Flying Air France With a Dog or Cat: The 2026 Pet Rules

A lot of transatlantic pet trips end up on Air France, because so many flights from the US to Europe, Africa and the Indian Ocean change planes at Paris Charles de Gaulle.

The airline is kind to small pets in the cabin and strict with snub-nosed breeds, and in between there are a handful of quirks that only show up once you open every tab of its pet page, like the long-haul Business ban and the routes where your pet can only fly as cargo.

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I went through all of it on 16 October 2026, the airline’s pet page, its fees page and hold form, Air France KLM Cargo, and the French, EU and US government rules, so this guide is the whole picture in one place.

From Air France’s pet page and fees page, checked 16 October 2026.

Flying in the cabin

Air France’s pet page lets cats and dogs travel at your feet when the animal and its carrier together weigh less than 8 kg, which is 17.64 pounds, and no other animals are accepted in the cabin.

The carrier has to be a closed soft bag of no more than 46 x 28 x 24 cm, about 18 x 11 x 9.5 inches, that slides under the seat in front of you, because Air France accepts only soft bags in the cabin.

It’s one animal per bag and one animal per passenger, and the bag counts as an extra piece of baggage, which is where the pet fee comes from.

Your pet has to be at least 15 weeks old and up to date on its vaccines, or at least 8 weeks old on flights within mainland France, Corsica included, and between mainland France and Guadeloupe, Martinique and Reunion.

Flying to the US?

The CDC’s minimum age for any dog entering or returning to the US is six months, so a puppy that meets Air France’s 15-week rule can still be refused boarding on a flight to America.

On long-haul flights there’s one more catch, because Air France doesn’t accept pets in the Business cabin on intercontinental routes, so a pet travelling with a Business passenger has to go in the hold, and a snub-nosed pet can’t go there at all.

In Air France lounges your pet stays in its carrier, and at check-in you hand over the signed “AIR FRANCE KLM checklist for transporting cats and dogs in the cabin”, which you can print from the pet page.

The 24 cm height is the measurement that rules out a lot of popular bags. On paper, the small Sherpa Original Deluxe (15 x 10 x 8.5 inches) fits inside all three measurements, while the medium size is 10.5 inches tall, a little over Air France’s 9.5, and remember the bag’s weight counts toward the 8 kg.

Flying in the hold

Cats and dogs that are too heavy for the cabin travel in the hold when the pet and its kennel weigh less than 75 kg, about 165 pounds, and smaller pets can go down there too if you prefer.

Each passenger can check up to three animals in the hold, fewer on some aircraft, and you need to add them to your booking at least 24 hours before departure.

Air France’s hold conditions form, which you sign at check-in, is precise about the kennel:

1. IATA-approved rigid plastic or fiberglass, bolted together, never a soft bag.
2. No wheels. Remove them, or tape them up if they retract.
3. A door that locks in two places, at the top and the bottom.
4. Enough height for your pet to stand with its head fully upright without touching the roof.
5. Absorbent bedding, such as a blanket or newspaper, and an empty bowl attached to the door, since water bottles aren’t allowed.

Your pet also can’t be weak, injured or under a tranquilizer, and Air France’s pet page says the captain is told about every pet in the hold and takes care of the lighting and heating.

You may read online that Air France refuses hold pets above 29°C or below 0°C, but none of the airline’s pages or forms publish a temperature limit.

The airline’s own shop sells IATA kennels from size S at EUR 109 up to XXL at EUR 489, and Flying Blue members can earn or pay with Miles, but it doesn’t sell cabin bags. Our Petmate Sky Kennel review covers one of the hard kennels people use in the hold.

With a connection, online check-in isn’t allowed, so you check your pet in at the counter for each flight, and at some airports, Paris Charles de Gaulle and Orly in particular, you collect it and check it in again.

Air France’s minimum connection times with a pet in the hold are 4 hours 30 minutes at Charles de Gaulle, 3 hours at Orly and 2 hours elsewhere.

Never in the hold

No snub-nosed dog or cat can travel in the hold on an Air France flight, whatever its size.

