QuestionQUESTION: My husband and I are returning to the United States from Greece and want to bring our cat with us. We booked a flight on Lufthansa from Thessaloniki, Greece, to Munich, Germany (where we have a 2 hour layover), and the on to Charlotte, North Carolina. Do we need a E.U. Pet Passport to transport our cat THROUGH Germany? Or will we only be required to follow U.S. regulations?
ANSWER: Dear Aubrey
There should be no problem. Do you not already have an EU pet
passport? Would think you would. You do not need this to transit
Germany. If you plan to return to EU in the near future, you really
should get a pet passport.
You will only need h.c. issued within 10 days of travel and a valid
rabies vac
You are bringing the cat as excess baggage, NOT cargo????
Regards, Jerry
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QUESTION: We do not have an EU pet passport as we have never had a need for one. We are planning on permanently leaving our cat at our parents house in the States so we shouldn't need a pet passport in the future either. Our cat has a valid rabies vac and we will be taking a trip to the vet before our trip to get him a health certificate. As far as I know, we will indeed be bringing our cat as excess baggage. We are flying a Lufthansa code share (Aegean Airlines) to Munich and then Lufthansa to the U.S. Will our cat be "checked" all the way to the States or will we have to collect him and re-check him in Munich? Also, does Aegean have any special requirements for animals?
ANSWER: I have never had any experience with Aegean Air. You would need to
ask them directly. Also ask them if they will transfer cat at
Munich, or if you will. Some airlines will interline the pets,
others will not. Even though they transfer your baggage.
Sorry, all this info will have to be secured from Aegean.....
Start with the passenger reservation people at Aegean.
Let me know how it works out
Regards, Jerry
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Jerry,
I called Lufthansa Airlines which claims that since Aegean Airlines is a code share airline that they will uphold Lufthansa policy. However, the lady I spoke with at Lufthansa said that Lufthansa does indeed require one's pet to be microchiped or tattooed. I was a bit confused by this because I haven't heard anything about this before now. The problem with this is that we are leaving the 26th and might not have enough time to get our cat microchipped. On average, how long does it take to process the paperwork for a microchip? Also, is it possible the woman I spoke with was incorrect? Thanks so much for answering all my questions! Have a great day!
AnswerThe lady at LH is definitely wrong. However, probably would be a
good idea to get a microchip. Takes about a minute to implant.
Paperwork is nothing. Just make sure the microchip # appears on ALL
paperwork. Health cert and rabies cert. You should have plenty of
time since you must go to vet to get h.c. anyway.
Every thing can be done on this one visit.
Keep in touch
Jerry
