Flying With a Pet From Malaysia: Airline Rules, Permits and Costs (2026)

Two documents, one crate and an airline willing to take the animal. That is flying a pet out of Malaysia in one line. No carrier based here allows a pet in the cabin, and the biggest one, AirAsia, carries none at all.

Book a foreign airline, though, and the picture changes. Korean Air, Asiana, Vietnam Airlines and Hainan take small pets in the cabin. Air China, China Southern, Malaysia Airlines and Cathay Pacific move them in the hold or as freight. This guide covers what each airline accepts, what it charges, and what DVS and MAQIS want before a dog or cat leaves the country.

Key takeaways

• Malaysia Airlines is the only carrier based in Malaysia that takes pets on an ordinary booking, and only in the hold.
• AirAsia, AirAsia X and Firefly carry no pets at all.
• Cabin travel exists on Korean Air, Asiana, Vietnam Airlines, Hainan and VietJet, but not on any Malaysian carrier.
• A pet and its crate must stay under 32 kg as checked baggage, and Malaysia Airlines caps the crate at 204 cm combined.
• Export needs a MAQIS export permit and a health certificate from a state DVS office.
• China, South Korea and Vietnam each add their own entry permit, testing and quarantine, so the destination rules come first.

Three ways a pet can fly

Cabin travel keeps the animal under the seat in front of you. Korean Air, Asiana, Vietnam Airlines and Hainan all offer it on international routes, and each one caps the pet plus carrier between 6 kg and 7 kg. Malaysian airlines do not offer it at all.

Checked hold baggage, or AVIH in airline paperwork, is the usual route out of KLIA. Your pet flies in a pressurised, air-conditioned part of the hold on your own flight. Malaysia Airlines carries cats, dogs and fish this way.

Manifest cargo moves the animal as freight through a licensed forwarder. Large dogs and strict destinations go by cargo, because Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong and Brunei accept no pets as checked baggage on Malaysia Airlines.

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What each airline allows, and what it costs

The airline bills the animal plus crate at the excess baggage rate or a fixed pet fee, and a minimum charge applies at the counter. Permits, vaccinations and the vet visit sit outside that fee.

Carriers based in or near Malaysia:

Carriers to China, South Korea and Vietnam:

Malaysia Airlines: hold baggage, with hard limits

Malaysia Airlines carries cats, dogs and fish in the hold, with an adult passenger on the same flight. Animal and crate together must weigh under 32 kg, and combined length, width and height cannot pass 204 cm. Puppies and kittens fly from eight weeks if fully weaned, and the pet goes onto your ticket through the call centre.

Nothing is loaded when the forecast at any airport on the route is above 29.4°C or below 7.2°C, though an acclimation certificate stretches the cold limit to minus 6.6°C. Kuala Lumpur afternoons beat 29.4°C for much of the year. Book a morning departure. Cargo runs through MASkargo, with pets at the MABkargo Animal Hotel six to seven hours ahead. One route quirk matters for China: Malaysia Airlines does not carry live animals on flights departing China.

AirAsia and AirAsia X: no pets at all

AirAsia's help centre states that the airline does not accept any pets or animals on board, in the cabin or the hold. Guide dogs fall under the same rule, and the restriction applies on its China, Korea and Vietnam routes too.

Batik Air Malaysia: cargo only

Batik Air Malaysia, which flew as Malindo Air until 2022, publishes no cabin pet product and does not list animals among the items it takes as checked baggage. Live animals move through its cargo operation and a licensed forwarder.

Firefly: no animals on board

Firefly flies turboprops and narrow-body jets from Subang and Penang, and its conditions of carriage rule out animals. Assistance dogs are considered case by case.

Korean Air and Asiana: the cabin option to Seoul

Both Korean carriers take pets in the cabin, which makes Seoul the easiest long-haul city in this guide for a small animal. Korean Air allows one pet in the cabin and two more as checked baggage on the same booking, with the carrier capped at 32 × 45 × 19 cm. Sedated and pregnant pets are refused. Asiana sets a firmer cabin limit of 7 kg including the carrier, and keeps pets out of Business Class.