Snub-nosed breeds

Air France names 19 dog entries and four cat breeds that it treats as snub-nosed, and they can fly in the cabin within the 8 kg limit, though the airline recommends that you ask your vet first.

From Air France’s pet page and Air France KLM Cargo, checked 16 October 2026.

The list surprises a few owners, since the Great Dane and the Staffordshire Bull Terrier aren’t what most people picture as flat-faced, and French law doesn’t count the Staffie as a restricted breed, but on Air France it’s the snub-nosed rule that applies.

So a Pug, a French Bulldog or a Persian cat flies with you in the cabin or not at all, and a Boxer that’s too big for the cabin can only go as cargo. Our guides to flying with pugs and French bulldogs cover the other airlines.

Breeds France restricts

France sorts some dogs into two categories, and Air France follows the French Ministry of Agriculture on both.

Bringing a Category 1 dog into France can cost its owner six months in prison and a EUR 15,000 fine, according to the ministry.

If your dog has no pedigree but looks like one of these types, the ministry asks you to get a vet’s attestation, in French, saying it isn’t a category dog, before you arrive.

Our guide to where you can take a pit bull and our restricted breed map cover the other countries with similar laws.

How much it costs

Air France’s rates are for a one-way trip with one carrier or kennel, and with a connection you pay a single price from your departure country to your final destination, online or at the Air France counter at the airport.

From the rates tab on Air France’s pet page, checked 16 October 2026, one way, per carrier or kennel. The middle group includes flights from mainland France to Cayenne, Fort-de-France, Pointe-a-Pitre and Saint-Denis.

If you add a hold pet less than 24 hours before departure, Air France adds 50% on flights within mainland France and the Caribbean and 25% on international flights, and the airport still has to accept it.

From the US, two prices

Air France publishes US and Canadian fees in two places, and they don’t match, which is worth knowing before you budget.

From Air France’s fees page and the rates tab on its pet page, checked 16 October 2026. The pet page gives one figure in EUR, USD or CAD depending on where you fly from.

Ask Air France to confirm the exact fee when you add your pet, and keep that confirmation with your booking, since the counter at the airport is where you’d otherwise find out.

How to book

1. Buy your own ticket first, avoiding the Business cabin if it’s a long-haul flight.
2. Add your pet in My Bookings or through Air France customer service, at least 48 hours before departure for the cabin and 24 hours for the hold.
3. Check every country on the route, since some destinations take pets only as cargo.
4. Print and sign the paperwork, the cabin checklist or the hold conditions form, along with your pet’s health documents.
5. Arrive early, 3 hours before an intercontinental flight or 2 hours before a flight within France or Europe, which includes Europe to North Africa or Israel.

Routes with extra rules

• United Kingdom, Dubai and Abu Dhabi: until further notice, pets can only fly there as cargo, not in the cabin or the hold. Our UK dog travel guide explains the UK side.
• Moscow to Paris: no pets in the hold.
• The UK, Ireland, Sweden and Malta: Air France flags extra health requirements, and the EU asks for a tapeworm treatment for dogs entering Ireland, Malta, Finland or Northern Ireland, given 24 to 120 hours before arrival.

Flying to France from the US

France follows the EU rules for pets arriving from outside the Union, and the US Department of Agriculture’s France page walks through the American side.

1. A microchip first, then the rabies vaccine, in that order.
2. The rabies vaccine given when your pet is at least 12 weeks old, then a 21-day wait after a first vaccination.
3. An EU health certificate from an accredited vet, endorsed by USDA through its online VEHCS system within 10 days of your pet’s arrival.
4. No more than five pets for a non-commercial move.

The EU brought in a new health certificate model on 1 October 2026, and certificates on the old model are only valid if they were issued before that date, according to the European Commission.

Within the EU, dogs and cats travel on an EU pet passport with an electronic microchip, and our guide to the EU pet travel rules for 2026 covers what changed.

