Vueling is one of the few low-cost airlines in Europe that will let a small dog or cat ride in the cabin with you. It will not put any animal in the hold, though, so the whole policy comes down to one question: does your pet, inside its bag, fit 45 x 39 x 21 cm and weigh 10 kg or less? If yes, you can usually fly it on a Vueling or Iberia-operated flight for a fee that starts at EUR 50. If no, Vueling is not an option at all.
This guide covers every rule that matters before you book: which animals are allowed, the carrier size, the paperwork, how to add a pet to a booking, what happens at the airport, and the routes where Vueling does not carry pets. All of it comes from Vueling's Travelling with pets page and its Fly with my Pet help article, both read in November 2026.
Vueling pet rules at a glance
| Rule | What Vueling says |
|---|---|
| Where the pet travels | Cabin only. Never in the hold |
| Carrier | Soft, non-rigid, max 45 x 39 x 21 cm |
| Weight | 10 kg maximum, pet and carrier together |
| Animals allowed | Dogs, cats, birds (not birds of prey), turtles and tortoises |
| Animals refused | Rodents, rabbits, ferrets, farm animals, birds of prey, reptiles, fish |
| Per passenger and flight | 1 pet per passenger, 5 per flight (2 on Iberia-operated flights) |
| Fee | From EUR 50 domestic, from EUR 60 international and Canary Islands |
| Fare needed | Vueling Fly Light bundle or Iberia Basic fare |
| Not available | Flights to or from the UK and Iceland |
| Cats and dogs need | Microchip, pet passport, rabies vaccine 21 days to 12 months before the flight |
Which animals Vueling carries
Vueling publishes a short list of animals it accepts on board: dogs, cats, birds other than birds of prey, and turtles or tortoises. Everything else is refused, and the airline names the main groups it turns away: rodents, lagomorphs such as rabbits, mustelids such as ferrets, farm animals, birds of prey, reptiles and fish. Anything not on the permitted list, alive or dead, is treated as illegal animal trafficking, which is Vueling's way of saying there are no exceptions at the desk.
There is one narrower rule to know. On flights operated for Vueling by GetJet or AirHub, which are wet-leased aircraft that fly some summer routes, only cats and dogs are allowed. The operating carrier is shown on your booking, so check it if you are flying a bird or a tortoise in the busy months.
Vueling can also refuse any animal whose smell, poor health, poor hygiene or aggressive behaviour could upset or endanger other passengers. That is a judgement made at the airport, so a calm, clean pet in good health is part of the policy, not just good manners.
The carrier: 45 x 39 x 21 cm and soft-sided
The carrier has to be an approved, non-rigid bag no larger than 45 x 39 x 21 cm, and the total weight with the animal inside cannot exceed 10 kg. Hard plastic crates are not accepted in the cabin, because they cannot squeeze under the seat in front. The pet must be able to stand in a natural position, turn around and lie down inside the closed bag. A carrier that only just fits a curled-up dog does not meet that rule even if it is the right size.
The height limit of 21 cm is the one that catches most people out. Many soft carriers sold as "airline approved" are 25 to 28 cm tall, which suits US airlines but not Vueling. Measure the bag yourself, and measure at the tallest point, not at the label size. If the carrier sags a little when the pet lies down, that is normal for a soft bag and usually fine.
You can put two cats or two dogs in the same carrier, but only if they are the same species or from the same litter and the whole bag still stays within 10 kg and the size limit. In practice that means two kittens or two very small puppies, not two adult cats.
How much Vueling charges for a pet
Vueling lists the pet fee as from EUR 50 on domestic Spanish flights and from EUR 60 on international and Canary Islands flights. The fee is charged per pet and per flight, so a return trip with one dog is at least EUR 100 to 120. The exact figure appears when you add the pet during booking, and it can be higher on some routes, which is why Vueling uses the word "from".
The pet does not use your hand baggage allowance in the sense of replacing it, but there is only so much room under one seat. If your pet carrier goes under the seat in front, your other bag goes in the overhead locker, so plan for that when you choose a fare.
The fare you need to book
Vueling ties pet bookings to its fare bundles. The help article says you can fly with a pet if you choose the Vueling Fly Light bundle or, on Iberia-operated flights, the Iberia Basic fare. When you add a pet in the "Customise your flight" step, it is applied to every leg in the booking.
If you only want the pet on one leg, for example a one-way move from Barcelona to Rome with a separate return for yourself, the website cannot split it yet. Vueling says you can do it through its Customer Services Centre, subject to availability, or by making two separate bookings, one per leg. If you already have a booking and want to add a pet afterwards, you also have to call customer services.
Limits per passenger and per flight
Each passenger can bring one pet, and Vueling allows up to five pets in the cabin per flight. On flights operated by Iberia under a Vueling booking, the cap is two pets per flight. Those spaces go first come, first served, so book the pet at the same time as the ticket. A family with two dogs needs two passengers, and both pets need to fit the same flight limit.
