Pet Transportation

I. Service Description

Pet transportation is limited to domestic dogs and cats. Cats and dogs that are aggressive and may injure people, as well as pure and mixed cat and dog breeds with short snouts that are prone to breathing problems, are not accepted for transport.

including but not limited to: Terriers (e.g. Schnauzer, Boston Terrier), Boxers, Bulldogs, and Spaniels, mastiffs, pugs, mastiffs, American Staffordshire terriers, American pit bull terriers, English cocker spaniels, English toy spaniels, King Charles spaniels, bullmastiffs, Affenpinschers, Lhasa apsos, Pekingese, Chow Chows, Japanese chins, shar-peis, shih tzus, pit bulls, Japanese mastiffs (including Tosa-Inus), Brazilian mastiffs, Dogo Argentinos, Burmese cats, Himalayan cats, Persian cats, exotic shorthair cats (such as ‘Garfield’), etc.

Cats and dogs that are pregnant, less than 8 weeks old, nursing, have given birth within 7 days or are sick will not be accepted for carriage.

II. Eligibility

1. Eligible flights

Pet transportation service for Air China-coded point-to-point flights (including layovers) operated by Air China, as well as flights with domestic–domestic or domestic–international transits to connecting flights and transit times of at least 2.5 hours at Beijing Capital Airport, Shanghai Pudong Airport, or Chengdu Tianfu/Shuangliu Airport, can be booked via the Air China website or app. If your transit time is longer than 4 hours, you must claim your pet at the transit airport and take care of them yourself before checking them in for onward transport.

If the destination airport of the first flight segment is not the same as the departure airport of the subsequent flight segment, you must claim your pet at the destination airport of your first flight segment, take it to the departure airport of the second flight segment, and check your pet in for transportation again.

The pet transportation service for transit and connecting flights must be booked separately for each flight segment.

2. Eligible aircraft

pets carried as checked baggage must be loaded into cargo compartments equipped with an oxygen supply. The cargo compartments on some models of Air China aircraft A319 / A320 / 737-8MAX / ARJ21-700 are not equipped with oxygen supplies and are unable to transport pets.

III. Application Deadline

At least two hours prior to the flight's scheduled departure time.

IV. Documentation and Quarantine Requirements

If you are taking a domestic flight, you must be able to produce a quarantine certificate for your pet issued by the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ)

If you are taking an international or regional flight, in addition to producing a quarantine certificate for your pet issued by the AQSIQ, you must also ensure that you satisfy the requirements relating to the transportation of pets for the countries you are entering/exiting or transiting.

Starting February 1, 2025, we will temporarily suspend the transportation of dogs (including dogs checked in as pets and guide dogs or hearing dogs traveling with disabled passengers) on flights to the United States. If you have successfully booked the transport of your dog as checked baggage or as cabin baggage, we can grant ticket change or refund. We will continue to communicate with the CDC in the United States in order to restore the above-mentioned services as soon as possible. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause to you.

Quarantine requirements for small animals entering China

In accordance with Announcement No. 5 [2019] of the General Administration of Customs of China, “Announcement on Further Regulating the Quarantine Supervision of Pets Brought into China,” Air China would like to remind you of the new quarantine requirements for pets entering the country through airports:

(1) Only dogs or cats (including service dogs for disabled persons) may be brought into the country and only one pet is permitted per person.

(2) For all pets brought into the country, China Customs must be provided with valid quarantine certificates and valid rabies vaccination certificates issued by the official animal quarantine agency of the country or region from which the pet is being exported.

(3) Pets must have electronic chips that conform to ISO 11784 and ISO 11785 international standards. The 15-digit microchip code may only consist of numbers and must be capable of being read by a reader. If the chip does not meet these standards, you should provide your own reader that is capable of reading the implanted chip.

(4) Pets entering the country shall undergo quarantine for 30 days at a quarantine facility designated by China Customs, except for pets exempt from quarantine in the following circumstances:

a. Pets brought into the country from one of the following 19 designated countries or territories: New Zealand, Australia, Fiji, French Polynesia, Hawaii (United States), Guam (United States), Jamaica, Iceland, United Kingdom, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Cyprus, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong (China) or Macau (China) that have valid electronic chips and pass on-site quarantine.

b. Pets from non-designated countries or territories (i.e. all countries and territories other than designated countries or territories) that have electronic chips, pass on-site quarantine and for which a rabies antibody test report issued by an approved laboratory can be provided (antibody titer or immune antibody level must be above 0.5 IU/ml).

c. Guide dogs, hearing dogs or search and rescue dogs that have valid electronic chips, pass on-site quarantine and for which the person bringing the pet is able to provide relevant user certificates and professional training certificates.

