Lufthansa carries dogs and cats in the cabin and in the cargo hold, and its published conditions are unusually specific. There is a hard weight ceiling for the cabin that includes the bag, a list of container features the airline will not accept, a ventilation specification that changed in May 2026, and a rule that closes the cargo hold on connecting flights through Munich. Two of the breed lists overlap, and for the breeds caught in the overlap the practical answer is different from what either list says on its own.

Everything below comes from Lufthansa’s own published conditions, linked at the end. Airline rules change without much notice, so confirm the current version with Lufthansa before you book anything.

In the Cabin: 8 kg Including the Container

Lufthansa states that “the total weight of the transport container, including the animal, must not exceed 8 kg.” That is about 17.6 lb for the loaded bag, not for the pet alone.

This is the rule people get wrong most often, because the natural thing to do is weigh the cat. A 6 kg cat in a 2 kg carrier is exactly at the ceiling. A soft carrier that weighs 1 kg leaves you 7 kg of animal. Put the pet in the carrier, stand on a bathroom scale holding both, and subtract your own weight before you commit to a cabin booking. If the number is over 8 kg, this becomes a cargo booking, and cargo has a different set of restrictions.

The container may be no larger than 55 x 40 x 23 cm, which Lufthansa also gives as 22 x 16 x 9 in, or 118 cm across the three dimensions added together. Your pet has to be able to stand up, turn around and lie down inside it. Our crate size formula covers how to measure for that.

The Container Features Lufthansa Will Not Accept

Cabin containers must be soft sided and securely fastenable, and Lufthansa is explicit about what is excluded: the container “must not have a sturdy frame, wheels or a telescopic handle, so that it can be stowed under the seat in front of you.”

That rules out a whole category of carrier that other airlines accept without comment. Wheeled pet carriers with pull-up handles are sold everywhere, and Lufthansa does not accept them. Neither are the rigid-frame soft carriers that hold their shape when empty. If you already own a carrier, check it against those three features now rather than at the gate.

One animal per container is the default, with three exceptions Lufthansa spells out: two young animals of comparable size and at least 12 weeks old, or two fully grown animals of comparable size, or a mother with one young animal of 0 to 6 weeks still dependent on her. The 8 kg loaded ceiling still applies to the whole container in every case, which is what limits this in practice.

In the Cargo Hold: Metal Screws, Not Clips

Pets over the cabin limit travel in the temperature-controlled hold. Lufthansa requires an IATA-compliant rigid container and is specific about assembly: “containers consisting of an upper and lower part must be securely screwed together with metal screws.”

Plastic clips are the standard fastening on most consumer crates sold in pet shops, and they are not accepted. The fix is cheap, since bolt kits cost a few dollars, but only if you know about it in advance. Buy the crate, buy the bolts, and assemble it at home so you can confirm the fit before travel day. Our guide to airline crate requirements covers the rest of the IATA specification.

The Ventilation Change Effective 4 May 2026

Lufthansa changed its ventilation opening specification with effect from 4 May 2026. Openings may now be no larger than 25 mm x 25 mm for dogs and 19 mm x 19 mm for cats.

The purpose is to stop an animal from pushing a paw or a nose through an opening in transit. The consequence for owners is that a crate which met Lufthansa’s requirements in 2025 may not meet them now, because plenty of standard crates have larger grille openings on the side vents. If you are reusing a crate from an earlier trip, measure the openings rather than assuming it still passes. Crates that fail can usually be brought into spec with a mesh insert, but that is something to plan, not to improvise at the freight counter.

No Hold Connections Through Munich

Lufthansa states that “no animals are accepted in the cargo hold on connecting flights via Munich,” and that through-checking animals in the hold is not possible at Munich Airport. Frankfurt still handles hold connections.

This is a routing constraint rather than a paperwork one, and it is easy to miss, because the booking engine will happily sell a Munich connection to the human on the same itinerary. If your pet is in the hold, the trip has to be built around Frankfurt or around a nonstop. Check the routing on the issued booking rather than on the search results, since connection points move when a schedule is adjusted.

Snub-Nosed Breeds: Cabin Only Since 2020

Lufthansa has barred snub-nosed dogs and cats from the cargo hold since 1 January 2020. Those breeds may still travel in the passenger cabin if they meet the cabin conditions, which in practice means the 8 kg loaded ceiling.

Read those two sentences together and the weight limit is doing the real work. A French Bulldog under 8 kg with its carrier has a route on Lufthansa. A French Bulldog over it has none, because the hold is closed to the breed and there is no third option. For any flat-faced breed, the loaded weight is the first thing to check, before crates, paperwork or dates.

Lufthansa’s snub-nosed dog list runs to Affenpinschers, American Bully, Bulldogs other than American Bulldogs, Pugs, American Pit Bull Terriers, American Staffordshire Terriers, Boston Terriers, Boxers, Brussels Griffons, Bull Mastiffs, Bull Terriers, Chow Chows, English Toy Spaniels, Japanese Chins, Japanese Spaniels, King Charles Spaniels, Lhasa Apsos, Pekingese, Pit Bulls, Shar Pei, Shih Tzus, Staffordshire Bull Terriers and Tibetan Spaniels.

The cat list is short and specific: British Shorthairs, Exotic Shorthairs, Himalayans, Persians and Scottish Folds. Cat owners often read the snub-nosed rules as a dog problem. For these five breeds they are not, and a Persian over the cabin ceiling is in the same position as an oversized Bulldog.

