Barcelona (pet migration)
Sep 2nd 2011, 12:45 am
#1
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Thread Starter
Joined: Apr 2008
Location: Spain
Posts: 35
Barcelona (pet migration)
I shall be bringing my dog to Spain through Barcelona airport. We are arriving from outside the EU. I should have all the required papers and vaccination +ID etc. Anybody had experience with Barcelona airport for pets arriving ?
Sep 2nd 2011, 1:29 am
#2
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Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 16
Re: Barcelona (pet migration)
I am also in Mexico, contemplating taking 2 cats to Spain. Whilst I do not have any knowledge of Barcelona airport I would be interested in your experiences. As it is a long flight , assuming that you are flying from DF, it will be interesting to find out how your dog handled the flight. Good luck.
Mexberry.
Mexberry.
Sep 2nd 2011, 1:33 am
#3
Just Joined
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 16
Re: Barcelona (pet migration)
I am also in Mexico, contemplating taking 2 cats to Spain. Whilst I do not have any knowledge of Barcelona airport I would be interested in your experiences. As it is a long flight , assuming that you are flying from DF, it will be interesting to find out how your dog handled the flight. Good luck.
Mexberry.
Mexberry.
Sep 2nd 2011, 1:51 am
#4
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
Joined: Apr 2008
Location: Spain
Posts: 35
Re: Barcelona (pet migration)
I am also in Mexico, contemplating taking 2 cats to Spain. Whilst I do not have any knowledge of Barcelona airport I would be interested in your experiences. As it is a long flight , assuming that you are flying from DF, it will be interesting to find out how your dog handled the flight. Good luck.
Mexberry.
Mexberry.
as there is a 6/7 hour wait at MX city for the onward flight. The things (and expense) we do for our pets 
still they are worth it . If I go before you do I'll let you know how it went.
Sep 3rd 2011, 2:48 pm
#5
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Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 7
Re: Barcelona (pet migration)
yes please let me know how it went I'm also bringing my dog through barcelona Airport next month..
Sep 3rd 2011, 2:49 pm
#6
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Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 7
Re: Barcelona (pet migration)
We are due to go in November. We are planning to fly to Mexico city one day before, stop in a hotel overnight and then fly the next day. This way the dog will not be locked away for almost 20 hours as there is a 6/7 hour wait at MX city for the onward flight. The things (and expense) we do for our pets still they are worth it . If I go before you do I'll let you know how it went.
as there is a 6/7 hour wait at MX city for the onward flight. The things (and expense) we do for our pets still they are worth it . If I go before you do I'll let you know how it went.
Sep 3rd 2011, 3:04 pm
#7
MODERATOR
Joined: Mar 2007
Location: Costa Valencia
Posts: 14,800
Re: Barcelona (pet migration)
As Concierges for the Spanish section of BE we would like to say hello and welcome.
BE is a very large expat website, so if you have problems finding your way around we have concierges who will try to direct you. The moderators for the Spanish forums are Mitzyboy and Fred James, moderators are there to ensure that the site runs smoothly within the rules of BE. Problems and complaints should always be addressed to a moderador who will look into the matter and deal with it efficiently and fairly. Our members who post in the Spain Forums are friendly and helpful with a wealth of knowledge of the issues of living in Spain. At the top of the page you will find a quirkily named thread called Free Beer which is full of important and useful information. Hope you enjoy your time participating in the forums.
Please let us know if you need any further help.
Rosemary and Graham
BE is a very large expat website, so if you have problems finding your way around we have concierges who will try to direct you. The moderators for the Spanish forums are Mitzyboy and Fred James, moderators are there to ensure that the site runs smoothly within the rules of BE. Problems and complaints should always be addressed to a moderador who will look into the matter and deal with it efficiently and fairly. Our members who post in the Spain Forums are friendly and helpful with a wealth of knowledge of the issues of living in Spain. At the top of the page you will find a quirkily named thread called Free Beer which is full of important and useful information. Hope you enjoy your time participating in the forums.
Please let us know if you need any further help.
Rosemary and Graham
Sep 3rd 2011, 3:33 pm
#9
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Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 16
Re: Barcelona (pet migration)
We will be flying to Spain either from Mexico City or Vancouver BC. Our 2 cats travel in the cabin under the seat. We will be routing ourselves through a city on the east coast, Newark, or New York, that gives us the shortest trans atlantic flight. If it take an extra day then that's fine. The UK are relaxing their rules about in transit pets sometime this winter, so flying through Heathrow may work also. We would not trust our pets to be put in cargo - too many horror stories for our liking. There is an airline that flies only pets within the USA - hopefully that will be extended to Europe soon. In the past Spanish authorities have treated us well, make sure all their papers , chips etc are ok and written in Spanish.