(5)Pet container requirements Pets that need to be quarantined must enter the country through ports equipped with quarantine facilities. The General Administration of Customs of China publishes a regularly updated list of ports with quarantine facilities on its official website. As of the date when these new regulations come into force, the list of ports with quarantine facilities is as follows:

Name of port Name of agency
Beijing Capital International Airport Capital International Airport Customs
Beijing West Railway Station Beijing West Railway Station Customs
Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport Hongqiao International Airport Customs
Shanghai Pudong International Airport Pudong International Airport Customs
Shanghai Railway Station Station Customs
Shanghai International Cruise Terminal Pujiang Customs
Wusongkou International Cruise Terminal Wusong Customs
Urumqi Diwopu International Airport Urumqi Airport Customs
Alashankou Alashankou Customs
Urumqi Diwopu International Airport Urumqi Airport Customs

(6) Air China shall not be held liable if a pet is repatriated or destroyed within a certain period of time by Customs due to the pet having entered the country other than in accordance with the above regulations.

(7) For all other specific quarantine requirements, please visit the official website of the General Administration of Customs of China (http://www.customs.gov.cn) and consult Announcement No. 5 [2019], “Announcement on Further Regulating the Quarantine Supervision of Pets Brought into China.”

Ⅴ. Carriage requirements

Only one pet may be checked in per passenger.

The weight of each pet shall not exceed 32 kg (including the weight of the pet container and the food and water within).

Ⅵ. Pet Carrier Requirements

You must prepare a travel carrier for your pet which meets airline requirements (Figure 1) and secure it appropriately (Figure 2).
If you are using an air travel-approved pet carrier with a detachable roof, the locking latches must be intact, with no missing nuts, bolts or locks. Doors must be sealed via an additional, external locking method, but this external locking method must not cause any harm to the pet (Figure 2).
Figure 1–Front
Figure 1–Back
Figure 2
Air China cannot accept travel carriers that fail to meet air travel requirements. In particular, travel carriers must NOT have the following features:
(1) Fiberglass or hard plastic doors.
(2) Openings or ventilation holes are large enough for the animal's paws or nose to fit through;
(3) Additional doors on the roof or ventilation holes on the bottom end of the side walls;
(4) Openings and ventilation holes on either side of the container adjacent from the door have not been covered with wire mesh.
A. Dimensions
You must contact Air China in advance to confirm whether the dimensions of the carrier meet aircraft requirements in terms of the aircraft’s door dimensions and hold capacity.
The dimensions of the carrier must also enable the pet to stand, turn around or lie down in a natural position.
Air travel-approved pet carriers:
Length: No shorter than animal's body length + 1/2 the length of animal's forelimb
Width: If used to transport one animal only, the width of the carrier should be twice the animal’s width across the shoulders.
Height: Height of animal in natural standing position from top of head or ear tip, whichever is higher.
Diagram for reference only
B. Materialss
Materials are limited to fiberglass, metal, rigid plastic, welded mesh and hardwood only. Containers comprised entirely of welded mesh or wire solder are not suitable for air transportation.
C. Ventilation holes
Ventilation holes are to be located within the upper third of the walls on three sides of the container (excluding the container door). ventilation holes must occupy at least 16% of the surface area of the four container walls. Additional holes may be placed on the top or on the sides of the container for increased ventilation as required. All openings should be covered with a wire mesh in order to prevent the animal from extending its paws or nose outside of the container.
D. Doors
A door should be located at one end of the container and make up one side of the container itself. The door must be equipped with a sliding chain or hinge as a locking device. Doors must be made from welded metal that is strong enough to withstand it being bent or damaged by the pet. Doors on rigid plastic containers should have protuberances of at least 1.6 cm in size at the top and bottom so that hinges and locking pins can be fitted.
On either side of the container door, spacer bars or handles should be fitted along the middle of the outer walls of both sides of the container to facilitate handling and shield the container from other baggage.
E. Floors
The floor of the carrier must be solid in order to prevent the seepage of feces and urine. Absorbent bedding should also be provided to prevent leakage (straw cannot be used as bedding).
F. Roofs
The shipper must ensure that the roof of the container is solid. Ventilation holes may be placed across the entire surface of the roof providing that these holes do not reduce the integrity and stability of the roof itself.
G. Food and water containers
The pet container must have a fixed water container that allows for water to be added to it without opening the pet container itself.
Feed containers must be fixed inside the pet container or attached to the pet container itself. Food may be attached to the pet container for use in the event of flight delays.

Ⅶ. Fee schedules

Pet transportation services are charged according to the special baggage fee schedule and must be paid on the spot at check-in. Please see Fee Schedules for Excess Special Baggage.

Ⅷ. Changes and Cancellation of Service

If you need to change your flight or service booking, you should cancel the previous service booking before making another.

Ⅸ. Check-in Reminder

Passengers who have booked the pet transportation service must personally check their pets in at the airport no later than 120 minutes before the flight's departure.