Campaign Timeline

October 2025

Government responds to parliamentary petition

The UK Government published its response to an existing parliamentary petition calling for compliant pet dogs and cats to travel in the aircraft cabin when entering Great Britain. Although the Government acknowledged the issue, it confirmed it would not change the existing policy.

February 2026

Pet Travel Reform UK begins

Following my family’s relocation to Canada, I discovered that although our dogs could travel safely in the aircraft cabin to Canada, they could not return to the UK under the same conditions. That experience highlighted operational arrangements that could potentially be modernised and inspired the creation of Pet Travel Reform UK to campaign for a practical, evidence-based solution.

24 February 2026

First contact with MP John Grady

I wrote to my Member of Parliament, John Grady MP, asking whether he would consider submitting a Written Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs regarding the UK’s pet travel policy.

March 2026

12 March 2026

Having not yet received a response, I sent a follow-up email requesting an update.

April 2026

28 April 2026

Meeting offered

John Grady MP apologised for the delay in responding and offered to meet with me or arrange a telephone call to discuss the campaign in more detail.

May 2026

1 May 2026

Meeting with John Grady MP

I met with John Grady MP at his constituency surgery in Glasgow. We discussed the Government’s response to the parliamentary petition and the wider issues surrounding current UK pet travel rules. Mr Grady agreed to investigate the matter further.

June 2026

16 June 2026

House of Commons research requested

John Grady MP confirmed that he had asked the House of Commons Library to carry out research into the UK’s current pet travel procedures and advised he would contact me once the research had been completed.

July 2026

13 July 2026

Freedom of Information requests submitted

Freedom of information requests submitted to DEFRA, APHA and the Department of Transport.

16 July 2026

APHA confirms DEFRA will provide a single response

APHA confirmed that, as part of the same legal entity as DEFRA, a single Freedom of Information response would be issued covering both organisations.

21 July 2026

Department for Transport confirms responsibility rests with DEFRA

The Department for Transport advised that responsibility for policy relating to pet entry requirements rests with DEFRA rather than the Department for Transport.

28 July 2026

DEFRA responds to Freedom of Information request

DEFRA explained that pets travelling on scheduled commercial flights are generally transported as manifest cargo because of existing carrier approval and operational arrangements. The Department invited me to submit a narrower request focused on the legal and policy basis for those arrangements.

29 July 2026

Further evidence submitted to MP

Following receipt of the House of Commons Library research, I provided John Grady MP with further evidence gathered through my Freedom of Information requests and shared my observations from travelling with my own dogs to Canada. I accepted his invitation to meet again once the outstanding information requests had been completed.

29 July 2026

Internal Review requested

I requested an Internal Review of DEFRA’s Freedom of Information response, asking the Department to reconsider whether sufficient advice and assistance had been provided regarding the legal and policy basis for the current arrangements.

29 July 2026

Internal Review outcome

DEFRA confirmed its original decision under Section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act but maintained that a narrower request could be considered. The campaign continues to pursue further clarification of the legal and operational framework governing pet travel.

20 August 2026

Defra confirms no specific legislative requirement

Following Pet Travel Reform UK’s further enquiries, Defra confirmed:

“There is no specific legislative requirement that stipulates pets must travel as manifest cargo on scheduled flights.”

Defra explained that manifest cargo is the arrangement used in practice to transfer pets directly to checking facilities and provide the required documentary arrival record for customs and other border officials.

This clarification does not change the current rules, but it confirms that manifest cargo itself is not specifically mandated by legislation.

20 August 2026

Controlled Arrival Model developed

Following Defra’s clarification, Pet Travel Reform UK developed A Controlled Arrival Model for In-Cabin Pet Travel into Great Britain.

The proposal retains existing health, identification, documentary, biosecurity and border safeguards while examining whether eligible small pets could travel securely in cabin and follow a controlled arrival process before being released into Great Britain.

The proposal also asks Government to consider a limited pilot involving a willing airport, airline and relevant border agencies.

