Guides · IATA Live Animals Regulations
Pet Shipping Crates Dubai: The IATA Size Guide
Your pet's crate must give it enough space to stand, sit erect, lie in a natural position and turn about normally while standing. Measure four dimensions, apply the formula below, and you will have the right size before you buy anything. Get it wrong and the shipment is refused at the cargo terminal — which is the most common reason a pet misses its flight.
The rules on this page are Container Requirement 1 of the IATA Live Animals Regulations, Edition 52 (January 2026), which is the requirement applying to domestic cats and dogs. State and operator variations exist — we check both per shipment.
This guide covers how to measure your pet, which crate size that gives you, what the airline checks at acceptance, and where to source a compliant crate in Dubai. If you would rather we handled it, crate fitting is included in every pet shipping Dubai booking we take.
Why the crate decides everything else
The crate is not an accessory to the booking. It sets three things that follow it all the way to the destination.
It decides whether the shipment flies at all. Airline acceptance staff check the crate against the animal at the cargo terminal. An undersized crate is refused on the spot, and rebooking a live animal at short notice is difficult and expensive.
It decides the price. Air cargo is charged on volumetric weight, not actual weight. A 14 kg dog in an oversized crate can cost more to ship than a 22 kg dog in a correctly fitted one. See our full breakdown of pet relocation costs.
It decides which aircraft can take your pet. Hold door dimensions vary by aircraft type. A tall crate for a giant breed can rule out a direct flight and force a connection, which nobody wants for a live animal. Which carriers can take which sizes is covered in our airline guide.
Step 1
The four measurements
Measure your pet standing naturally on all four feet, not sitting and not stretched out. Use a tape measure, work in centimetres, and write the numbers down — you will need all four.
Length. Tip of the nose to the base of the tail — where the tail joins the body, not the end of the tail.
Elbow height. Ground to the elbow joint of the front leg.
Width. Across the shoulders or the widest point — whichever is greater.
Height. In a natural standing position, floor to the top of the head or the ear tip — whichever is higher.
The ear rule
IATA defines D as the height from the floor to the top of the head or the ear tip, whichever is higher. For breeds with erect ears — German Shepherds, Huskies, Belgian Malinois — that means measuring to the ear tips, not the skull. This single detail moves a great many dogs up a crate size, and it is the mistake we correct most often when a family has already bought a crate.
Step 2
The crate sizing formula
Apply your four numbers to these three calculations. The results are the minimum internal dimensions of the crate — not the external ones printed on the box.
Length = A + ½BWidth = C × 2Height = D + bedding
The bedding term matters and is the part most guides leave out. IATA is explicit that the height of the bedding is added to the height of the animal, so a crate that fits your dog exactly will fail once absorbent bedding is in it.
Snub-nosed breeds
IATA requires a 10% larger container for snub-nosed breeds. This is in the regulation itself, not an individual airline's policy — although some carriers add further restrictions on top.
Worked example
A Labrador measuring A = 78 cm, B = 40 cm, C = 27 cm, D = 58 cm, with 3 cm of bedding:
- Length = 78 + 20 =
98 cm - Width = 27 × 2 =
54 cm - Height = 58 + 3 =
61 cm
So the crate needs internal dimensions of at least 98 × 54 × 61 cm. Round up to the next available size — never down, and never "it will be fine, she likes a snug space". The acceptance check is done with a tape measure, not a judgement call.
More than one animal in a crate
The width calculation changes: C × 3 for two animals and C × 4
for three. Length and height are worked out as for a single animal, using the
measurements of the largest one.
Weaned puppies or kittens may travel together if they are no older than six months, weigh no more than 14 kg each, number no more than three per container, and are used to cohabiting. Adult animals over 14 kg must be crated individually.
Step 3
Crate size guide
Match your calculated dimensions to the next size up. Dimensions below are internal and indicative — always check the specific manufacturer's figures, because they vary between brands sold under the same series number.
| Series | Internal L × W × H (cm) | Typical for |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | [VERIFY] | Cats, toy breeds — Chihuahua, Yorkshire Terrier |
| 200 | [VERIFY] | Small dogs — Pug, Dachshund, Jack Russell |
| 300 | [VERIFY] | Medium — Beagle, Cocker Spaniel, French Bulldog |
| 400 | [VERIFY] | Medium-large — Border Collie, Springer Spaniel |
| 500 | [VERIFY] | Large — Labrador, Golden Retriever, Boxer |
| 700 | [VERIFY] | Extra large — German Shepherd, Rottweiler, Dobermann |
| Custom timber | Built to measurement | Giant breeds — Great Dane, Mastiff, St Bernard |
Breed names are a starting point only. Two Labradors of the same age can sit a full size apart. Always measure the animal in front of you.
