Flying with a dog or cat with a layover: the transit rules

What a layover changes

• The transit country's rules. In the United Arab Emirates, transit within the same airport needs no permit. Singapore requires a transhipment licence for every dog or cat passing through. Hong Kong wants a permit whenever the pet changes aircraft. The United States and Great Britain set specific conditions, covered below.
• Each airline's conditions. An airline applies its own rules on the flights it operates, and some will not take a pet arriving from, or connecting to, another carrier. Singapore Airlines is one of them.
• The EU rule on the way back. A pet arriving in France from a listed country (the US, Great Britain, the UAE, Singapore, Japan and others) needs no rabies antibody titre test. If it connects through an unlisted country such as Qatar or Türkiye, that exemption only holds if you sign a transit declaration.
• Total journey time. Every hour on the ground adds to the time spent in the crate. IATA rules require water to be given once the whole journey exceeds 12 hours.

When a nonstop flight exists, it is the simplest option. If there is none, we recommend a single connection, on one ticket, with an airline that operates both flights and confirms your pet in writing on each.

Nonstop, connection or cargo: how to choose

As cargo, your pet is a shipment handed to the airline from the departure airport to the arrival airport. When cargo is required and how it works is explained on our pet air cargo page; to compare all three modes, see cabin, hold or cargo for a dog.

Arriving in France after a layover outside the EU

Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/131 exempts dogs, cats and ferrets from the titre test when they come from a country in Annex I or II of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/636. Its Article 17 sets the conditions for keeping that exemption along the way: the pet travels directly from the listed country where its owner lives, or it has stayed only in listed countries, or it has passed through an unlisted country and the owner (or the person they have authorised) signs a declaration.

The full list of exempt countries is in the June 2026 DGAL note. A pet that itself comes from an unlisted country needs a titre test whatever the route: see rabies vaccination and titre testing.

The transit declaration

The model is in Annex V, Part 5, of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/705. You declare that, while passing through the unlisted country, the pet had no contact with animals of species susceptible to rabies and stayed secured inside a means of transport or within the perimeter of a port or international airport. It lists the microchip number and the health certificate number, and it must be written in at least one official language of the EU country of entry and in English. The French ministry's DGAL note includes a ready-made French and English version (Annex III, Part 5). On the health certificate itself, the vet selects the statement that covers transit through an unlisted country.

Where the arrival check happens

The document and identity check takes place at the travellers' point of entry, at the first EU airport. Fly via Frankfurt or Amsterdam to reach Lyon or Nice and your pet is checked in Germany or the Netherlands, so the health certificate must be written in that country's language and in English. The certificate is valid for 10 days from its issue (or its endorsement by the competent authority) until that check, so a missed connection that delays arrival can make it expire. More on this in our article on the EU animal health certificate and on bringing a pet into France.

Transit through Paris to another non-EU country

A pet only passing through Roissy or Orly between two non-EU countries falls under Article 5 of Regulation 2026/131. If it stays in the international zone, no specific requirements apply. If it enters French territory, it must meet every EU entry condition. The DGAL accepts that travellers often cannot know in advance whether their pet will leave the customs area. If it does, you present the pet to customs yourself; for a pet coming from a country that is not exempt from the titre test and flying on to a country that does not require one, the DGAL asks at least for a microchip and a valid rabies vaccination, with your tickets as proof of transit.

Transit rules at the main hubs

Great Britain (London)

According to GOV.UK, a pet entering Great Britain by plane travels as cargo, unless you are on a chartered private plane or it is a guide or assistance dog. The list of approved airlines and airports, updated on 3 November 2026, separates airlines that carry pets in the hold from charter flights.

For a plain stopover, the UK government's quarantine guidance has an exception: the pet avoids quarantine if it arrives and leaves within 48 hours and stays in a holding facility at the port or airport, provided your travel agent or transport company arranged this before the journey. If the pet arrives at one airport and leaves from another, you must book an authorised quarantine carrier, which can apply for a transit licence on your behalf. None of the GOV.UK pages provides for a connection with a pet in the cabin. See also our France ⇄ UK guide.

United States

The CDC exempts a dog on a US layover only if four conditions are all met: it travels as cargo or checked baggage, does not go through US customs, stays with the airline until the next flight and continues to another country. The CDC adds that a dog riding in the cabin, or switching airlines, sometimes has to clear customs, and that clearing customs counts as entering the country. The dog must then meet CDC entry requirements; if it does not, it is refused and the carrier returns it to its last country of departure at the owner's expense. The CDC layover page covers dogs only. Entry requirements are set out in our France ⇄ USA guide.

United Arab Emirates (Dubai, Abu Dhabi)

The UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MOCCAE) requires no permit for air transit within the same airport, but the pet must be kept apart from other animals. If it passes through UAE territory, a prior transit permit is mandatory, together with a health certificate or rabies vaccination record and an import permit (or no-objection letter) from the destination country.

On the airline side, Emirates takes no animals in the cabin apart from guide dogs for the visually impaired and falcons on some routes to Pakistan. Its passenger page only allows pets as checked baggage on journeys that start in Dubai and last under 17 hours in total, transit included; journeys ending in Dubai go as cargo. See our France ⇄ UAE guide.

