The CTA restates what airlines owe a service dog team — and what they may ask

6 August 2026. The Canadian Transportation Agency published a short plain-language notice, "CTA 101 – Your rights when travelling with a service dog," summarising what the Accessible Transportation for Persons with Disabilities Regulations already require of the large carriers: the dog travels with you, enough floor space for it to lie down at your feet, an adjacent seat where the dog needs the room, and relief areas at the terminal. On a flight within Canada none of that can be charged for; on a flight between Canada and another country the regulation's no-charge rule does not extend to the service dog provisions. It restates the handler's side as well — 48 hours' notice, and a document showing the dog was trained by an organisation or person specialising in service dog training.

It also says, in one line, the thing this site has been saying since the day it opened: "The ATPDR only apply to service dogs and do not address travelling with pets or emotional support animals."

What this changes

Nothing. It is guidance, not a rule; the regulation is the same one described on our flying page. What it does is give handlers an official page to point to at a check-in desk, in the Agency's own words.

What it does not change

The document the airline may ask for is still one issued by the trainer. A card from a registry — ours included — is not that document, and the notice does not make it one. Emotional support animals are still outside the regulation; the conditions under which some carriers accept an emotional support dog come from a 2023 Agency decision, not from this notice.

This is general information, not legal advice. Source checked 9 September 2026.