, Shipping Your Pet, 2026).
• Trained service dog: flies free in the cabin under U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) rules. Emotional support animals count as pets on Delta.

How Much Does It Cost to Fly a Dog on Delta?

Delta raised its in-cabin pet fee for tickets issued on or after April 8, 2025. The fee is charged each way, and the price depends on the contract of carriage in effect on the day your ticket was issued (Delta Air Lines, 2026).

Sources disagree: an older Delta page, Pet Travel Options, still lists $125 for U.S. and Canada travel and a 10-week minimum age. Delta's current Pet Travel Overview, which this article follows, lists $150 and 8 weeks. If you see different numbers, trust the current overview page and the amount on your reservation.

What Size Carrier Does Delta Allow for Dogs?

Delta does not set a fixed weight limit for cabin pets. The rule is about fit. Your dog has to be small enough to sit comfortably in the carrier and move around without touching or poking out of the sides, and the carrier has to fit fully under the seat in front of you (Delta Air Lines, 2026).

• Recommended size: Delta recommends a soft-sided kennel no larger than 18 x 11 x 11 inches because it fits most aircraft. The actual limit depends on the under-seat space on your aircraft.
• Ventilation: the soft-sided kennel must be leak-proof, with ventilation openings on 3 sides for domestic flights and 4 sides for international flights. An older Delta requirements page still says ventilation on at least 2 sides. Follow the stricter current rule.
• One kennel per traveller. You can still bring 1 personal item or 1 carry-on bag as well.
• Sharing a carrier: two pets of the same breed and size, aged 8 weeks to 6 months, may share one kennel and pay one fee. A mother dog can also travel with her unweaned litter.

Where can you sit with a dog on Delta?

If you have a pet in the cabin, Delta will not let you choose bulkhead seats, emergency exit rows, seats marked as no stowage, flat-bed or Delta One seats, rows 46 to 51 on the A330-200, rows 54 to 59 on the A330-300, or middle seats on the B757-200 (Delta Air Lines, 2026).

How many dogs are allowed per flight?

Pet spaces are limited and given out first-come, first-served. Delta allows up to 4 pets in Delta Main and Delta Comfort, 2 in domestic Delta First (but not in cabins with flat-bed seats), and none in Delta One, Delta Premium or international Business Class. Service animals are not counted toward these limits (Delta Air Lines, 2026). Flights run by Delta Connection carriers such as SkyWest Airlines and Endeavor Air allow 2 pets per cabin, according to Delta's International Pet Travel page.

How to Book a Dog on a Delta Flight: Step by Step

1. Check your route. Make sure your destination is not on Delta's list of places where cabin pets are banned (see below), and look up entry rules with the United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA APHIS).
2. Book your own ticket first, in Delta Main or Delta Comfort if possible. These cabins allow the most pets.
3. Call Delta Reservations as soon as you can to add the pet. Have the carrier's length, width and height ready, as Delta asks.
4. Get the paperwork. For international trips, contact a USDA-accredited veterinarian as soon as you decide to travel. USDA APHIS says they will help you work out the destination's entry rules and get a USDA-endorsed health certificate.
5. Check in at the Special Service Counter. Online check-in is not enough. A Delta agent checks your dog and carrier and collects the fee.
6. Get through TSA. Take your dog out of the carrier, send the empty carrier through the X-ray machine, and carry your dog through the metal detector. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) also says to take off the leash before you walk through.
7. Keep your dog in the carrier everywhere in the airport, including Delta Sky Club lounges, except at pet relief areas. Delta warns that breaking its pet rules can cost you the right to fly with your pet in the future.

Where Can't Dogs Fly in the Delta Cabin?

As of October 2026, Delta does not allow pets in the cabin on flights to or from Australia, Barbados, Hong Kong, Iceland, Jamaica, New Zealand, South Africa, the United Kingdom or the United Arab Emirates. Pets cannot fly on flights to Hawaii, and pet travel is not allowed for pets starting their trip in Brazil, Colombia or the Dominican Republic (Delta Air Lines, Pet Travel Overview, 2026).

Hawaii is part of the United States, but Delta does not allow pet travel on flights to Hawaii. People moving there with a dog usually need another plan, so start planning months ahead.