Sep 3rd 2011, 3:45 pm
#10
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
Joined: Apr 2008
Location: Spain
Posts: 35
Re: Barcelona (pet migration)
We will be flying to Spain either from Mexico City or Vancouver BC. Our 2 cats travel in the cabin under the seat. We will be routing ourselves through a city on the east coast, Newark, or New York, that gives us the shortest trans atlantic flight. If it take an extra day then that's fine. The UK are relaxing their rules about in transit pets sometime this winter, so flying through Heathrow may work also. We would not trust our pets to be put in cargo - too many horror stories for our liking. There is an airline that flies only pets within the USA - hopefully that will be extended to Europe soon. In the past Spanish authorities have treated us well, make sure all their papers , chips etc are ok and written in Spanish.
Sep 4th 2011, 6:32 pm
#11
Forum Regular
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 105
Re: Barcelona (pet migration)
We brought our dog (large Yorkie) from Atlanta to Barcelona about 3 years ago. Although he was probably over the weight limit, no-one weighed him (they just looked into his carrier) and he traveled in the cabin with us. We had a stuffed folder of paperwork that we tried to show to some very disinterested customs officers. We could have paraded a donkey through and not one would have lifted an eyebrow.
Sep 7th 2011, 1:02 pm
#12
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Apr 2008
Location: Catalonia, Spain
Posts: 530
Re: Barcelona (pet migration)
We bought 2 westies from Scotland to Barcelona via Frankfurt (no direct flights for pets from scotland available) - 4 years ago next month.
We used a professional pet shipping firm so we left the dogs with them in Edinburgh. They did all the export paperwork, last minute vet stuff, provided the pet carriers etc. It cost just under £1,200.
We gave our mobile number and were told we would be called when the dogs arrived. We were also given a phone number which we were told was at the airport and on which someone spoke english, in case of problems.
On the day the dogs were due to arrive we drove to the airport and parked in the multistorey carpark. When we knew the dogs should have landed and we had received no call we tried to call the phone number but, of course no-one did speak english. I was in the early stages of learning spanish but as soon as I said the word 'perro' they hung up on me. In desperation we went into the terminal building and went to the tourist information desk, where a very kind english speaking person called the number for us. He didn't get anywhere either as the person on the other end knew nothing about our dogs. He was able to tell us that the flight they were on was a cargo only flight and direct us to the cargo hold. We walked what seemed like miles around the airport perimeter round in what was now blistering heat until we found the place.
Eventually after waving around our copies of the paperwork, showing our passports and paying a 40 odd euro import fee we were directed to a warehouse. Our dogs eventually appeared in their crates on the back of a forklift truck. They had no water and were sitting on soiled newpaper. Their leads were tied onto the top of the crates and one of them was broken. We asked if we could bring the car around but were told 'no' as it was a secure area.
We got them out of the crates and they immediately pulled us towards a dirty puddle desperate for a drink (there had been a heavy thunderstorm the night before so puddles everywhere). I stayed with them while my husband went to move the car as close as he could but we still ended up struggling with them and the crates along part of the busy airport road with taxis flying past at high speed.
We never did get a call to say they had arrived. I wrote to the pet travel company complaining bitterly and they said they would pass on my comment to Lufthanza. Never heard another thing.
Both dogs recovered after a few days - not sure I ever will
Sorry to have related this tale but its worth being as prepared as you can be.
The airport has changed a lot in the last few years with a new terminal building etc Hopefully you won't have a similar experience to ours. Maybe there is a way you can park nearer to the cargo terminal. My advice is to find out as much as you can before you get there and don't rely on the spanish to follow procedure - they don't care much about animals in my experience.
Best of luck
We used a professional pet shipping firm so we left the dogs with them in Edinburgh. They did all the export paperwork, last minute vet stuff, provided the pet carriers etc. It cost just under £1,200.
We gave our mobile number and were told we would be called when the dogs arrived. We were also given a phone number which we were told was at the airport and on which someone spoke english, in case of problems.
On the day the dogs were due to arrive we drove to the airport and parked in the multistorey carpark. When we knew the dogs should have landed and we had received no call we tried to call the phone number but, of course no-one did speak english. I was in the early stages of learning spanish but as soon as I said the word 'perro' they hung up on me. In desperation we went into the terminal building and went to the tourist information desk, where a very kind english speaking person called the number for us. He didn't get anywhere either as the person on the other end knew nothing about our dogs. He was able to tell us that the flight they were on was a cargo only flight and direct us to the cargo hold. We walked what seemed like miles around the airport perimeter round in what was now blistering heat until we found the place.
