In a bid to prevent the unauthorised carriage of live animals into India, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued fresh guidelines to airlines operators, official sources said on Friday (July 25, 2025).
Amid multiple instances reported by airlines regarding the carriage of live animals into India by passengers without proper declaration or clearance, classified as unbeknownst imports, the DGCA asked the operators to devise strategies to detect and deter the violation of deportation conditions.
Going by rules laid down by the Animal Quarantine and Certification Services and Indian Customs, such animals were subject to immediate deportation to their country of origin, with appropriate intimation to concerned stakeholders and authorities in that country.
Though the carriage of animals/birds by air was governed by the Aeronautical Information Circular (AIC) of 1985, the DGCA’s advisory intended to further guide and ensure compliance with the latest instructions/orders of the Indian Customs and other law-enforcing agencies and facilitate the safe and legally compliant deportation animals by all aircraft operators/airlines operating in India.
Responsibility of airlines