Singapore

AVS, Singapore's animal and veterinary service, requires a transhipment licence for every dog or cat in transit. You apply on the GoBusiness portal with one of these documents: a health certificate endorsed by the exporting country's official vet, a valid rabies vaccination record or the destination country's import permit. It costs 50 Singapore dollars (issued in two working days) or 100 (one working day) and is valid for 90 days (fees read on 4 November 2026). AVS also asks you to tell its border control office when the pet will arrive. During the layover, the pet waits in the airline's animal holding area; if the onward flight leaves later in the day, it may be housed at the Changi Animal and Plant Quarantine station, for a fee.

If Singapore is your final destination, its import conditions for a pet from France call for a declaration by the aircraft captain: the pet boarded in an approved country, no dog or cat from any other country was on board with it, and if it was unloaded at a stopover it stayed in its crate within the airport. A change of aircraft needs AVS approval in advance. See our France ⇄ Singapore guide.

Hong Kong

The AFCD requires a permit for any transit that involves a change of aircraft; if the pet stays on the same aircraft throughout the stop, no permit is needed. Under its transhipment terms, the pet arrives as manifested cargo (never as checked or cabin baggage), by the fastest and most direct route, with a health certificate signed no more than 14 days before departure. It may not stay in Hong Kong for more than 24 hours without prior approval, and the AFCD must be told at least 24 hours before arrival. Pit Bull Terrier (American Staffordshire Terrier), Japanese Tosa, Dogo Argentino and Fila Brasileiro dogs and their crosses cannot be transhipped there; Bengal and Savannah cats need papers showing at least five generations of domestic ancestry.

The permit costs 432 Hong Kong dollars for one animal, plus 102 for each additional animal on the same permit (AFCD page dated 26 June 2026, read on 4 November 2026). The AFCD quotes five working days from receipt of the paid application to issue, and asks travellers not to finalise their plans until the permit is granted. See our France ⇄ Hong Kong guide.

Doha and Istanbul

For these two hubs, check the local transit rules with the airline when you book. The general Qatar Airways and Turkish Airlines conditions are summarised in our airline comparison; reconfirm them for your flight. The EU side is clear: neither Qatar nor Türkiye is listed, so the transit declaration is essential on the way back to France.

Tickets, airlines and aircraft

One ticket or separate tickets

Singapore Airlines accepts no pets travelling to or from other airlines on any of its flights. Emirates says it is not responsible for carrying pets on itineraries that include other airlines.

Connection time

There is no common figure across airlines. Some publish a minimum connection time specific to pets in the hold: ask for it before choosing your flights. Air France's figures for Paris are in our long-haul flight preparation guide. If your pet has to be checked in again at the hub, allow for the check-in deadline as well: Lufthansa asks for pets to be at the counter between two and three hours before departure, and at least 90 minutes before in Frankfurt. Long layovers have their own rules too: in Singapore, Singapore Airlines hands pets connecting for more than six hours to its ground handler, in an air-conditioned area with water, where they are not fed or walked.

Aircraft type

Not every aircraft carries pets in the hold. Singapore Airlines refuses pets on all its Boeing 737 flights because the hold has no temperature control. Check the aircraft on every flight in the itinerary, not just the longest one. If the airline swaps the aircraft at the last minute and refuses your pet, see pet refused in the hold after an aircraft change.

Heat and weather

Lufthansa reserves the right to refuse pets in the hold when weather at the destination is extreme, sometimes at short notice, sometimes for a whole season. IATA advises against flying snub-nosed dogs in the hot season. Check other airlines' restrictions before booking, for every airport on the route, the hub included. For the breeds concerned, see flying with a flat-faced dog or cat.

What thirteen airlines accept in the cabin, the hold and as cargo is summarised on our airline pet policies page.

Water, journey time and comfort during the layover

Singapore Airlines points out that the bowls fixed in the crate can only be refilled on the ground. With a layover, a well-equipped crate matters even more: see our airline pet crates page.

Missed connection: what to do

1. Tell airline staff about your pet straight away at the hub, and ask where it is and who is looking after it until the next flight.
2. Check the transit country's time limits. In Great Britain, beyond 48 hours or outside a holding facility, the pet goes into quarantine or must meet British entry rules. In Hong Kong, it cannot stay more than 24 hours without prior AFCD approval.
3. Check the health certificate. For arrival in the EU, it is only valid for 10 days up to the entry check; if it runs out, a new one is needed.
4. Get the new flight confirmed in writing: it must accept the pet, on an aircraft that carries pets in the hold, with the connection time the airline requires.
5. Keep every receipt (boarding passes, kennel costs, messages with the airline). Your options are explained in our article on pets refused after an aircraft change.

Checklist before booking a flight with a layover

• You ruled out a nonstop flight for a specific reason (none on the route, pet not accepted, timing impossible).
• Every flight is operated by an airline that has confirmed the pet in writing, in the cabin, in the hold or as cargo.
• The aircraft on each flight carries pets in the hold.
• The connection meets the airline's minimum for a pet.
• You know the transit country's rules: transhipment licence, transit permit, cargo-only rule, banned breeds.
• For a return to France via an unlisted country, the transit declaration is ready and signed, in French (or the language of the EU country of entry) and English.
• The health certificate leaves some margin in case the connection is missed.
• You have checked forecast temperatures at the departure, transit and arrival airports.
• The crate has a bowl that fills from outside and a little food attached.

Frequently asked questions

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