Eventually after waving around our copies of the paperwork, showing our passports and paying a 40 odd euro import fee we were directed to a warehouse. Our dogs eventually appeared in their crates on the back of a forklift truck. They had no water and were sitting on soiled newpaper. Their leads were tied onto the top of the crates and one of them was broken. We asked if we could bring the car around but were told 'no' as it was a secure area.
We got them out of the crates and they immediately pulled us towards a dirty puddle desperate for a drink (there had been a heavy thunderstorm the night before so puddles everywhere). I stayed with them while my husband went to move the car as close as he could but we still ended up struggling with them and the crates along part of the busy airport road with taxis flying past at high speed.
We never did get a call to say they had arrived. I wrote to the pet travel company complaining bitterly and they said they would pass on my comment to Lufthanza. Never heard another thing.
Both dogs recovered after a few days - not sure I ever will
Sorry to have related this tale but its worth being as prepared as you can be.
The airport has changed a lot in the last few years with a new terminal building etc Hopefully you won't have a similar experience to ours. Maybe there is a way you can park nearer to the cargo terminal. My advice is to find out as much as you can before you get there and don't rely on the spanish to follow procedure - they don't care much about animals in my experience.
Best of luck
Sep 7th 2011, 1:25 pm
#13
Just Joined
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 16
Re: Barcelona (pet migration)
We bought 2 westies from Scotland to Barcelona via Frankfurt (no direct flights for pets from scotland available) - 4 years ago next month.
We used a professional pet shipping firm so we left the dogs with them in Edinburgh. They did all the export paperwork, last minute vet stuff, provided the pet carriers etc. It cost just under £1,200.
We gave our mobile number and were told we would be called when the dogs arrived. We were also given a phone number which we were told was at the airport and on which someone spoke english, in case of problems.
On the day the dogs were due to arrive we drove to the airport and parked in the multistorey carpark. When we knew the dogs should have landed and we had received no call we tried to call the phone number but, of course no-one did speak english. I was in the early stages of learning spanish but as soon as I said the word 'perro' they hung up on me. In desperation we went into the terminal building and went to the tourist information desk, where a very kind english speaking person called the number for us. He didn't get anywhere either as the person on the other end knew nothing about our dogs. He was able to tell us that the flight they were on was a cargo only flight and direct us to the cargo hold. We walked what seemed like miles around the airport perimeter round in what was now blistering heat until we found the place.
Eventually after waving around our copies of the paperwork, showing our passports and paying a 40 odd euro import fee we were directed to a warehouse. Our dogs eventually appeared in their crates on the back of a forklift truck. They had no water and were sitting on soiled newpaper. Their leads were tied onto the top of the crates and one of them was broken. We asked if we could bring the car around but were told 'no' as it was a secure area.
We got them out of the crates and they immediately pulled us towards a dirty puddle desperate for a drink (there had been a heavy thunderstorm the night before so puddles everywhere). I stayed with them while my husband went to move the car as close as he could but we still ended up struggling with them and the crates along part of the busy airport road with taxis flying past at high speed.
We never did get a call to say they had arrived. I wrote to the pet travel company complaining bitterly and they said they would pass on my comment to Lufthanza. Never heard another thing.
Both dogs recovered after a few days - not sure I ever will
Sorry to have related this tale but its worth being as prepared as you can be.
The airport has changed a lot in the last few years with a new terminal building etc Hopefully you won't have a similar experience to ours. Maybe there is a way you can park nearer to the cargo terminal. My advice is to find out as much as you can before you get there and don't rely on the spanish to follow procedure - they don't care much about animals in my experience.
Best of luck
We used a professional pet shipping firm so we left the dogs with them in Edinburgh. They did all the export paperwork, last minute vet stuff, provided the pet carriers etc. It cost just under £1,200.
We gave our mobile number and were told we would be called when the dogs arrived. We were also given a phone number which we were told was at the airport and on which someone spoke english, in case of problems.
On the day the dogs were due to arrive we drove to the airport and parked in the multistorey carpark. When we knew the dogs should have landed and we had received no call we tried to call the phone number but, of course no-one did speak english. I was in the early stages of learning spanish but as soon as I said the word 'perro' they hung up on me. In desperation we went into the terminal building and went to the tourist information desk, where a very kind english speaking person called the number for us. He didn't get anywhere either as the person on the other end knew nothing about our dogs. He was able to tell us that the flight they were on was a cargo only flight and direct us to the cargo hold. We walked what seemed like miles around the airport perimeter round in what was now blistering heat until we found the place.
