Glasgow Airport offers travel first for guide dogs

Glasgow Airport offers travel first for guide dogs

The airport, Scotland’s busiest, is the first in Scotland to register for the UK Government’s Pet Travel Scheme.

This allows guide dogs, and other assistance dogs, to fly with their owners to certain approved European destinations and return to Scotland directly. Household pets are not covered by the scheme.

Until now, passengers travelling with guide and other assistance dogs had to return home via other airports authorised under the Pet Travel Scheme such as Manchester, Gatwick or Heathrow.

Before such a scheme can operate, airlines must first register the specific routes under the Pet Travel Scheme. Thomsonfly, one of the UK’s largest charter airlines, is the first carrier at Glasgow to register.

The holiday airline, which flies to dozens of destinations across Europe from Glasgow, will offer the service on some of its most popular routes, including Alicante, Malaga, Palma, Paphos, Lanzarote, Tenerife and Faro. Winter destinations Lyon and Salzburg will also be included in the scheme.

Talks are now underway in a bid to register other Glasgow based airlines.

Gordon Dewar, managing director of Glasgow Airport, said: “We’re proud to be the first airport in Scotland to offer this service to passengers who want to fly with their guide dogs. We have been working to deliver this scheme for a number of years, and we’re pleased to be able to offer this valuable service in partnership with Thomsonfly, one of the UK’s largest holiday airlines.

“Our commitment to customer service extends to all our passengers, and it is absolutely right that Scotland’s busiest airport should offer this service to guide dog owners and other people with disabilities. It means that passengers returning to Scotland from their holiday will no longer have to connect via London or Manchester.

“We are in discussion with other airlines and we are confident that we can expand the scheme to other European destinations.”

Clive Wood, Guide Dogs transport officer, commented: “We are delighted that BAA Glasgow and Thomsonfly have worked to allow guide and other assistance dogs to travel with their owners in the cabin of an aeroplane.

“Guide dogs with their blind or partially sighted owners form an extraordinary partnership, and it’s essential that this remains whilst they are in transit. The Pet Travel Scheme now operating at Glasgow Airport will make a very real difference to many assistance dog owners”.

Danielle Chapman, industry affairs manager at Thomsonfly said: “We’re delighted that approval has been given for Glasgow as we have been waiting for this for some time.  Now it will be possible for guide dog owners to fly in and out of Glasgow on 17 approved routes without having to travel south to Manchester or Gatwick. This is a huge leap forwards for our customers wanting to travel out of Glasgow with a guide dog and we are proud to be the first airline to offer this service.”