Airports in France: points of entry and departures with a pet
The seven major airports covered here can all receive a dog or cat travelling with its owner. For a pet arriving as cargo, however, only a few have a border control post cleared for dogs and cats. Here is what the official lists say about Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Paris-Orly, Lyon, Nice, Marseille, Toulouse and Bordeaux.
Updated · official sources at the bottom of the page
The seven airports at a glance
| Airport | Travellers' point of entry | Dogs and cats at the border control post (cargo, commercial movements) |
|---|---|---|
| Paris-Charles de Gaulle | Yes | Yes, at the animal station |
| Paris-Orly | Yes | No |
| Lyon-Saint-Exupéry | Yes | No (horses only) |
| Nice-Côte d'Azur | Yes | Yes, by appointment, Monday to Friday |
| Marseille-Provence | Yes | No |
| Toulouse-Blagnac | Yes | Mammals up to 50 kg: to be confirmed for your flight |
| Bordeaux-Mérignac | Yes | No |
Sources: France's list of border crossing points published in the Official Journal of the European Union in 2021, and the French agriculture ministry's official list of border control posts dated 29 September 2026.
Arriving with your pet: travellers' points of entry
A dog or cat arriving from outside the EU on a non-commercial movement (no more than five pets, travelling with their owner or within five days before or after them) must enter through a designated travellers' point of entry. For France, the European Commission refers to the list of border crossing points published in 2021 in the Official Journal of the European Union. All seven airports on this page are on it, along with some sixty other airports and airfields.
Read that list with care. It is a 2021 list of border crossing points, not a pet-specific one, and it gives no inspection hours. A small airfield being listed does not guarantee that an officer will be there to check your pet: for a quieter airport, it is to be confirmed for your flight.
No appointment is needed on arrival. According to the DGAL note of June 2026, travellers go to customs of their own accord before leaving the international zone; officers check the documents and the pet's identification and stamp the health certificate.
Arrivals not tied to a point of entry
- From another EU country: no border check of this kind; the pet travels on its EU pet passport.
- From a country in Annex I to Regulation 2026/636 (Andorra, Switzerland, Monaco, Liechtenstein, San Marino, Vatican City, Iceland, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Gibraltar): no point of entry is required, and customs do not check systematically, although the rules still have to be met.
For the entry rules themselves (titre test, certificate, age), see bringing a pet into France.
Cargo and commercial movements: border control posts
A commercial movement (a sale, more than five pets, a pet travelling outside the five-day window) does not go through the customs desk: it must enter through a border control post designated for the species, where the veterinary border inspection service (SIVEP) checks it, with a common health entry document in TRACES. French customs point out that not all of these posts are cleared for pets, and that a pet landing at a post not designated for its species is systematically sent back.
Among the seven airports, the 29 September 2026 list gives three posts whose scope covers, or may cover, dogs and cats: Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Nice and, subject to confirmation, Toulouse. Details are in the sections below.
A pet on a non-commercial movement can also arrive as cargo, for example on the same flight as its owner. How it is cleared at an airport without a live-animal post is not described in the official texts: we confirm it with customs, SIVEP and the ground handler before any booking. See pet air cargo.
Connecting in France
Category 1 dogs: not even in transit. French law bans category 1 dogs from entering France, including when they are only passing through. Such a dog cannot connect at Roissy or Orly, even on its way to another country.
For other pets connecting at Roissy or Orly to a non-EU country, the DGAL distinguishes two cases. If the pet stays in the international zone, EU entry rules do not apply. If it leaves it, it must meet them; if the destination does not require a titre test, it must at least be identified and vaccinated against rabies.
For a pet in the hold, Air France requires a minimum connection of 4 h 30 at Paris-Charles de Gaulle, 3 hours at Orly and 2 hours at other airports, with counter check-in for each flight. How the pet is collected and re-checked during the connection, and what that means for the owner, is to be confirmed for your flight.
Airport by airport
The routes below were read on each airport's official website on 19 October 2026. They may be seasonal, and a route does not mean the airline accepts pets in the hold or as cargo on that flight: that has to be checked for each booking.
Paris-Charles de Gaulle (Roissy)
- Travellers' point of entry: yes.
- Border control post: yes for dogs and cats. SIVEP Roissy (cargo zone 2) inspects live animals at the animal station; the other inspection centres listed are Air France Cargo and France Handling. Hours given in the 29 September 2026 list: Monday to Friday 8:00–12:30 and 13:30–20:30, Saturday 9:00–15:00, Sunday 9:00–13:00 and 13:45–18:00.
- Connections: at least 4 h 30 for a pet in the hold on Air France; category 1 dogs banned even in transit.
- Long-haul routes: the Paris Aéroport website could not be consulted; to be confirmed for your flight.
Paris-Orly
- Travellers' point of entry: yes.
- Border control post: designated only for certain food products; no live animals. A pet on a commercial movement cannot arrive here.
- Connections: at least 3 hours for a pet in the hold on Air France.
- Long-haul routes: to be confirmed for your flight (Paris Aéroport website not accessible).
Lyon-Saint-Exupéry
- Travellers' point of entry: yes.