Eventually after waving around our copies of the paperwork, showing our passports and paying a 40 odd euro import fee we were directed to a warehouse. Our dogs eventually appeared in their crates on the back of a forklift truck. They had no water and were sitting on soiled newpaper. Their leads were tied onto the top of the crates and one of them was broken. We asked if we could bring the car around but were told 'no' as it was a secure area.
We got them out of the crates and they immediately pulled us towards a dirty puddle desperate for a drink (there had been a heavy thunderstorm the night before so puddles everywhere). I stayed with them while my husband went to move the car as close as he could but we still ended up struggling with them and the crates along part of the busy airport road with taxis flying past at high speed.
We never did get a call to say they had arrived. I wrote to the pet travel company complaining bitterly and they said they would pass on my comment to Lufthanza. Never heard another thing.
Both dogs recovered after a few days - not sure I ever will
Sorry to have related this tale but its worth being as prepared as you can be.
The airport has changed a lot in the last few years with a new terminal building etc Hopefully you won't have a similar experience to ours. Maybe there is a way you can park nearer to the cargo terminal. My advice is to find out as much as you can before you get there and don't rely on the spanish to follow procedure - they don't care much about animals in my experience.
Best of luck
Some airlines in Canada welcome pets, their policies are reasonable given the severe winter conditions and as a result have seen a steady growth in passengers because they understand that owners care a great deal about their pets. They are a part of the family.
Sep 7th 2011, 1:58 pm
#14
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
Joined: Apr 2008
Location: Spain
Posts: 35
Re: Barcelona (pet migration)
We bought 2 westies from Scotland to Barcelona via Frankfurt (no direct flights for pets from scotland available) - 4 years ago next month.
We used a professional pet shipping firm so we left the dogs with them in Edinburgh. They did all the export paperwork, last minute vet stuff, provided the pet carriers etc. It cost just under £1,200.
We gave our mobile number and were told we would be called when the dogs arrived. We were also given a phone number which we were told was at the airport and on which someone spoke english, in case of problems.
On the day the dogs were due to arrive we drove to the airport and parked in the multistorey carpark. When we knew the dogs should have landed and we had received no call we tried to call the phone number but, of course no-one did speak english. I was in the early stages of learning spanish but as soon as I said the word 'perro' they hung up on me. In desperation we went into the terminal building and went to the tourist information desk, where a very kind english speaking person called the number for us. He didn't get anywhere either as the person on the other end knew nothing about our dogs. He was able to tell us that the flight they were on was a cargo only flight and direct us to the cargo hold. We walked what seemed like miles around the airport perimeter round in what was now blistering heat until we found the place.
Eventually after waving around our copies of the paperwork, showing our passports and paying a 40 odd euro import fee we were directed to a warehouse. Our dogs eventually appeared in their crates on the back of a forklift truck. They had no water and were sitting on soiled newpaper. Their leads were tied onto the top of the crates and one of them was broken. We asked if we could bring the car around but were told 'no' as it was a secure area.
We got them out of the crates and they immediately pulled us towards a dirty puddle desperate for a drink (there had been a heavy thunderstorm the night before so puddles everywhere). I stayed with them while my husband went to move the car as close as he could but we still ended up struggling with them and the crates along part of the busy airport road with taxis flying past at high speed.
We never did get a call to say they had arrived. I wrote to the pet travel company complaining bitterly and they said they would pass on my comment to Lufthanza. Never heard another thing.
Both dogs recovered after a few days - not sure I ever will
Sorry to have related this tale but its worth being as prepared as you can be.
The airport has changed a lot in the last few years with a new terminal building etc Hopefully you won't have a similar experience to ours. Maybe there is a way you can park nearer to the cargo terminal. My advice is to find out as much as you can before you get there and don't rely on the spanish to follow procedure - they don't care much about animals in my experience.
Best of luck
We used a professional pet shipping firm so we left the dogs with them in Edinburgh. They did all the export paperwork, last minute vet stuff, provided the pet carriers etc. It cost just under £1,200.
We gave our mobile number and were told we would be called when the dogs arrived. We were also given a phone number which we were told was at the airport and on which someone spoke english, in case of problems.
