Big dogs get grounded to cargo holds on pretty much every airline on Earth. An Italian carrier just broke that rule, in a big way. From 3 August 2026, dogs weighing up to 30 kilograms, proper Labrador territory, will be allowed to fly in the cabin on ITA Airways’ domestic flights within Italy, business class at least. No crate. Just a harness, a leash, and a mat on the floor.
If you’ve never heard of ITA Airways, that’s completely normal, it doesn’t fly to Australia and it’s not exactly dinner-party conversation here. Stick with us though, because what this airline just did says something bigger about where pet travel might be heading everywhere else too, Australia included.
Wait, Who’s ITA Airways?
Fair question. It’s Italy’s national airline, the one that rose out of the wreckage of Alitalia back in 2021 after Italy’s old flag carrier finally ran out of second chances. Since 2025, Germany’s Lufthansa Group has been buying its way in, starting with a 41% stake, with reports it’s now working toward taking that as high as 90% by 2027.
So this isn’t some fringe operator making a wild PR play. It’s part of one of Europe’s biggest airline groups, flexing on pet policy while everyone else plays it safe.
What’s Actually Changing
ITA Airways’ new “Large Dog on Board” service launches on 3 August 2026 on selected domestic Italian flights. It’s not a blanket 30 kilogram limit for everyone though, it’s tiered by cabin class: one dog up to 30 kilograms can travel in Business Class, and one dog up to 15 kilograms can travel in Economy. That’s it, two large dogs per flight, full stop.
This is the second time ITA Airways has expanded its cabin pet policy in as many years. Domestic dogs were capped at just 8 kilograms until June 2024, when the airline bumped the limit to 10 kilograms. Adding a 30 kilogram Business Class tier on top of that is a completely different scale of change, not just another incremental bump.
The catch: it’s domestic-only. International flights out of Italy still sit at an 8 kilogram cabin limit, for regulatory reasons the airline can’t get around no matter how big its ambitions are at home.
The Rules
No crate doesn’t mean no rules. Dogs over 15 kilograms and up to 30 kilograms travel in the first row on the left side of the cabin, in the window seat, on a special mat ITA Airways itself provides, placed on the floor rather than the seat. Their owner sits in the aisle seat next to them, and the middle seat stays empty. A muzzle, collar, leash and a crash-tested harness are all required, and bookings need to go in at least four days ahead through the airline’s Ciao customer service desk, so this isn’t something you can arrange at check-in on a whim.
💡 The Key Numbers
- Starts: 3 August 2026
- Business Class: one dog, up to 30kg, no carrier needed
- Economy Class: one dog, up to 15kg
- Total per flight: just 2 large dogs
- Coverage: selected domestic Italian flights only
- International flights: still capped at 8kg
- Booking: at least 4 days ahead, by phone through Ciao
Why This Is Such A Big Deal
Here’s what makes this genuinely rare. Almost every major commercial airline on the planet caps in-cabin pets at 8 to 10 kilograms, small enough to disappear into a soft bag under the seat in front of you. If your dog is bigger than that, your options have basically been the cargo hold, or paying private-jet money for boutique dog-first charters like Bark Air or K9 Jets, services that don’t run to a normal schedule and don’t come at a normal price.
ITA Airways just did a version of this on a scheduled, bookable, regular commercial flight, even if it’s currently limited to two dogs per plane. That’s the actual headline here. Not “an airline let big dogs fly,” but “a normal airline, the kind you’d actually book a ticket on, started letting big dogs fly.”
Whether anyone else follows is the real question. But ITA Airways has now moved in this direction twice in two years, not once, which makes it look a lot more like a strategy than a stunt.
What This Means In Australia
Nothing like ITA Airways’ no-crate, up-to-30kg policy exists here, and it’s not close. The nearest equivalent is Virgin Australia’s Pets in Cabin trial, and even that’s limited to small dogs and cats under 8 kilograms in an approved carrier, on a handful of routes. If you want the full rundown on routes, pricing and how to actually book it, we’ve covered that in detail in Virgin Australia Pets in Cabin: Routes, Price and Rules.
For now, if your dog’s bigger than a cat carrier, Italy’s the one place in the world where flying with them just got a lot less complicated, for two lucky dogs per flight at least. Everyone else is still catching up.
