Pet Travel

Before pet travel, there are some domestic quarantine restrictions you should be familiar with. Please note, it is your responsibility to ensure that your pet meets all quarantine requirements.

Visit the Australian Interstate Quarantine website to check if your pet will be welcome at your destination.

Due to the complexity of quarantine laws (and to guarantee the health of your pet), Virgin Australia will only accept pets for international travel from approved International Pet & Animal Transportation Association (IPATA) pet agents.

The following breeds have been identified by Virgin Australia Cargo, in consultation with industry experts, as higher risk/ vulnerable Brachycephalic (snub-nosed) animals requiring specific welfare considerations when being uplifted as air cargo.

While any dog or cat is susceptible to heat stress, Brachycephalic (snub-nosed / flat-faced) breeds are generally at great risk of heat stress when compared to dogs and cats with a normal muzzle length. Abnormal brachycephalic anatomy makes it difficult for these animals to adequately thermo-regulate and oxygenate sometimes even under normal conditions.

For this reason, Virgin Australia Cargo has introduced additional measures and requirements to ensure the welfare of Brachycephalic animals during transport. Due to the inherent anatomical features of these animals, Virgin Australia Cargo has chosen to include cross-breeds with the below animals in these requirements.

These breeds include, but are not limited to the following:

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
  
  

All of the above mentioned breeds (and cross-breeds) are flown at the shipper's risk.

Virgin Australia approved Brachycephalic Pet Transport Specialists

To enable air travel for Brachycephalic animals Virgin Australia has provided a list of approved pet transport providers. The below list of pet transporters can assist with all relevant travel conditions for these Brachycephalic creeds and all other breeds. These pet shippers are aware of all special conditions that relate to this vulnerable breed to ensure that the specific welfare requirements are met for the safe air travel for your animals.

If you are currently an account holder with Virgin Australia and are pet transporter and wish to transport Brachycephalic breeds, please contact your Account Manager or email cargosales@virginaustralia.com for more information.

Please note the following dog breeds (including cross-breeds) are prohibited for import into Australia under “The Customs (prohibited imports) Regulations 1956” and will not be accepted for travel:

• Fila Brasilerio
• Japanese Tosa
• Dogo Argentino
• American Pit Bull and other Pit Bull Breeds
• Perro de Presa Canario (Presa Canario)
   

Domestic/non-domestic hybrids (e.g. dog-wolf crosses) are also prohibited under the “Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999”.

• Czechoslovakian wolfdog or Czechoslovakian Vlcak
• Saarloos wolfdog or Saarloos wolfhound
• Lupo Italiano or Italian wolfdog
• Kunming wolfdog or Kunming dog.

At all times, Virgin Australia reserves the right to refuse carriage of your pet. This can include, but is not limited to:

• Safety and security reasons;
• Compliant container is not supplied; and
• Animals displaying aggression and visible signs of chewing or container destruction (for breeds not accepted for travel refer to Restricted Breeds).

We will endeavour to maintain the temperature in the cargo hold to be consistent to the temperature experienced in the passenger cabin, lighting will dim lit this is to maximise your pet’s level of comfort.

Your pet maybe be exposed to high levels of airport operation noise whilst waiting to be loaded into the aircraft hold, please take this into consideration when organising your pet’s journey.

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 operation is subjected to unforeseen disruptions e.g. 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 connection flights missed at a transit port), our team will contact you to organise an alternative option of travel.

No, Virgin Australia does not recommend sedating your pet for travel. If you wish to sedate your pet for travel, please contact your vet for expert advice. A vet certificate will be required for pets sedated for travel. Virgin Australia does not take responsibility for any consequences as a result of sedation.

We understand that your pet may have a favourite toy/blanket/bed, however to keep free from hazards we will only accept an absorbent mat and water container to be included in the container.

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

Yes, you are able to change your pet’s flight up to two hours prior to scheduled departure (subject to pet space availability and the Fare Rules of your ticket. Please contact our Guest Contact Centre on 13 67 89 (if calling from Australia) if you have any questions on changing your pet’s travel itinerary. For contact numbers for outside of Australia see our Contact Us page.