Neither airline carries flat-faced breeds in the hold. Korean Air's list runs to Chihuahuas, Pugs, Boxers, Bulldogs, Shih Tzus, Boston Terriers, Shar Pei, Chow Chows, Persians, British Shorthairs and Scottish Folds, among many others. Fees are tiered by distance: Korean Air charges KRW 30,000 on domestic routes, KRW 150,000 short-haul, KRW 225,000 medium-haul and KRW 300,000 long-haul for a pet plus crate up to 32 kg. Asiana charges KRW 140,000 to China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan and Mongolia, and KRW 210,000 on other Asian routes. Both want the booking 24 hours ahead domestically and 48 hours ahead internationally.

Air China, China Southern and Hainan: checked hold only

Air China puts dogs and cats in the hold, one pet per passenger and one crate per flight. The combined weight cannot pass 32 kg, and anything heavier becomes cargo. Pets travel on direct Air China flights, or connections through Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu with more than 2.5 hours of transit, and a transit over four hours means claiming the animal and checking it in again. Crates must meet China's own national standard, GBT26543-2011, on top of the IATA rules.

China Southern is stricter on timing. Applications go in at least 72 hours before departure and need explicit approval, and small animals fly only on direct China Southern flights. China also requires a 15-digit ISO microchip for entry, so the chip has to be in place before the rabies shot and before the permit goes in.

Hainan Airlines is the outlier of the three, because it takes pets in the cabin as well as the hold. Small dogs, cats, rabbits and ducks are allowed, two pets per passenger in separate soft carriers, and the hold limit is 32 kg including crate, food and water. Its temperature window is unusual: nothing moves below minus 12°C or above 30°C. Hainan also wants reservations 48 hours ahead, direct flights only.

Cathay Pacific: Hong Kong means cargo

Cathay Pacific carries no pets in the cabin, and checked baggage only works on flights departing Hong Kong. Hong Kong is a cargo-only destination, so the hub route from Kuala Lumpur adds nothing. Book early if your animal is flat-faced, because Cathay accepts those breeds as cargo only between January and May and between October and December, and only through an IPATA agent. Pit Bull types, Dogo Argentino, Fila Brasileiro, Japanese Tosa and Sphynx cats are refused outright.

Vietnam Airlines and VietJet: cabin pets to Vietnam

Vietnam Airlines takes small dogs and cats in the cabin up to 6 kg including the carrier, with the carrier capped at 35 × 30 × 20 cm and the pet at least 10 weeks old. One pet is allowed in Business Class and two in Premium Economy or Economy. Checked baggage takes pets up to 32 kg including the crate, with a maximum of nine animals per flight and three per passenger. Bookings close 24 hours before departure, and the counter check-in is two hours ahead.

VietJet sells cabin space on domestic Vietnam flights only, up to 7 kg including the carrier, from around VND 4,000,000, with the animal at least 10 weeks old and vaccinated against rabies at least 30 days earlier. International VietJet routes take no pets, and the airline carries none in the hold.

Singapore Airlines: the option through Changi

Singapore Airlines takes cats and dogs as checked baggage under the same 32 kg limit, sets a minimum age of three months, and asks for reservations 14 days ahead. Pets cannot travel in the hold of its B737 aircraft, and crate height limits differ by aircraft: 70 cm on the A350, 60 cm on the A380, 101 cm on the B777 and 111 cm on the B787.

China, South Korea and Vietnam: what changes on arrival

Airline approval is half the job, and the destination sets the other half. Start here, because the timeline is decided by the country you are flying into, not by the carrier.

China is the strictest of the three. Expect an entry permit, a 15-digit ISO microchip and a crate built to the GBT26543-2011 standard, plus quarantine on arrival whose length depends on the rabies status of the country the pet is flying from. Confirm the current conditions with China Customs and the airline before you book a flight.

South Korea asks for a rabies antibody test, which Korean Air lists as a requirement for pets entering the country. The test has to be taken well before departure, so a move to Seoul starts earlier than a move to Bangkok.

Vietnam wants an exit or entrance permit alongside the health certificate and the rabies record. Both Vietnamese carriers ask for the animal's vaccination book and a signed release of liability at check-in.

