FAQ

Definitely! Pets travel comfortably in a pressurized, temperature-controlled, and dimly lit aircraft hold. Trained airline staff securely strap their travel crates, and the captain sets the cargo hold temperature between 18 to 25 degrees Celsius. Your furry friend’s well-being is our priority.

For pets travelling to the UK and Europe, Commercial Health Certificates are required if the owner can’t accompany them within 5 days. Non-commercial Health Certificates apply when the owner travels within this timeframe. Note: some airports don’t allow pets to arrive as Commercial shipments. Your dedicated consultant team will guide you through the correct process.

Your pet is collected by a Global Paws Animal Handler in an air-conditioned vehicle, taken to the airport, and, upon arrival in the destination country, is delivered to their new home by an appointed agent. We handle all the logistics, ensuring a smooth transition for your pet.

Pets travel in our IATA-compliant wooden travel crates, ensuring they can stand, turn, and lie down comfortably. Snub-nosed pets may need larger crates. We can also use certain plastic crates, subject to airline approval.

Accurate measurements are crucial as airfreight costs depend on crate size. Larger crates occupy more space, influencing the overall cost. Airline regulations stipulate that a pet must be able to stand up straight, turn around and lie down comfortably whilst in the travel crate. We offer complimentary crate fitting at our Johannesburg and Cape Town offices, you are welcome to contact us for an appointment.

Domestic flights: 2 hours before departure. International flights: Minimum of 5 hours before departure. However, we follow airline guidelines, and our Animal Handler will confirm the collection time with you a day or two before your pet’s departure.

To avoid travel sickness or a messy travel crate resulting in an uncomfortable journey, it is recommended you feed your pet a normal meal the night before the flight and only a small snack on the day of travel. Hydration is crucial therefore water should always be available.

It is always a good idea to play with your pet or take your pet for a long walk before we collect your pet to be checked in for their flight.

No. Sedation can be harmful. We offer herbal calming products for a stress-free journey. Check our Traveller Comfort Pack for more details.

You can send a safe toy along with your pet, provided the toy does not pose a risk of choking. Avoid valuables and hard objects.

We suggest that you provide us with an old piece of your clothing, i.e., a t-shirt or a familiar blanket that smells like home to put in your pet’s crate with them.

Keep collars and leads with you, as they may be removed during the journey.

Once checked in at the cargo section for the flight the airline staff takes your pets from our animal handlers. Your pets are placed in a special waiting area that we do not have access to. Pets are last to be loaded onto the flight to avoid any lengthy waits on the tarmac or in the aircraft hold. Before loading the airline staff refill the pets’ water bowls if needed. On the flight, the pets are securely strapped into position in the temperature controlled, pressurized area in the cargo hold. While the aircraft is in the air the aircraft configuration does not allow for an airline staff member to check on the pets.

Pets are offloaded first and are then taken to the cargo section to be cleared. If a pet is transiting and if time allows a handler will take the pet out of the travel crate for a short walk, some of the bigger airports that have animal facilities will put the pets in kennels, clean their crates if needed and give them something to eat and drink.

No, pets must travel with the original veterinary documentation that we secure to the top of their travel crates. The original veterinary documentation is also required for state vet endorsement and destination country clearance.

You can start crate training your pets a couple of weeks before departure to make them used to their travel crates. You can read more about crate training under the Traveler Comfort Pack section on our website. It is important for you as the owner to stay as relaxed as possible around your pets. Pets can sense stress in their owners, and it can cause stress to them.

Remember to feed your pets a normal meal the night before their trip and only a small meal or snack on the morning of their departure.

Sometimes it is better to remove your pets from the house before the removal company comes to move your household items.

Cats especially can get very stressed and if they are not closed in a room they can run away.

A health check ensures your pet is fit to travel and meets destination country requirements.

Transit facilities offer care, health checks, and comfort. We’ll inform you if your chosen airline doesn’t provide transit options. As far as possible we avoid using airlines that do not offer sufficient animal transit facilities, we will only use them if we do not have any other option.

We assist with pets travelling as manifested cargo. None the less limited airlines allow pets to travel as excess baggage or in cabin. This arrangement is however linked to the owner’s flight ticket and must be booked and arranged directly with the airline by the owner.

This will depend on the airline. There are a few airlines that allow small pets to travel together in one travel crate. Their combined weight together with the weight of the travel crate cannot be more than 16kg.

We do however not recommend pets travelling together in a crate because we don’t know how pets will react during the flight. They might hurt themselves or each other.

Flights for animals can only be booked approximately 10 – 21 days in advance, each airline has their own booking window that we must adhere to. It is important to note that your pet’s flight booking can only be secured once all of the veterinary requirements have been met for the country you are travelling to. It’s advisable to initiate veterinary preparations and communication with your consultant several weeks or even months before your pet’s intended date of travel.

It is important to take note that the veterinary preparation process is very important for your pet’s travel preparedness, the time periods vary from one country to the next. It can take 3 – 4 months to prepare pets for travel to the UK and EU and it can take 6 – 7 months to prepare pets for travel to Australia and New Zealand.