On the day the dogs were due to arrive we drove to the airport and parked in the multistorey carpark. When we knew the dogs should have landed and we had received no call we tried to call the phone number but, of course no-one did speak english. I was in the early stages of learning spanish but as soon as I said the word 'perro' they hung up on me. In desperation we went into the terminal building and went to the tourist information desk, where a very kind english speaking person called the number for us. He didn't get anywhere either as the person on the other end knew nothing about our dogs. He was able to tell us that the flight they were on was a cargo only flight and direct us to the cargo hold. We walked what seemed like miles around the airport perimeter round in what was now blistering heat until we found the place.
Eventually after waving around our copies of the paperwork, showing our passports and paying a 40 odd euro import fee we were directed to a warehouse. Our dogs eventually appeared in their crates on the back of a forklift truck. They had no water and were sitting on soiled newpaper. Their leads were tied onto the top of the crates and one of them was broken. We asked if we could bring the car around but were told 'no' as it was a secure area.
We got them out of the crates and they immediately pulled us towards a dirty puddle desperate for a drink (there had been a heavy thunderstorm the night before so puddles everywhere). I stayed with them while my husband went to move the car as close as he could but we still ended up struggling with them and the crates along part of the busy airport road with taxis flying past at high speed.
We never did get a call to say they had arrived. I wrote to the pet travel company complaining bitterly and they said they would pass on my comment to Lufthanza. Never heard another thing.
Both dogs recovered after a few days - not sure I ever will
Sorry to have related this tale but its worth being as prepared as you can be.
The airport has changed a lot in the last few years with a new terminal building etc Hopefully you won't have a similar experience to ours. Maybe there is a way you can park nearer to the cargo terminal. My advice is to find out as much as you can before you get there and don't rely on the spanish to follow procedure - they don't care much about animals in my experience.
Best of luck
My (near) neighbour owns a logistic company and at first was tempted to use them but was fearful of your own experience.
We have relations who work for the airline (in charge of cargo) so the first part of the journey I feel reasonably happy. It is the onward flight that does concern me, hence my questions re Barcelona airport. We were there in May and have to admit the terminal looked very spick and span so hopefully things have changed. We will also be traveling on the same A/C.
My wife's natural language is Spanish so that should help, also as we are not going untill November I'm just hoping the traffic will not be to busy.
Fortunately it is going to be a one way journey so there will be no repeat (just got to convince the dog that 24 hours of travel will be worth it
) Thanks for all replies
Oct 20th 2011, 12:47 pm
#15
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
Joined: Apr 2008
Location: Spain
Posts: 35
Re: Barcelona (pet migration)
(Sorry but Reviving this topic)
We now have two weeks to go and someone from the airline has caused the wife some anxiety regarding the dog with entry into Spain from Mexico.
Here http://costablanca.angloinfo.com/cou.../pettravel.asp
And here http://ec.europa.eu/food/animal/live...m_third_en.htm
It appears that the blood test is not required except for the 4 countries mentioned (I know the UK are changing next year)
Our dog has the chip, all the vaccinations, has had the initial and boosters for rabies. As far as I can make out from the second link Mexico falls into the "favourable" 3rd world countries.
We have spoken to the Mexican Agriculture dept responsible for issuing the required certificate and they say that a blood test is not required providing all of the above requirements are met.
From what I can gather the message we received is that should the airline accept the dog and the immigration at Barcelona reject the paperwork (no blood test), and this is what upset the wife, the dog would be put down.
We are going to visit the Agg,Dept again here to verify.
Sorry for this long post but would be interested to know of any experiences from anyone outside the first world countries who may have traveled to Spain.
We now have two weeks to go and someone from the airline has caused the wife some anxiety regarding the dog with entry into Spain from Mexico.
Here http://costablanca.angloinfo.com/cou.../pettravel.asp
And here http://ec.europa.eu/food/animal/live...m_third_en.htm
It appears that the blood test is not required except for the 4 countries mentioned (I know the UK are changing next year)
Our dog has the chip, all the vaccinations, has had the initial and boosters for rabies. As far as I can make out from the second link Mexico falls into the "favourable" 3rd world countries.
We have spoken to the Mexican Agriculture dept responsible for issuing the required certificate and they say that a blood test is not required providing all of the above requirements are met.
From what I can gather the message we received is that should the airline accept the dog and the immigration at Barcelona reject the paperwork (no blood test), and this is what upset the wife, the dog would be put down.
We are going to visit the Agg,Dept again here to verify.
Sorry for this long post but would be interested to know of any experiences from anyone outside the first world countries who may have traveled to Spain.