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Flying a pet out of Malaysia, step by step

Allow six weeks for a simple move and three months for a rabies-free destination. Each document depends on the one before it.

1. Read the destination's rules first. Australia, New Zealand, Japan, the United Kingdom and South Korea want a rabies antibody blood test weeks before departure. DVS publishes separate protocols for pets from Canada, Australia, scheduled countries and non-scheduled countries.
2. Microchip and vaccinate. The chip number must appear on the health certificate, the vaccination record and the airline's forms. Many destinations want the microchip implanted before the rabies shot, and China insists on a 15-digit ISO chip.
3. Book the pet onto your ticket. Malaysia Airlines wants the animal added at booking, Hainan Airlines and Korean Air want 48 hours, China Southern wants 72 hours, and Singapore Airlines asks for 14 days.
4. Apply for the MAQIS export permit and the DVS health certificate. The permit comes from MAQIS through the ePermit Dagangnet system, and the certificate from the state DVS office that examines your pet.
5. Buy an IATA crate and test it. The animal must stand, turn and lie down, and the crate needs a waterproof floor, side ventilation and a spring-loaded door lock. Malaysia Airlines asks for metal bolts instead of plastic clips, and China-bound pets need the GBT26543-2011 build.
6. Clear MAQIS at the airport. Officers inspect the animal and the original documents before loading, so carry the export permit, health certificate, vaccination book and the destination's import permit in one folder.

Moving between Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah or Sarawak

A Kuala Lumpur to Kota Kinabalu flight is domestic, with quarantine rules attached. Peninsula to Sabah or Sarawak needs a health certificate from your state DVS office plus that state's entry conditions. The return direction adds an export permit from the Sabah or Sarawak DVS.

Bringing a pet into Malaysia

Import runs through MAQIS, not DVS. The permit comes from ePermit Dagangnet, the animal needs a health certificate from the competent authority in its country of origin, and quarantine must be booked at a MAQIS station before arrival. Malaysia also sets a minimum age of three months and bars several dog breeds outright.

Breeds and limits that stop a booking

Flat-faced dogs and cats handle heat and low pressure badly, and most carriers refuse them. Malaysia Airlines will not carry Pugs, Bulldogs, Boxers, Chihuahuas, Shih Tzus, Pekingese, Boston Terriers, Chow Chows or Akitas in the hold. Flat-faced cats are refused too. Korean Air adds Shar Pei, Cavalier King Charles Spaniels and all six flat-faced cat breeds, and Cathay Pacific bans Sphynx cats outright.

Malaysia's import rules block Akitas, American Bulldogs, Dogo Argentinos, Fila Brasileiros, Japanese Tosas, Neapolitan Mastiffs and Pit Bulls, and require written approval for Bull Mastiffs, Bull Terriers, Dobermans, German Shepherds and Rottweilers. Asiana and Korean Air refuse Pit Bull types, Tosas, Rottweilers and Mastiffs on any booking.

Four things to do before departure day

• Crate train for weeks. Leave the crate open at home with bedding and a treat inside.
• Send a familiar smell. An unwashed t-shirt gives a pet something of home in an unfamiliar hold.
• Feed light, then stop. A light meal several hours before departure limits motion sickness, and a bowl of water frozen overnight thaws slowly in transit.
• Ask your vet about sedation. Korean Air refuses sedated pets, and the carrier's conditions of carriage leave the animal's health with you.

Planning the rest of the move

Trip.com lists the fares of Malaysia Airlines, AirAsia, Korean Air, China Southern, Vietnam Airlines and the rest side by side, which shows at a glance which route carries a pet. Compare flights before you settle on a date, add a hotel near the airport for the night before an early departure, and book an airport transfer that can take a crate. The Kuala Lumpur travel guide covers the capital if the move starts there, and Kota Kinabalu is the practical landing point on the Borneo side. Owners heading south towards Singapore pass through Johor Bahru, while Melaka, Langkawi and Genting Highlands make easy short trips once the animal is settled. If the move runs the other way, the Seoul, Beijing and Shanghai guides cover the arrival end.