Planes and pets: there are many companies that do not allow four-legged friends into the cabin, even if they are small. For this reason and in view of the upcoming holiday periods, the deputy prime minister and minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Matteo Salvini, has asked ENAC and the General Directorate for airports, air transport and satellite services of the Ministry of Transport to study possible solutions that balance the safety needs of flying with those of pet owners who want to travel with them by plane. At the same time, Salvini invited the main Italian airlines, Ita and Aeroitalia, to reflect, “in full compliance with flight safety regulations”, on possible simplifications that allow animals to travel alongside their owners. In fact, currently only some companies accept them in the cabin, as long as they are small in size and travel in the appropriate carrier; However, if the animals exceed a certain weight, normally 10 kilos, they must travel in the hold. The request, therefore, is precisely to find simpler solutions, reducing procedural difficulties and, even more, improving the conditions in which the animals travel.
The European institutions have also moved on the topic in the recent past. Last December the EU Commission presented a proposal to revise the regulation on the transport of animals which, however, did not convince animal protection associations. According to Animal Equality, Animal Law Italia, CIWF Italia,essere Animali and LAV, in fact, the proposed changes represent a step backwards in some areas and «will not be enough to put an end to the suffering suffered by the millions and millions of animals that are transported every year for long journeys within the EU and to third countries”. In fact, 1.6 billion animals are transported within the European Union every year. The new rules which update 20-year-old legislation, which do not only apply to pets, aim to limit transport times and allow breaks outside the vehicle during long journeys, to increase the minimum space and to prohibit transportation at extreme temperatures.
Meanwhile, Senator Michaela Biancofiore, president of the «Civics of Italy-Coraggio Italia-UDC-Maie» parliamentary group at Palazzo Madama, is regarding to complete a job awaited, across the board, by millions of citizens. A single text that reorganizes all the local regulations in force, updating them, on the access and management of pets in public spaces, in hotels, on beaches, in workplaces and within the public administration. Biancofiore himself reminded in recent days that at present “there is only one airline, which is not Italian, which allows the free transport of your animal”.
#wrong #hold #Tempo
2024-04-02 00:13:19
