Pets fly from Nottingham East Midlands Airport too
06.01.06
With the arrival of cheap flights, more and more passengers are using Nottingham East Midlands Airport. But not all of them are human. Dogs, cats, budgies, parrots, rabbits, spiders and sometimes even snakes also fly from Nottingham East Midlands every year.
The arrival of pet passports, cheap flights and increasing numbers of people retiring in the sun has increased the number of animals in the air. At peak times more than half a dozen pets can pass through the airport every month.
For the past 40 years Bill Richmond has been involved in getting animals airborne at Nottingham East Midlands Airport, and he has noticed a significant increase in demand over the past four years.
Mr Richmond said: 'The majority of people we deal with are relocating to Spain, so they want to bring their pets with them. This has been happening for years at the airport, but it is busier now than in the past. We primarily deal with cats and dogs, but we also transport birds.'
Budget airlines like Ryanair, who are under pressure to maintain 25-minute turnarounds, do not carry pets. Instead, it is primarily chartered flights who use darkened pressurised holds at the front of the aircraft to store their four-legged or winged customers.
Nottingham East Midlands can't import any live animals from EU or non-EU countries, but can fly them out to nearly any route used by the airport.
The animals are held in specially made wooden boxes and supplied with fresh water throughout the trip. Food is never supplied for fear of creating a mess.
The primary cost outside the airline fee goes towards the making of the wooden boxes, which must meet strict international standards. Companies can build more than 100 different boxes depending on the type of animal being transported.
Despite the initial outlay, flying a medium sized family dog half way across the globe the price is still reasonably affordable. If you drive them to the airport and make sure they have the proper blood tests and health certificates then it would cost around £1,000.
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