Pet Travel Expert

This question from AllExperts.com comes from an American bound for Greece with their pets traveling in the cabin.


I have two cats in America I would like to bring to Greece by plane as carry ons with my dad. When they get to Greece though I'm a bit unsure of what will happen. Will they have to stay in quarentine? Will they need pet passports? Is it dangerous for them?
N.

Hi N.,

Thanks for contacting PetRelocation.com! Hopefully I will be able to help you with your two cats.
It sounds like you have already done a little bit of your homework regarding bringing cats from the US into Greece. Coming from the United States, you can achieve this by having a your cats microchipped, an EU Health Certificate issued, and getting the certificate stamped/endorsed by a USDA State Veterinarian. The best way to learn more about this is to print out this fact sheet (Adobe) from the Defra EU Homepage.
If you make sure you accomplish all of the steps before you depart for Greece, your cats will not have to go into quarantine upon arrival. You will just need to clear through customs with them. Once you arrive in Greece, you can obtain an EU Pet Passport from a local veterinarian, which will allow you to travel anywhere in the EU with your cats, should you be interested.
Flying with you in the cabin will not be dangerous for your cats at all. It may be a little stressful for everyone involved, but if you have done all of the paperwork ahead of time, it should go smoothly.

Let me know if you have any questions after reading the checklist. I'm happy to help!

Happy travels & wagging tails,

Rachel Farris
PetRelocation.com