Which Airlines Fly Dogs and Cats from the US to Italy, and What Are the Differences?

SHORT ANSWER

Several major airlines will carry a dog or cat from the US to Italy, but their rules are not close to identical. Delta and United both allow small pets to ride in the cabin on international flights and do not single out Italy as an exception. American Airlines does not allow carry-on pets to Europe at all, so most travelers flying American end up routing their pet through American PetEmbark cargo instead. Italy's own flag carrier, ITA Airways, allows pets in the cabin on international routes, but only up to 8 kg total, including the carrier, which is tighter than what the US carriers publish. Lufthansa and KLM matter for a different reason: both cap in-cabin pets at that same 8 kg limit, and both are the airlines behind a specific routing quirk for pets heading into Venice, since Venice has no veterinary Border Control Post of its own. No matter which airline you fly, your pet still has to land at a recognized Point of Entry, and any pet arriving as cargo or through a commercial shipment must clear inspection at one of Italy's three veterinary Border Control Posts: Milan Malpensa, Rome Fiumicino, or Bologna (small animals only).

Why the Same Pet Can Fly to Italy on One Airline and Refused on Another

Every airline sets its own pet policy on top of Italy's entry requirements, and the two rulebooks do not always line up the way people expect. Italy's requirements (a pet passport or EU health certificate, microchip before rabies vaccination, and arrival at a recognized Point of Entry) apply no matter who you fly. But whether your dog can even board in the first place, and whether it rides in the cabin, the hold, or true air cargo, depends entirely on the airline's own contract of carriage. That is why the real planning work for this leg of a move is not just "does my dog meet Italy's rules," but "does my dog meet this specific airline's rules for this specific route."

Delta and United: The Two US Carriers That Treat Italy Like Any Other Cabin-Eligible Destination

Delta allows dogs, cats, and household birds that meet its age, health, size, and kennel requirements to travel in the cabin on international flights, provided the traveler has all documentation the destination requires. Delta does publish a list of destinations where in-cabin pets are not permitted at all, including Australia, Hong Kong, Iceland, New Zealand, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and a handful of others. Italy does not appear on that list, which means a small dog or cat that fits the kennel requirements can fly in Delta's cabin to Italy for a $200 international pet fee each way (Delta pet travel policy).

United's policy works the same way in practice. Cats and dogs can travel in the cabin on international flights for a flat $150 each way, provided the carrier fits under the seat and the traveler has the destination's required paperwork. United does not publish an Italy-specific exclusion, so a pet meeting United's carrier and weight guidelines can fly to Rome or Milan in the cabin as well (United traveling with pets). Neither Delta nor United still offers a general-public checked-pet or cargo program the way they once did, so if your pet does not fit Delta's or United's in-cabin size limits, you are looking at a pet shipping service rather than booking your pet directly on that airline.

American Airlines: Why Your Pet Cannot Ride in the Cabin to Italy

This is the detail that trips up the most people, because American does fly pets, just not to Europe. American's carry-on pet program is explicitly limited to travel within the 48 contiguous United States, between the US and Canada, Mexico, Alaska, Puerto Rico, St. Croix, and St. Thomas. Europe, including Italy, is not on that list (American Airlines pet travel policy). American's checked-pet counter service is also restricted to active-duty US military and State Department personnel traveling on official orders, so it is not an option for most families relocating a pet. For a regular traveler who wants to fly American and bring a pet to Italy, the only path is American PetEmbark, the airline's cargo service, which is a separate booking and process from a standard passenger ticket.

ITA Airways: Italy's Own Airline Has the Strictest Cabin Weight Limit

ITA Airways, Italy's national carrier, allows dogs and cats in the cabin, but the international weight allowance is 8 kg total, covering the animal, the carrier, and any food inside it, with a maximum carrier size of 55 x 40 x 23 cm. That is noticeably tighter than the roughly 9 kg (about 20 lb) that Delta's recommended soft-sided kennel guidance implies, and it catches owners of mid-sized dogs off guard when they assume ITA's allowance will match a US carrier's. As of December 1, 2025, ITA also limits cabin and hold pet transport to dogs and cats only, so travelers with other small pets need a different carrier entirely (ITA Airways pets in the cabin). Dogs too large for the cabin travel in ITA's pressurized, climate-controlled hold, in a rigid carrier with a metal locking door and metal (not plastic) side vents (ITA Airways pets in the hold).

