Cochin Airport Now Permits Pets on International Flights

On Thursday, a Lhasa Apso puppy named Luka made history as the first pet to fly internationally from Cochin International Airport (CIAL). CIAL recently received approval to export pets to other countries, which is great news for pet parents who don’t want to leave their pets behind when moving abroad.

Luka, the pet of Rajesh Susheelan and Kavita Rajesh from Attingal, flew from Kochi to Dubai with a stop in Doha. Qatar Airways took care of the pet cargo. With this, CIAL is now the only airport in Kerala that can export pets to other countries.

CIAL has set up a new 24-hour air-conditioned pet station with a special cargo area, a veterinary doctor on call, a customs clearance center, and a support center for people traveling with pets. These facilities are designed to help with their new pet export service.

Before, CIAL was only allowed to handle pets for travel within India. Now, with the new approval, pets can be shipped in specially prepared cages to any country abroad.

CIAL is working on getting permission to import pets directly from other countries. To help with this, they are setting up a special 'animal quarantine' center. Besides pet exports, CIAL also handles the export and import of fruits and plants. They already have a 'plant quarantine' center near the cargo area for this purpose.