On multiple occasions throughout the past few months, United Airlines has gotten itself caught up in some serious bouts of pet-related turbulence. The most tragic of these incidents was the death of Kokito, a 10-month-old French bulldog who died after spending a three-hour flight in an overhead bin. The very next day United made headlines yet again after mistakenly sending a German shepherd halfway around the world to Tokyo, Japan instead of Wichita, Kansas. The German shepherd was reunited with its family later that week after a lavish flight home on private jet; however, both incidents have certainly led pet owners question just how safe it actually is to travel by plane with their beloved companions.

Truth is, the only way to guarantee your pet’s safety when traveling by plane is to not travel with them at all. Although steps are being taken in the wake of both incidents to ensure that airlines adhere to more stringent policies regarding pet safety, these new policies obviously cannot protect traveling pets on a case-by-case basis.

Sometimes you have no choice but to bring your furry friend onboard with you though. If that’s the case, this article from NBC News offers a wealth of useful tips that you’ll definitely want to take into consideration before you go: How to Keep Your Pet Safe on a Flight.

Some important takeaways from the article include wearing out your pet with plenty of exercise the night before your departure so that they’ll spend most of the trip asleep in addition to providing them with ice chips as a source of TSA-compliant in-flight hydration.

It’s become increasingly apparent that traveling by plane with pets is an ordeal that’s often stressful and sometimes even dangerous. Provide yourself with peace of mind during your next trip by doing everything possible to make sure that your pet’s travel experience is first-class.