Air Malta updating manuals to allow guide dogs in cabin

Air Malta is updating its manuals so as to allow blind passengers to take guide dogs on board, an airline spokesman said.

The airline has also sought specific clearance for guide dogs to be taken on board from Gatwick, Birmingham and Heathrow airports.

Britain is one of a few countries where airlines need specific clearance to take dogs on board. In the UK dogs are only allowed on board aircraft in those three airports.

The issue of guide dogs on Air Malta flights came up a few days ago when a blind 30-year-old Portuguese, Catia Lima, asked to be allowed to fly from Milan to Malta with her guide dog Lee with her in the passenger cabin.

Air Malta initially refused and said the dog would be carried in the cargo hold at no extra cost but it had a change of heart following the intervention of the Malta Guide Dogs Association and Ms Lima flew to Malta with the dog beside her.

Brian Bartolo, Air Malta's general marketing manager, told timesofmalta.com that the update of the manuals was a complicated process which involved a lot of departments.

However, the change was moving ahead as planned and until the process was concluded, the airline would still be allowing guide dogs to travel in passenger cabins if they had all the required certification and the airport they were travelling to allowed it. Staff would be trained in winter.

Ms Lima will be leaving Malta on an Air Malta flight to Milan on August 31 and will again be allowed to travel with Lee curled up under her feet.

Asked whether Air Malta had received any complaints from passengers who were on Ms Lima's flight to Malta, Mr Bartolo said there had been no reaction whatsoever. He pointed out, however, that the flight had not been a full one.