As air travel begins to pick up again, you won't be seeing nearly as many animals on planes.

In what's been a years-long battle between the airlines and passengers, the U.S. Department of Transportation made its final ruling on Wednesday.

In recent years, passengers have been allowed to bring a variety of different pets into airplane cabins as "emotional support" animals. This hasn't gone over well with the airline industry and new rules have been put in place by the DOT that will change what animals passengers can bring into airplane cabins on future flights.

The new rule states that dogs are the only animal that will be allowed into the cabin on future flights as a service animal. It goes on to say that animals that passengers use for emotional support no longer count.

This appears to settle the debate as to what type of animal is considered a "service animal", at least on planes anyway. Airlines had grown frustrated in recent years, as they believed many passengers were abusing the free policy. Some passengers were even claiming animals such as turtles, pot-bellied pigs, and even peacocks were emotional support animals.

In this new ruling, passengers will now have to check their emotional support animals into the cargo holding area, as well as pay a fee.

Story Source: Associated Press

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