MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII, KANEOHE BAY, Hawaii -- Things could get "hairy" for pet owners who plan to relocate in the summer months due to pet shipping embargoes placed by certain airlines between the months of May and September.
Currently, only Northwest, United, Delta, American, and Hawaiian airlines accept pets for travel and fewer may accept pets as the outside temperatures increase, according to Staff Sgt. James Webb, the noncommissioned officer-in-charge of the passenger section of the MCB Hawaii Traffic Management Office.
"When the outside temperature reaches 85 degrees and higher, certain airlines refuse to accept pets for travel due to (the possibility of) fatalities," Webb said. "These airlines don't want to be responsible for these problems, so they stop shipping pets between those months."
"Extreme heat (85 degrees farenheit or 29 degrees celsius) during the summer months can put animals in a life-threatening situation onboard our aircraft. This embargo is in the best interest of the pet," according to the http://www.delta.com, Delta Airlines' website.
Despite these conditions, Webb assured that it is still possible for pets to make it to the family's new home via services offered by some airlines.
"We do everything we possibly can to work with the more user-friendly airlines to ensure that the pets travel with their families," Webb said. "Last year, there was not one case in which we were unable to send a pet with its family."
Regardless of the TMO's past track record, Webb said it's still imperative that relocating servicemembers contact the airlines on which they are scheduled to travel and notify them of their intents to travel with a pet due to space restrictions some airlines have in their cargo holds.
Some airlines, such as Northwest, have no set dates for refusal to ship pets. According to the airlines' website, nwa.com, airline personnel can refuse to check pets into the cargo hold depending on the current weather conditions, but offer alternatives to shipping pets before or after passengers travel by coordinating with professional pet courier services.
Webb said that although TMO helps coordinate travel for pets (only dogs and cats), it is the passenger who pays all fees associated with the pet's travel - often between $75 dollars and $150 dollars depending on the size of the pet.
For more information on pet travel and relocation, contact the MCB Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay Traffic Management Office at 257-5569, or the Camp H.M. Smith TMO at 477-8838. Information on pet travel may also be obtained by logging on to individual airlines' respective websites. Look for more articles on TMO next week.