Paperwork: CDC, USDA APHIS and New World Screwworm Rules

Dogs flying into the United States

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the main authority for dogs entering the U.S., including U.S. dogs coming home, according to USDA APHIS (last modified March 20, 2026). Under CDC rules in effect since August 1, 2024, every dog entering the U.S. must look healthy, be microchipped, be at least 6 months old, and come with a receipt from a completed CDC Dog Import Form. What else you need depends on where the dog was vaccinated against rabies and which countries it has been in during the previous 6 months.

USDA APHIS adds that U.S.-vaccinated dogs that have been in a high-risk rabies country in the past 6 months need a Certification of U.S.-Issued Rabies Vaccination form. A USDA-accredited veterinarian has to submit it before the dog leaves the United States.

New World Screwworm certificates

Delta's 2026 pet page says that from August 3, 2026, every dog entering Mexico needs a New World Screwworm Inspection Certificate from a USDA-accredited veterinarian. It must be issued no more than 5 days before arrival, and Delta checks it at check-in. USDA APHIS also requires dogs arriving in the U.S. from countries affected by screwworm to have an inspection document issued within 5 days of arrival.

Domestic health certificates

For flights within the contiguous U.S. in the cabin, Delta does not require a health certificate, but some destination states may. When one is needed, Delta's requirements page says a licensed veterinarian must issue it within 10 days of travel. Cargo shipments always need a certificate from a USDA-accredited veterinarian within 10 days.

Can Large Dogs Fly on Delta?

For most travellers, no. Delta stopped accepting pets as checked baggage and now carries pets in the cabin only. Its Shipping Your Pet page states that, until further notice, Delta Cargo ships pets only for active U.S. military and U.S. State Department Foreign Service Officers with active permanent change of station orders (Delta Air Lines, 2026).

Families who qualify must follow Delta Cargo rules:

• The crate must meet Container Requirement #1 of the International Air Transport Association Live Animals Regulations (IATA LAR).
• Cargo bookings open 14 days before departure, and the dog may not fly on your flight.
• Temperatures on the ground must stay between 20°F and 80°F at every point of the trip. Between 20°F and 45°F you also need a Certificate of Acclimation.
• Sedating household dogs and cats is not allowed.
• Delta's cargo pages say snub-nosed (brachycephalic) dogs, cats and their mixes are not accepted. Delta's list includes Pugs, French Bulldogs, Boxers, Shih Tzus, Boston Terriers and all Mastiff breeds.
• International pet shipments need an International Pet and Animal Transportation Association (IPATA) shipper.

Delta Cargo's minimum age for dogs is 12 weeks for domestic shipments and 15 weeks for international ones. That is different from the 8-week minimum for cabin pets, so check which rule applies to your trip.

Service Dogs vs. Pets on Delta

Delta accepts trained service dogs free of charge. The dog must be fully trained to assist a person with a disability, be up to date on vaccinations, be at least 4 months old, and fit in your foot space. You must send the DOT Service Animal Air Travel Form at least 48 hours before departure, plus the DOT Relief Attestation Form for flights of 8 hours or more. Delta says emotional support animals are not service animals and travel under its pet rules (Delta Air Lines, Trained Service Animals, 2026).

Is a Pet Passport the Same as Animal Passport?

No. When people talk about a pet passport for a Delta trip, they mean official documents: a USDA-endorsed health certificate, a CDC Dog Import Form receipt, rabies certificates, or an EU pet passport. Government vets and agencies issue these, and airlines check them at the counter.

Animal Passport is a different product. It is a digital animal and livestock passport that identifies each animal by its muzzle print, which is unique like a fingerprint, captured with a phone camera. The record links the owner, breed, estimated age (from a dental photo, with a confidence score), body condition score from 1 to 5 (from a side-profile photo), and vaccination history. In the August 2025 floods in Pakistan, farmers used it to reclaim livestock after their paper ear tags washed away. It is not a government travel document, airlines do not accept it in place of CDC or USDA paperwork, and it does not replace advice from a veterinarian. More identity and travel guides are on the Animal Passport blog.

Practical Tips Before Your Delta Flight

• Measure the carrier and your dog. If your dog has to crouch to fit, the agent can refuse it at check-in.
• Let your dog get used to the carrier over several weeks. Delta says cargo dogs may need weeks to months to get used to their crates.
• Talk to your vet about sedation. Delta says the effects of tranquilizers at altitude are unpredictable.
• Leave extra time for the Special Service Counter and the TSA pet check.
• Check again a week before you fly. Delta changed its fees, ventilation rules and cargo access between 2025 and 2026.