Pet Travel Reform UK has now developed a Controlled Arrival Model and is asking Government, airports, border authorities and airlines to examine whether the same UK safeguards could be maintained through a controlled in-cabin arrival pathway.

21 August 2026

Government and aviation engagement expands

The Controlled Arrival Model has now been submitted across Government and the aviation sector, including the Prime Minister’s Office, Defra, APHA, the Department for Transport, Border Force, parliamentary representatives, the Scottish Government, major UK airports, animal-entry operators, aviation bodies and UK and international airlines.

Heathrow Animal Reception Centre has confirmed that the proposal has been forwarded to its management team for review, and a policy and operational enquiry has also been formally submitted to APHA through its Pet Travel route.

Pet Travel Reform UK is seeking practical feedback on what would be required to make a controlled in-cabin arrival pathway workable while maintaining UK biosecurity.

22 August 2026 — Media outreach begins`

Campaign evidence shared with the media

Pet Travel Reform UK has begun contacting national and Scottish media to raise awareness of Defra’s clarification and the Controlled Arrival Model.

Journalists covering travel, transport, consumer affairs and Scottish news have been provided with the campaign’s latest evidence and policy proposal.

Explore the evidence page to view Freedom of information responses, parliamentary correspondence, government documents and supporting research.

UPDATE — 9 September meeting scheduled with Heathrow Animal Reception Centre

Heathrow Animal Reception Centre has confirmed that the pet-entry check itself does not require an animal to have travelled as cargo and that a securely contained in-cabin pet could, in principle, be taken through an authorised controlled checking process.

HARC has also welcomed discussion of a limited pilot. Pet Travel Reform UK will be meeting with HARC on Wednesday 9 September to discuss the practical requirements in more detail.

9 September 2026 — HARC meeting identifies practical route for an in-cabin model

Pet Travel Reform UK held a detailed meeting with Heathrow Animal Reception Centre (HARC) to discuss how a controlled in-cabin arrival process could work in practice.

HARC advised that the strongest route would be for an interested airline to replicate the existing Recognised Assistance Dog arrival process as closely as possible, including pre-approval, advance notification, a controlled arrival pathway, authorised pet checking and safeguards preventing a passenger from leaving the airport before the required checks are completed.

HARC also identified the airline’s Required Method of Operation (RMOP) and APHA PT19 approval process as central to developing such a model.

HARC indicated that it considers a compliant in-cabin process viable in principle and would be willing to engage further with an interested airline to explore how an approved process could be developed.

21 September 2026 — DEFRA POLICY RESPONSE
Defra confirmed that it has no current plans to change the existing process, but confirmed that Pet Travel Reform UK’s Controlled Arrival Model has been forwarded to the relevant policy team to inform any future work. A further response was sent highlighting the operational pathway identified with HARC and requesting direct technical engagement.
25 September 2026 — HARC AGREES TO APPROACH AIRLINE CONTACTS
Following further correspondence, HARC confirmed that it would sound out a couple of its existing airline contacts about the proposal. This creates the first opportunity for the campaign to reach airlines through an established operational relationship rather than cold outreach.
29 September 2026 — DELTA PROPOSAL SHARED INTERNALLY
Delta Air Lines’ International Government Affairs & Policy team confirmed that Pet Travel Reform UK’s proposal had been shared internally with the appropriate stakeholders, with further engagement to follow if there is interest.
9 October 2026 — SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT CONFIRMS NO LEGAL BAN
The Scottish Government confirmed in writing that “there is no legal requirement that prevents a pet from travelling in the cabin of an aircraft.” It also confirmed that airports and airlines may submit alternative proposals for consideration, provided equivalent import checks and biosecurity safeguards can be maintained.

The campaign continues

Pet Travel Reform UK continues to gather evidence, engage with Members of Parliament, government departments, airlines and industry stakeholders, and work towards identifying an airline and airport willing to explore a fully approved pilot based on the operational pathway discussed with HARC.