This was just about inevitable… With everyone abusing the system and was claiming just about everything was emotional support. It makes perfect sense on the extended long-haul flights there’s no realistic place for animals to use the bathroom so it was pretty inhumane.

Given the training that genuine service animals undergo, it would be unlikely that one would qualify (even to take a flight as part of training) at an age under four months. So the biggest impact of the change would apparently be to require the supposed ESAs aged between six or eight weeks (the fully weened requirement that carriers seem to impose) and four months to fly as paid cabin pets rather than for free as ESAs.

The maximum scheduled flight duration rules might have the unfortunate consequence of limiting travel (or forcing routes with more connections, but what if the connecting airport doesn't have bathroom facilities for animals?) for those who genuinely need service and support animals. I suspect that some routes such as TPAC cannot be covered with flights under six or eight hours, although perhaps the solution would be to go through Hawaii from the west coast, like people did many decades ago. OTOH, other countries have customs/import rules for live animals, so it might be impossible or difficult to take a service/support animal everywhere, even if there are foreign hotels that would allow the animal. Of course, any rules/restrictions would apply whenever the person must enter a country along the way, including attempting to go landside to provide a potty break for the animal.

Tomorrow’s headlines will read: Delta Hates Puppies and Kittens, Fuels Jets with Blood of Newborn Infants.

anthropomorphism - the attribution of human characteristics or behavior to a god, animal, or object.

Since when do animals use a “bathroom”? Animals defecate and urinate where they are trained to. Few are trained to use a “bathroom”.

Guilty as charged. I was trying to be somewhat delicate in describing animals' behavior and bodily functions.

However, I have seen animals use "bathrooms" = lavatories on flights, and I would prefer this to seeing the animal just lift a leg or squat in the cabin. Of course, I don't know what actually happens in those bathrooms = lavatories. A few animals have apparently been trained to use toilets and more to use (human supplied) "puppy pads" or equivalent when they need to urinate or deficate.