Flying home to the US

From France, which isn’t on the CDC’s list of high-risk countries for dog rabies, a dog flying to the US needs to be at least six months old and microchipped, and it needs a receipt from the free CDC Dog Import Form.

You can fill the form in on the day you fly and the receipt is valid for six months, but airlines are told to refuse boarding if anything is missing, and Air France asks for US-bound dogs to be booked 48 hours ahead.

Our guide to the CDC dog rules goes through each step.

Shipping a pet as cargo

For a pet over 75 kg, a Category 2 dog, or a trip to the UK, Dubai or Abu Dhabi, the route is Air France KLM Cargo, which doesn’t take animals directly from owners, so you book through a forwarding agent, ideally an IPATA member.

The minimum age is 15 weeks, every animal travels under IATA’s Live Animals Regulations, adult animals over 14 kg each need their own crate, water bottles aren’t allowed, and dogs flying to the US need a CDC Dog Import Form at acceptance.

Service dogs and emotional support animals

Trained service dogs fly free in the Air France cabin when they’ve been trained by a certified and recognized organization, and for UK flights that means an organization affiliated with the International Guide Dog Federation or meeting Assistance Dogs International criteria.

Air France asks for service dog requests at least 48 hours before the flight and 96 hours for the United Arab Emirates, and since the pet page also says 96 hours for the UK, it’s safer to allow four days for either.

On US flights you need the two signed US DOT forms, plus the CDC form for a dog flying into the US.

Air France accepts only trained service dogs, and the US DOT says emotional support animals are not service animals, so an emotional support animal flies under the normal pet rules and fees.

Questions people ask

How much does it cost to fly a pet on Air France?

From France, Air France charges EUR 70 in the cabin and EUR 100 in the hold within mainland France, EUR 125 and EUR 200 within Europe, North Africa and the Caribbean, and EUR 200 and EUR 400 on other routes, one way, per carrier or kennel. From the US to Europe its two official price tables disagree, quoting USD 225 or 200 in the cabin and USD 450 or 600 in the hold, so confirm the fee when you add your pet.

What size carrier does Air France allow in the cabin?

A soft bag of no more than 46 x 28 x 24 cm (18 x 11 x 9.5 in) that fits under the seat in front of you. The pet and the bag together must weigh less than 8 kg (17.6 lb), and hard-sided carriers aren’t accepted in the cabin.

Can my dog fly in Business class on Air France?

Not on long-haul flights. Air France doesn’t accept pets in the Business cabin on intercontinental flights, so you need to book another cabin or send the pet in the hold, which isn’t an option for snub-nosed breeds.

Can a French bulldog fly on Air France?

Only in the cabin, if it weighs under 8 kg with its bag, and Air France suggests seeing your vet first. Snub-nosed dogs can’t travel in the hold, and since 15 July 2019 Pugs, Bulldogs and Boston Terriers can’t travel as cargo either.

Can I fly my dog to the UK on Air France?

Not in the cabin or the hold. Until further notice, Air France only carries pets to the United Kingdom, Dubai and Abu Dhabi by cargo, booked through an approved transport agent.

Does Air France allow pit bulls?

No. France treats non-pedigree pit-bull-type dogs as Category 1 attack dogs, which can’t enter France at all and are banned from Air France flights. Pedigree American Staffordshire Terriers, Rottweilers and Tosas are Category 2 and can only travel on Air France cargo flights.

Does Air France have temperature limits for pets in the hold?

Air France doesn’t publish any. Its pet page says the captain is told when a pet is in the hold and manages the lighting and heating, and the hold form and booking pages give no temperature cut-off.

We rewrote this guide in October 2026 and corrected several points from the old version, including the check-in times, the breed lists, the routes that are cargo only and a temperature rule Air France doesn’t actually publish.

For other carriers, our airline pet policies A to Z compares the rules side by side, and Air France’s sister airline has its own guide in our KLM pet policy.

The Nomad Paws is in memory of Woody, a great traveler and, most of all, the best, kindest and wisest friend I have ever had.

By Gio. Gio’s research, sharpened with AI. How we make our guides.