Pet transport

Your animal’s welfare is important to us.  If you are booking via a Commercial Pet Transport Company, we recommend you ask them to book your animal through Virgin Australia Cargo for a great pet travelling experience.

Please note that if you are sending non-domesticated animals, zoo animals, sea animals, endangered species or animals requiring a licence or permit, you or your Commercial Pet Transport Company will need to submit an Exotic and Special Animal Request form (prior to booking) to cargocontrolcentre@virginaustralia.com.

While we love welcoming our brachycephalic breeds, there are specific welfare factors that need to be considered when travelling.  Brachycephalic anatomy can make it difficult for some of these animals to adequately thermo-regulate and oxygenate, making them highly susceptible to heat-stress.  To ensure your animal’s welfare is protected, Virgin Australia Cargo has special policies and requirements to ensure they are well looked after during transport (this includes cross breeds with the below animals).

The list of brachycephalic breeds includes, but are not limited to:

Dog breeds

• Affenpinscher
• American Bully
• American Bulldog
• Australian Bulldog
• Boston Terrier
• Boxer
• Brussels Griffon / Griffon Bruxellois
• British / English Bulldog
• Chow Chow
• Dogue De Bordeaux
• English Toy Spaniel / King Charles Spaniel
• French Mastiff
• French Bulldog
• Japanese Chin / Japanese Spaniel
• Lhasa Apso
• Neapolitan Mastiff
• Pekingese
• Pug (Chinese Pug, Dutch Pug, Japanese Pug)
• Shih-Zhu (Tsu) (Tzu)
• Tibetan Spaniel
• Valley Bulldog
   

Cat breeds

• Exotic Shorthair Cat
• Himalayan Cat
• Persian Cat

Our list of approved Commercial Pet Transport Company above are permitted to transport brachycephalic breeds on our aircraft (unfortunately direct bookings cannot be accepted with Virgin Australia Cargo). These providers are knowledgeable of the special transport requirements which relate to these vulnerable breeds and will be happy to assist with your travel arrangements.

Please note that brachycephalic breeds are not permitted on connecting flights on the same day, and will not be accepted for travel on flights departing between 09:00 and 18:00 (local port time).  Brachycephalic breeds will only be permitted for uplift between the following city pairs:

• Adelaide (ADL)
• Brisbane (BNE)
• Canberra (CBR)
• Gold Coast (OOL)
• Hobart (HBA)
• Launceston (LST)
• Melbourne (MEL)
• Newcastle (NTL)
• Perth (PER)
• Sydney (SYD)

Approved brachycephalic Commercial Pet Transport Company are noted in the list above.

Please note that the following dog breeds (including crossbreeds) are prohibited from travel in compliance with the Australian “Customs Regulations 1956” and the “Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999”:

• Czechoslovakian Wolfdog (Czechoslovakian Vlcak) 
• Dogo Argentino
• Fila Brasileiro
• Japanese Tosa
• Kunming Wolfdog (Kunming Dog)
• Lupo Italiano (Italian Wolfdog)
• Perro de Presa Canario (Presa Canario)
• Pit Bulls (including all sub breeds)
• Saarloos Wolfdog (Saarloos Wolfhound)

Domestic/non-domestic (cats) hybrids cannot be imported to Australia in accordance with the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. Hybrid cats include, but are not limited to:

• Savannah cat, domestic cat (Felis catus) crossed with serval cat (Felis serval)
• Safari cat, domestic cat crossed with Geoffroy cat (Oncifelis geoffroyi)
• Chausie, domestic cat crossed with Jungle cat (Felis chaus)
• Bengal cat, domestic cat crossed with Asian leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis).

Generally, only one animal may travel per container.  However, there are a limited number of exceptions below:

• Dogs / cats – up to three animals can travel in the same container if they are all from the same litter, under 6 months old and under 14KG each.
• Four-legged domesticated animals – up to two adult animals of comparable size, who are compatible to travel and under 14KG each may be shipped in the same container. 
• Birds – Limits are in accordance with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Live Animal Regulations (LARs).

Refer to the ‘animal containers’ section below for further requirements.

Unfortunately, we do not accept dogs and cats under the age of 8 weeks old for air cargo transport.

The total weight of the animal and the container must not exceed 65KG.

Our priority is to safely and securely transport your pet from Point A to Point B.

However, due to the complex environment surrounding airport operations, there may be instances where our flight operations are subject to unforeseen disruptions such as adverse weather activity.

Your pet will be moved to a shaded, well-ventilated area and frequently monitored if disruptions do occur.

If the delay exceeds greater than 2 hours or if we are unable to accommodate your pet on another service on the same day (including, but not limited to cancellations and or missed connecting flights), our team will contact you to organise an alternative option of travel.

For most pets, we recommend not feeding them for at least eight hours prior to travel (avoid an upset stomach).  It is also important they have ample time to go to the toilet before travelling.  

Animals will not be loaded onto an aircraft if the crate has been soiled.  For safety reasons, our airline staff and contractors are not permitted to take animals out of their container.  In these situations, we may require either yourself (if booked directly with Virgin Australia Cargo) or your Commercial Pet Transport Company to clean the container before re-accepting the animal for departure.  In the event this arrangement cannot be made in a timely manner, we may call out an Commercial Pet Transport Company on your behalf to clean the crate and this may be charged back as an additional amount.

We will endeavour to maintain the temperature in the cargo hold to be consistent to the temperature experienced in the passenger cabin.  The lighting will also be dimly lit to maximise your pet’s level of comfort.

Please note that your pet maybe exposed to high levels of airport operation noise whilst waiting to be loaded into the aircraft hold.