Pet relocation from Mumbai

Moving a pet from Mumbai

If your move from Mumbai starts with a job, the company has probably set the start date already, and the dog or cat has to fit into a calendar someone else wrote. Nikhil has seen companies start paying for the pet on senior moves, so where there's a mobility team we work with it directly, keep one file, and say early if the pet's timeline is longer than the person's. For the UK or Singapore it usually is, because of the titre and the wait.

The monsoon is Mumbai's own problem. IMD's figures for the city put July's average rainfall at 840.7 mm over about 23 rainy days, with June and August not far behind. That changes the road leg more than the flight. We plan the drive to the airport with time in hand, our people make it with your pet, and we'd rather wait at the cargo terminal than race the water.

Mumbai's airport lists live animal storage in both its international and its domestic cargo terminals, and its cargo side runs round the clock. A pet flying as cargo is checked in on the cargo side, away from the passenger terminal, and handed over there.

AQCS Mumbai's station is at Koper Khairane in Navi Mumbai, and it lists an airport office as well. The export certificate is issued after your pet is examined, about a week before the flight by appointment, and it's valid for 10 days.

Mumbai is also one of four ports where India imports live animals other than dogs and cats. A horse coming home, or a pet bird with its DGFT licence, can land here, then goes into quarantine at the AQCS station for 30 days.

Coming home to Mumbai with a dog or cat works the other way round. You apply for the Advance NOC yourself on ATITHI 2.0, with your own passport details, at least seven days before boarding, and the airline won't lift your pet without it. We check every paper before you press submit. When he lands, AQCS looks at the original documents at the airport and issues the final NOC, and customs clears him on the strength of it.

Heat matters less in Mumbai than in Delhi, with the city's warmest month averaging a high near 34°C. The airline's limits still apply at the airport your pet connects through, and Emirates only carries snub-nosed breeds under set conditions from November to April.

Inside India, Mumbai to Bengaluru or Delhi is a domestic flight. Air India and Akasa carry dogs and cats, and IndiGo doesn't. Whichever airline it is, a vet's fitness certificate travels with the pet.