Airline requirements
What the airlines actually require of a pet travel crate.
The rules come from IATA's Live Animals Regulations, and every airline layers its own requirements on top. Here is what that means in plain English, and how we build for it.
First, a correction you'll be glad we made
You will see crates advertised everywhere as "IATA approved". Strictly speaking, no such approval exists: IATA publishes the Live Animals Regulations (LAR), and Container Requirement 1 (CR1) within them sets the standard that dog and cat crates must meet. Nobody stamps individual crates. What matters is whether a crate genuinely complies with CR1 and with your airline's own rules, and whether the check-in staff agree that it does on the day.
We build to CR1 as a matter of course, and to your named airline's additional requirements when you tell us who you are flying with. That second part is what saves journeys.
What Container Requirement 1 asks for
- Rigid construction. The crate must hold its shape under handling. Our treated timber shells do not flex, bow or collapse.
- Room to behave naturally. The animal must be able to stand at full height, turn around and lie down normally. This is where the four measurements come in; see our sizing guide.
- Ventilation. Openings on multiple sides of the crate, correctly sized and positioned, with nothing an animal can push a nose or paw through dangerously.
- A secure, escape-proof door. Fastenings the animal cannot work loose and handlers cannot leave half-done, with metal hardware.
- A leak-proof base. Absorbent bedding over a base that keeps the journey contained. We fit incontinence pads under vetbed as standard.
- Food and water access. Fixed containers that can be refilled from outside without opening the door.
- Correct labelling. Live Animals and This Way Up markings, so everyone who touches the crate knows exactly what they are handling.
Where airlines differ
Individual carriers add rules of their own, and they change them without much notice. Common examples:
- No wheels, or wheels removed or immobilised before acceptance.
- Extra ventilation and a larger crate for snub-nosed (brachycephalic) breeds, where the airline carries them at all.
- Specific door fastening types, or additional cable-tie points.
- Limits on two animals sharing one crate.
- Maximum crate dimensions for particular aircraft on particular routes.
Tell us your airline and route when you enquire and we build those requirements in from the start. Then confirm the final spec with the airline or your shipping agent before the flight; we provide the full dimensions and construction details to make that a two-minute job.
This page is a plain-English guide, not a substitute for your airline's current requirements or the current edition of the IATA Live Animals Regulations.
Flying with a specific airline?
Name the airline and the route, and we'll build to their rulebook as well as IATA's.