What makes a crate IATA-compliant
Size is necessary but not sufficient. The crate must also be built correctly. Run through this before you travel to the cargo terminal.
- Rigid construction Hard plastic, fibreglass, metal or solid timber. Collapsible crates, wire cages and soft-sided carriers are not accepted for cargo.
- Plastic clips must not be the only fasteners Where a crate is assembled from a top and bottom half, the two must be securely bolted together. IATA recommends metal nuts and bolts in every hole — and in practice that is what acceptance staff look for.
- Ventilation on all four sides, at least 16% of surface area The total ventilated area must be at least 16% of the total surface of the four sides, with ventilation provided on all four. Extra openings on the roof or sides are permitted and help in hot weather.
- Openings sized to be nose and paw proof Maximum 25 mm × 25 mm for dogs and 19 mm × 19 mm for cats — smaller if that is what it takes to be nose and paw proof for your animal.
- A door that locks and cannot be opened accidentally Secured along the full frame, with an adequate means of fastening and sealing for destinations that require the container to be sealed in transit.
- A leak-proof floor with absorbent bedding No wire floor grille. Absorbent material only — no straw, no hay.
- Food and water bowls fixed inside, refillable from outside Attached to the inside of the door so handlers can fill them without opening it.
- Handling spacers or runners on the exterior So airflow is maintained when the crate is placed against a wall or another shipment.
- Correct labelling Live Animals labels, upright orientation arrows, and your contact details plus the consignee's clearly attached.
We fit and check all of this as part of every booking — and we do it at your home, a week ahead, not at the terminal on the day. It is included at every tier, from Essentials upwards, and sits at step four of our relocation process. Working through a full move? Our pet relocation checklist puts the crate step in sequence with the paperwork and veterinary deadlines.
Plastic crates, timber containers and CR82
Most pets fly in a moulded plastic crate built to Container Requirement 1. Two situations take you outside that, and they are commonly confused with each other.
Timber containers for size
Above a certain size, no manufactured plastic crate is large enough, and the animal needs a container built for it. IATA sets a minimum wall thickness for wooden containers of 12 mm for dogs and 6 mm for cats. We build these in Dubai to the animal's measurements, usually with about a week's lead time.
One catch worth knowing before you commit to timber: certain operators will not carry wooden containers at all. That is an operator variation in the regulations, not a rule you can argue with at the terminal, and it has to be checked against your specific carrier before the crate is built.
CR82 for strength, not size
Container Requirement 82 is a separate, reinforced specification — and it is not about giant breeds. It applies to powerful or potentially dangerous animals, the same standard used for transporting dangerous wild animals, and since 2012 it has covered a list of strong-jawed dog breeds including Pit Bull Terriers, Bull Terriers, Rottweilers, Cane Corsos and Caucasian Mastiffs.
A CR82 container uses wood, metal, synthetic material or wire mesh with no plastic components, a metal or heavy wire-grate door, a solid wood or metal frame, and bolted or screwed joints throughout. It exists because strong dogs have chewed their way out of plastic kennels in flight.
A Great Dane does not automatically need CR82 — it needs a large timber container. A Rottweiler may need CR82 even though it fits a Series 700. Enforcement varies by carrier and route, so we confirm it per booking rather than by breed alone.
Snub-nosed breeds
Bulldogs, Pugs, Boxers, Persian and Exotic Shorthair cats. IATA requires a container 10% larger than the formula gives, to increase airflow around the animal. Several carriers add their own restrictions on top, and some refuse these breeds entirely in the hottest months.
Snub-nosed breeds and flying → Snub-nosed breeds flyingLarge and giant breeds
Above roughly a Series 700, you are into custom timber and a narrower set of aircraft that can physically take the container. Book earlier — space for oversized live animal shipments is limited per flight, and the carrier must accept timber.
Large breed relocation → Large breed dog relocationBuying or hiring a crate in Dubai
Compliant crates are available in Dubai, but the large sizes sell out in the busy relocation months of May to August, and pet shops stock plenty of crates that are not cargo-compliant. A crate sold as "airline approved" is not necessarily accepted by the carrier you are flying.