- Border control post: for live animals, limited to registered horses; no dogs or cats on commercial movements.
- On the airport's website: its page says pets can be shipped or received by air freight, without saying where or how, and that cabin and hold rules depend on the airline.
- Long-haul routes: Montreal non-stop; the airport advertises 140 destinations.
Nice-Côte d'Azur
- Travellers' point of entry: yes.
- Border control post: yes for domestic carnivores, among other categories of animals. Inspections are by appointment made 24 hours ahead, Monday to Friday; the post is closed at weekends.
- Long-haul routes: the airline list includes Delta, United, American Airlines, Air Canada, Air Transat, La Compagnie, Emirates, Qatar Airways, Etihad, Turkish Airlines and Saudia; the destinations page mentions Montreal, Boston, Atlanta, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha and Riyadh.
- Worth knowing: into Dubai, Emirates accepts animals only as cargo; several US airlines no longer take pets in the hold.
Marseille-Provence
- Travellers' point of entry: yes.
- Border control post: its live-animal scope is limited to invertebrates, ornamental aquatic animals, amphibians and rodents in closed containers; no dogs or cats on commercial movements.
- Long-haul routes: Air Transat to Montreal, United to New York, Shanghai Airlines (China Eastern group) to Shanghai, Ethiopian Airlines to Addis Ababa and Turkish Airlines to Istanbul.
Toulouse-Blagnac
- Travellers' point of entry: yes.
- Border control post: its scope includes "mammals not exceeding 50 kg", by appointment, Monday to Friday. Whether it accepts dogs and cats in practice is to be confirmed for your flight with SIVEP.
- On the airport's website: cargo is indicated when the pet can fly neither in the cabin nor in the hold; IATA-type crates are sold landside in Hall C; pets in the hold go through the oversize baggage circuit; the airport refers owners to SIVEP.
- Long-haul routes: non-stop flights by Air Transat, United, Turkish Airlines and Air Arabia; Montreal, Istanbul, Réunion and Guadeloupe have their own destination pages.
Bordeaux-Mérignac
- Travellers' point of entry: yes.
- Border control post: designated for products of animal origin; no live animals.
- Long-haul routes: Air Transat to Montreal, Corsair to Fort-de-France and Turkish Airlines to Istanbul.
Frequently asked questions
My cat is flying in with me from the US, in the cabin, to Lyon: is that possible?
Yes: Lyon-Saint-Exupéry is a travellers' point of entry. Go to customs with your cat and its health certificate before leaving the international zone. The lack of a post cleared for dogs and cats only affects commercial movements.
My dog is arriving as cargo without me: which airport should it use?
If it travels within five days of your own journey and under the responsibility of a person you have authorised in writing, it remains a non-commercial movement, but the procedure at an airport without a live-animal post is to be confirmed for your flight. If it is a commercial movement, only Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Nice and, subject to confirmation, Toulouse can receive it among these seven airports.
Do I need an appointment with customs on arrival?
No, for a pet travelling with you: you simply go to the customs desk. Appointments apply at border control posts, for commercial movements (24 hours ahead in Nice, for example).
Can my category 1 dog connect in Paris?
No. The ban on bringing such dogs into France also covers simply passing through.
Official sources
The rules above come from the texts and pages of these authorities. Last checked: .
- Commission européenne — Points d’entrée des voyageurs (chiens, chats et furets)
- JO de l’UE, C 219 du 9 juin 2021 (2021/C 219/09) — Liste française des points de passage frontaliers
- Règlement délégué (UE) 2026/131 — art. 15 (point d’entrée des voyageurs) et 17
- Règlement d’exécution (UE) 2026/636 — listes de pays tiers (annexes I et II)
- DGAL — Note d’information « Importation non commerciale d’animaux de compagnie en provenance de pays tiers » (juin 2026)
- Douane — Voyager avec un animal de compagnie : bases légales ou réglementaires
- Douane — Vous voyagez avec un chien, chat ou furet
- Ministère de l’Agriculture — Où sont effectués les contrôles SPS aux frontières ?
- Ministère de l’Agriculture — Liste des postes de contrôle frontaliers français (29/09/2026)
- Commission européenne — Coordonnées des postes de contrôle frontaliers
- Ministère de l’Agriculture — Les chiens de catégorie 1 et 2 et les chiens dangereux
- Air France — Voyager avec son animal (chien, chat)
- Lyon Aéroport — Transport d’animaux et de marchandises
- Lyon Aéroport — Carte des destinations
- Aéroport Nice-Côte d’Azur — Compagnies aériennes
- Aéroport Nice-Côte d’Azur — Destinations
- Aéroport Marseille-Provence — Liste des compagnies
- Aéroport Toulouse-Blagnac — Compagnies
- Aéroport Toulouse-Blagnac — Voyager avec un animal
- Aéroport Bordeaux-Mérignac — Destinations au départ de Bordeaux
- Emirates — Rules and charges for travelling with animals
Rules change. Before anything is booked, we reconfirm every requirement with the authorities, the airline and the vet for your pet and your itinerary.
Read next
Flying into or out of France with your pet?
Tell us the airport, airline, date and your pet's species, breed and weight: we check which controls apply and send you a detailed quote.