Lufthansa and KLM: The Airlines Behind Every Venice Arrival

Lufthansa and KLM both cap in-cabin pets at 8 kg total, the same limit ITA uses, with a carrier size limit of 55 x 40 x 23 cm on Lufthansa and 46 x 28 x 24 cm on KLM (Lufthansa travelling with animals; KLM traveling with pets). But the reason these two airlines come up so often in Italy relocations has less to do with the cabin and more to do with geography. Neither Rome nor Milan is where a commercial or hold shipment heading to Venice gets its paperwork checked. Venice does not have its own veterinary Border Control Post, so a pet flying into Venice as a commercial or hold shipment has that inspection completed upstream, in Frankfurt for Lufthansa or Amsterdam for KLM, before continuing on to Venice. That single routing detail is the entire reason those two carriers, specifically, are the ones used for a Venice-bound pet shipment rather than any other European connection.

Why Rome and Milan Feel Slower Than Venice

Stefano Saija, CEO of ReloCat Italy and a veterinary import specialist who works directly with these arrivals, put it plainly when we spoke with him for this series: "We have two options. We can have the arrival in Milan and then do the drive to the Venice area, or if you want to have a commercial arrival in Venice, that inspection must be done in Amsterdam or Frankfurt, so you must use Lufthansa or KLM." When asked whether the process itself differs by city, he was direct about it: "It's the same process and the same rules, and the things that are checked are the same for all three of those. It's just a matter of volume that goes through each of those, that kind of makes the process slower at Rome versus Milan versus Venice." In other words, the paperwork and inspection standards do not change from airport to airport. What changes is how many pets are moving through that particular checkpoint on a given day, and Rome and Milan simply see more volume than Venice does.

As Adam Melton, VP of Strategic Initiatives at Starwood Pet Travel, explains: "People assume the airline is just a booking detail and the real work starts once the pet lands. In reality, the airline you choose decides whether your pet even qualifies to travel in the first place, and for a Venice arrival, it decides where in Europe your pet's paperwork actually gets checked. Picking the airline is part of the import plan, not separate from it."

What Pet Owners Are Saying

The confusion over which airline actually works for this route shows up constantly in pet owner communities. In r/dogs, one user preparing to move a 15-pound terrier to Italy asked for airline recommendations and got a useful reality check in response: "ITA is the national airline, has a generous weight allowance, and hopefully your carrier fits their size specs (check because every airline sets different size limits). The thing to worry about is that most airlines require that the animal be able to both stand upright and turn around inside the carrier. At 15 pounds, it's uncommon that a dog is compact enough to meet that criteria inside a carrier small enough to fit underseat" (r/dogs discussion). It is a good illustration of why weight alone does not tell you whether a pet qualifies for the cabin. The carrier's actual internal dimensions, measured against your pet's ability to stand and turn around, matter just as much as the number on the scale.

Matching the Airline to Your Pet's Size and Your Arrival City

If your dog or cat is small enough to meet an 8 kg combined weight limit and you are flying into Rome or Milan, Delta, United, or ITA Airways are all workable options, and it comes down to comparing fees, nonstop availability, and each airline's exact carrier dimensions. If your pet is too large for any cabin program, you are looking at a hold or cargo shipment, and the airline matters even more, since ITA's hold service, a cargo-specific carrier like Lufthansa or KLM's cargo divisions, or a dedicated pet shipping partner all have different equipment and different handling standards. And if Venice is your arrival city, the airline choice is not really optional. A commercial pet shipment into Venice needs to route through Frankfurt or Amsterdam for inspection, which means Lufthansa or KLM, not because those airlines are better, but because that is where the checkpoint actually sits. For the full timeline of moving a pet from the US to Italy, including the health certificate and microchip sequencing that has to happen before any of this booking matters, see our complete guide to moving your dog or cat from the US to Italy. We have also broken down what happens after landing in our guide to pet arrival and customs clearance times at Rome and Milan airports.

Frequently Asked Questions