Buy if your pet will use the crate afterwards, or if you are moving more than one animal and can reuse it. Hire if this is a one-off move and you have no use for a large crate at the destination — shipping a bulky empty crate home is a cost nobody plans for.
We supply both. See pet crate hire Dubai for sizes and availability, or ask us to size your pet and we will tell you which series you need before you spend anything.
Crate training before the flight
Whichever you choose, get the crate home at least four weeks before travel. A pet that has slept in its crate every night for a month travels very differently from one meeting it at the airport.
Week 1 — crate open in a normal room, meals fed inside, door never
closed.
Week 2 — door closed for a few minutes after eating, then longer.
Week 3 — an hour or two at a time, including while you are out of the
room.
Week 4 — overnight, with the bedding that will travel.
This matters more for cats than for dogs. Cats decide early whether a box is safe, and that decision is hard to reverse in the last week. More in our guides to dog shipping Dubai and cat shipping Dubai, and in how to bring a dog to Dubai.
Seven reasons crates get refused at the terminal
Every one of these we have seen turn a family away on the day.
- The pet cannot stand with ears clear of the roof The most common failure by a wide margin, and almost always an erect-eared breed.
- Plastic clips instead of metal bolts The crate came that way from the shop. It still fails.
- A wire or mesh door that flexes Acceptance staff will push on it. If it gives, it is refused.
- No water bowl, or a bowl that cannot be filled from outside Handlers must be able to water the animal without opening the door.
- Wheels still attached Removable wheels must be removed, not just retracted.
- Missing or incorrect labelling Live Animals labels, orientation arrows, consignee details. All of it.
- Consignee name does not match the air waybill Not a crate fault, but it stops the shipment just as firmly — and it is the one that strands a pet on arrival rather than departure. What happens at the Dubai end is covered in pet cargo at Dubai airport.
Full requirements are published in the IATA Live Animals Regulations. We check every crate against the current edition rather than working from memory, because the detail does change.
Routes with the strictest crate rules
Crate scrutiny is not the same everywhere. Australia and New Zealand apply the tightest standards of any destination we ship to, and the United States has its own temperature and ventilation rules on top of the IATA baseline. Build extra time into these moves.
FAQ
Pet shipping crates — frequently asked questions
How do I know what size crate my pet needs?
Measure four dimensions with your pet standing naturally: A, nose to base of tail; B, ground to elbow; C, width across the shoulders or widest point; D, floor to the top of the head or ear tip, whichever is higher. The crate's minimum internal size is then length A plus half of B, width C doubled, and height D plus the depth of the bedding. Round up to the next available crate size, never down.
Is an airline approved crate from a pet shop good enough?
Not always. "Airline approved" is a marketing phrase, not a certification. Many crates sold that way ship with plastic clips rather than metal bolts, or lack external water-bowl access. Check the crate against the construction requirements rather than the label on the box.
Can my dog fly in a soft carrier or a wire cage?
No. Soft-sided carriers, collapsible crates and wire cages are not accepted for manifested cargo. The container must be rigid — hard plastic, fibreglass, metal or solid timber. Soft carriers are only used for in-cabin travel, which most carriers operating to and from the UAE do not offer except for assistance animals.
Why do snub-nosed breeds need a bigger crate?
Brachycephalic breeds have compressed airways and regulate their temperature less efficiently. The IATA Live Animals Regulations require a container 10% larger than the standard formula gives, to increase airflow around the animal. This is in the regulation itself, not an individual airline's policy, and several carriers add further restrictions on top — some refuse these breeds entirely in the hottest months.
Should I buy or hire a pet shipping crate in Dubai?
Buy if your pet will keep using it, or if you are moving more than one animal and can reuse it. Hire if this is a one-off move and you have no use for a large crate at the destination — shipping a bulky empty crate home afterwards is a cost most people do not plan for.
How far in advance should I get the crate?
At least four weeks before travel. That gives time to crate train properly — meals inside with the door open in week one, building to sleeping in it overnight by week four. A pet that already treats the crate as its own space travels far better than one meeting it for the first time on the day.
Not sure which size you need?
Send us your pet's four measurements and we will tell you the exact crate series — before you spend anything. Crate fitting is included in every booking we take.
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