Fighting Dogs: Hold Only, in a Purpose-Built Crate

Lufthansa keeps a separate category it calls fighting or dangerous dogs, naming American Bulldogs, the Dogo Argentino, the Karabash or Kangal, the Caucasian Ovcharka and Rottweilers. Its rule is that these “may only be transported in special crates and only in the cargo hold.” They are not accepted in the cabin regardless of weight. One exception is published: dogs of these breeds between three and six months old may travel in a standard container.

The special crate is not a retail product. Lufthansa specifies a frame built from wooden or steel beams of at least 25 x 25 mm, solid wood of at least 12 mm bolted or screwed together, a door of welded wire mesh 2.5 mm thick, a locking mechanism that can be secured with a cable tie, and handles on both long sides. That is a build or a specialist order, and it needs starting weeks before the flight rather than days.

American Bulldogs are worth calling out here, because Lufthansa’s snub-nosed list excludes them by name. They sit in the fighting dog category only, which means the hold is open to them in the correct crate.

The Breeds Caught on Both Lists

American Pit Bull Terriers, American Staffordshire Terriers, Staffordshire Bull Terriers, American Bullies and Bull Terriers appear in both places. Lufthansa acknowledges it directly in the fighting dog section, noting that these are also snub-nosed breeds.

The two rules point in opposite directions. The fighting dog rule allows the hold only. The snub-nosed rule closes the hold. What is left is the cabin, under 8 kg including the carrier, which no adult dog of these breeds is going to meet. For a puppy between three and six months old the published age exception may open a door, and that is a conversation to have with Lufthansa directly rather than an assumption to book on.

There is a second restriction stacked on top for anyone flying into Germany. Lufthansa states that it is forbidden to import Pit Bull Terriers, American Staffordshire Terriers, Staffordshire Bull Terriers and Bull Terriers into Germany, and that export and transit are permitted. So a dog of one of these breeds cannot be brought into Germany as a destination even where an airline route existed, though moving one out of Germany or through it is a different question.

If you own one of these breeds, this is the part of the page worth acting on, because the conflict only becomes visible at booking, which is usually too late to rebuild an itinerary. The planning has to start from which carriers and which countries will take the dog, not from which airlines fly the route. Our list of banned dog breeds by country is the place to start on the destination side.

Booking Deadline and the Real Timeline

Lufthansa requires a hold booking to be made no later than 72 hours before departure. That is the airline’s cutoff for accepting the reservation, not a planning target. Space for animals in the hold is limited per aircraft, and on the transatlantic routes in summer it goes early.

The real timeline is set by everything else. An EU health certificate has its own issuing window, a rabies titer test where one is required has a waiting period measured in months, and a crate that needs modifying or building takes time to source. Treating 72 hours as the plan is how trips slip.

Three Checks Before Anything Else

Weigh the pet in the loaded carrier against the 8 kg ceiling. Check the breed against both lists, not one. Confirm the routing avoids a Munich hold connection. Those three answer most Lufthansa questions before the detail work starts.

If all three clear, what remains is documentation and crate compliance, and both are solvable with lead time. If any of the three fails, the answer is usually a different carrier rather than a workaround, and finding that out early is worth considerably more than finding a way around it late. If Germany is the destination, our USA to Germany guide covers the paperwork side. If the destination is the UK rather than Germany, the comparison changes again, because British Airways carries no pets in the cabin at all.

Frequently asked questions

Can my dog fly in the Lufthansa cabin at 9 kg?

No. The 8 kg limit is for the animal and the container together, and there is no fee or upgrade that raises it. A dog at 9 kg in the carrier travels in the cargo hold, provided the breed is accepted there.

Does Lufthansa accept my wheeled pet carrier in the cabin?

No. Lufthansa states the cabin container must not have a sturdy frame, wheels or a telescopic handle, so that it fits under the seat in front. Wheeled carriers are accepted by some US airlines, which is why this one surprises people.

Can a French Bulldog or a Pug fly Lufthansa?

In the cabin, yes, if the dog and carrier together stay under 8 kg. The cargo hold has been closed to snub-nosed breeds since 1 January 2020, so for a dog over that weight there is no route on Lufthansa.

Why can I not connect through Munich with my pet?

Lufthansa does not accept animals in the cargo hold on connecting flights via Munich, because animals in the hold cannot be through-checked at that airport. Frankfurt connections still work, and so do nonstops. Cabin pets are not affected by this rule.

Do I need a new crate for the 2026 ventilation rule?

Only if the openings on your existing crate are larger than 25 mm x 25 mm for a dog or 19 mm x 19 mm for a cat. Measure before you assume. Many crates that fail can be brought into spec with a mesh insert rather than replaced.

How far ahead should I book a Lufthansa hold booking?

Lufthansa’s cutoff is 72 hours before departure, but that is the last moment rather than the plan. Space per aircraft is limited and summer transatlantic flights fill early, and the documentation usually takes longer to arrange than the booking does.

Where does this leave a large dog?

In the hold, in a crate that meets the metal screw and ventilation specifications, on a routing that avoids a Munich connection, and only if the breed is accepted there. Our guide to flying with a large dog covers how the size decision runs through the rest of the trip.

Sources

All rules above are taken from Lufthansa’s published conditions, checked on 8 September 2026.

We book and coordinate moves on Lufthansa and on the carriers that compete with it on the same routes, and checking these interactions before an itinerary is built is part of that work. If you are weighing options, tell us where you are going and what you are traveling with and we will tell you what the route actually allows.

Last updated 8 September 2026