Reservation for pets

Whether your pet will travel in the cabin with you or in the hold, here's everything you need to know about making a reservation.

How to bring your pet

While we love all pets, we only transport cats and dogs in our cabin and hold. This way, we can safeguard the health, safety, and comfort of all our passengers – including animals. By doing so, we’re following animal welfare guidelines and the regulations of the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

There’s limited space for pets in our aircraft; the number of pets we can bring depends on the type of aircraft, destination, and operating airline. Availability may also vary based on your specific flight route. Please make a reservation for your pet as soon as possible after booking your flight. Make the reservation no later than 48 hours before the departure of your flight.

Note that your pet should travel on the same flight as you and should be at least 15 weeks old.

Pets in the cabin

You can bring 1 cat or dog with you in the cabin when travelling in Economy Class, or when travelling in Business Class within Europe. Your pet should fit in a closed pet travel bag or kennel with a maximum of 46 x 28 x 24 cm because they’ll need to travel underneath the seat in front of you. Together with your pet, the travel bag or kennel can weigh no more than 8 kg. You’re not allowed to take your pet out of the kennel during the flight, so please make sure they’re small enough to move comfortably.

You cannot bring a pet in the cabin if you fly Premium Comfort Class or Business Class on an intercontinental route. In these travel classes, it’s not possible to put a kennel underneath the seat in front of you.

Make a reservation for your pet travelling in the cabin as soon as possible after booking your flight. You can do so via My Trip.

Make a reservation

Pets in the hold

Is your pet too big to travel in the cabin? You can bring up to 3 pets in the hold. They can share the same kennel if they weigh no more than 14 kg each, and they’re:

  • 2 adult animals of comparable size, or
  • 3 animals up to 6 months old from the same litter.

Make sure the combined weight of your pet and kennel is no more than 75 kg. The kennel itself can be maximum 122 x 81 x 89 cm on KLM flights, or maximum 102 x 69 x 76 cm on KLM Cityhopper flights (operated with Embraer aircraft).

Make a reservation for your pet travelling in the hold as soon as possible after booking your flight. To make a reservation, please useMy Tripor reach out to the KLM Customer Contact Centre.

Exceptions

It’s not possible to bring your pet in the hold if you have a transfer time of more than 3 hours. An exception applies when you travel via Paris: you can only bring a pet in the hold if you have at least 4.5 hours of transfer time.

Pets cannot travel in the hold of KLM flights with Boeing 787-9 and 787-10 aircraft.

Additionally, a pet cannot travel in the hold on KLM Cityhopper flights to or from:

  • Alesund (AES)
  • Alicante (ALC)
  • Barcelona (BCN)
  • Belgrade (BEG)
  • Bilbao (BIO)
  • Bucharest (OTP)
  • Cagliari (CAG)
  • Dubrovnik (DBV)
  • Florence (FLR)
  • Helsinki (HEL)
  • Ibiza (IBZ)
  • Lisbon (LIS)
  • Madrid (MAD)
  • Malaga (AGP)
  • Marseille (MRS)
  • Naples (NAP)
  • Palma de Mallorca (PMI)
  • Porto (OPO)
  • Rome (FCO)
  • Split (SPU)
  • Stockholm (ARN)
  • Trondheim (TRD)
  • Valencia (VLC)

and when departing from:

  • Bologna (BLQ)
  • Budapest (BUD)
  • Nice (NCE)
  • Venice (VCE)
  • Warsaw (WAW)
  • Zagreb (ZAG)

Dogs travelling to the United States

As from 1 August 2024, new rules apply to dogs – including service dogs - travelling to the United States:

  • You need to fill out theDog Import Formby the United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC). If your dog is between 6 and 12 months old, you must complete the form at least 15 days before departure.
  • Please bring a digital or paper receipt of the completed form to the airport.
  • Your dog must be microchipped.
  • Your dog must be at least 6 months old. If your dog is younger, please contact ourCustomer Contact Centre.

Read all CDC rules for dogs travelling to the US

Snub-nosed animals

Your snub-nosed pet may have trouble breathing during the flight due to high temperatures and stress. Because your furry friend should travel safely and comfortably, we cannot transport most of these pets in the hold. However, you can take them with you in the cabin or transport them as cargo. Please check the breed of your cat or dog before making a reservation.

We’ve included most snub-nosed animals. Is your pet's breed not mentioned, but do you think your pet might be snub-nosed? We strongly advise contacting the KLM Customer Contact Centre or your travel agency.

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Costs

To bring your cat or dog with you, you’ll pay a fee of EUR 75 to EUR 400 per one-way. We realise this is a large price range; this is because the fee differs depending on your departure airport and destination. You can see the exact price when making a reservation.

Pets we cannot transport

Unfortunately, we cannot transport your pet if:

  • you want to bring an animal other than a dog or a cat;
  • your pet and kennel combined weigh more than 75 kg;
  • the kennel is larger than 122 x 81 x 89 cm on KLM flights, or larger than 102 x 69 x 76 cm on KLM Cityhopper flights;
  • your dog or cat is travelling on a different flight from yours;
  • your dog or cat is travelling to a country whose authorities only allow the transportation of pets as cargo.

In these cases, we recommend contacting a specialised shipping agent.

Frequently asked questions

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