The service is only offered on flights operated by Vueling or Iberia. If a codeshare or connecting segment is flown by another airline, that airline's own pet rules apply, and they may differ.
Routes where Vueling does not carry pets
Vueling's current page says the pet service is not available on flights to or from the UK and Iceland. Both countries require pets to arrive by approved routes, which for air travel into Great Britain means cargo on a few specific airlines. If you are heading to London with a dog, our guide to pet transport to the UK explains the approved routes and the timeline.
Ireland is not banned, but it has extra rules (covered below). An older Vueling groups document also listed Malta as excluded. Vueling's own current pet page does not, so treat it as allowed but check the booking flow shows the pet option before you pay.
Documents for cats and dogs
For flights within the EU, cats and dogs need a microchip and a European pet passport issued by a vet, as set out in the European Commission rules on pet movement. The passport has to show a rabies vaccination given at least 21 days before the flight and within the last 12 months, according to Vueling's main page. Vueling also says you must carry the pet's vaccination record and, on international flights, the passport itself. Our guide to the EU pet passport explains how it works and why US travellers cannot simply get one before they leave.
Birds and tortoises are not covered by the EU pet passport scheme in the same way, so check with the destination country's agriculture ministry if you are flying anything other than a cat or dog.
Extra rules for Ireland
Ireland adds steps on top of the EU basics. If you fly into Ireland from inside the EU or Schengen area, dogs need tapeworm treatment as well as the microchip and passport. If you fly in from outside the EU or Schengen area, Vueling says you also need a rabies antibody blood test, an email to the Irish agriculture department with your pet's documents, and a notification through the Irish Pet Import Portal at least 24 hours before arrival. Our guide to pet transport to Ireland covers the tapeworm timing window.
Flying into Spain from outside the EU
Plenty of people use Vueling for the last leg into Spain after a long-haul flight from the US or Latin America. If the pet does not already have an EU passport, Vueling says it needs an animal health certificate signed by an official vet in the country of departure, written at least in Spanish, plus a declaration, both on the EU format. If the pet comes from a country not listed in Annex II of EU Regulation 577/2013, it also needs a rabies antibody test from an approved lab (the list is in Regulation 577/2013). The United States is on that list, so US pets usually skip the titer, but the health certificate still has to be endorsed by USDA, as the USDA APHIS page for Spain explains. Our Spain pet transport guide walks through the US side.
Check-in and seating
Because of the pet, you cannot check in online and pick your own seat. On the day of the flight, go to the check-in desk, where staff will give you a boarding pass, assign a window seat and explain the rules. Passengers with pets cannot sit in the first row, which Vueling sells as Space One, or in emergency exit rows. Arrive early enough for the desk, especially in summer when queues at Barcelona El Prat are long.
Security screening with a pet
At security, the carrier goes through the X-ray scanner along with the leash and any food, and the pet goes through the walk-through metal detector with you, either in your arms or walking. Take the collar off if it has metal tags. Hold cats firmly or ask for a private screening room if your cat is likely to bolt, because airports are a bad place to lose one.
On board
The carrier stays on the floor or under the seat in front for the whole flight. Vueling is strict that the bag must not be opened at any point during the flight, and the pet stays inside until you have left the aircraft. Pet food can go in your hand luggage. On a short hop, most pets settle once the engines are steady, but a pet that is used to its carrier at home will cope far better. Our guide to flying with a cat in the cabin has carrier training tips that work for small dogs too.
Assistance dogs are a separate service
A trained assistance dog does not count as a pet on Vueling and is not subject to the carrier size or the fee. Vueling handles assistance dogs through its special assistance service, with its own rules and paperwork. Emotional support animals are a different matter and are generally treated as pets on European airlines. Our explainer on service dogs, emotional support animals and therapy dogs sets out the difference.
What to do if your pet is too big for Vueling
If your dog plus carrier weighs more than 10 kg, Vueling cannot help, because it does not carry pets in the hold. On the same routes, Iberia carries larger pets in the hold on its own flights, and our Iberia pet policy guide covers its hold weights and fees. Driving is the other common answer inside Europe, and many owners combine a long drive with a ferry rather than fly a big dog on a short route at all.
For a long-distance move with a large dog, such as Spain to the US, a professional shipper often ends up simpler than piecing together cargo bookings, especially with the US rules for dogs. Our guide to pet transport from Europe to the US explains when that makes sense.
A short checklist before you book
Measure the carrier, including height. Weigh the pet in the carrier on a bathroom scale. Confirm the flight is operated by Vueling or Iberia and is not to the UK or Iceland. Pick the Fly Light bundle and add the pet when you book. Check the rabies date in the passport against the 21 day and 12 month window. Book Ireland extras early. Arrive in time for the check-in desk. If all of that lines up, Vueling is one of the cheapest ways to take a small pet between European cities.