Myth vs. Fact - "The Cargo Hold is Indeed Pressurized"

There are many misconceptions surrounding the safety of transporting pets by airplane. One of the more common myths is "the cargo hold of the plane is not pressurized".

For the record, not true. The fact is the cargo hold of the commercial aircraft which accept pets for travel are pressurized. An airplane is just a big tube with the floor separating the passenger compartment from the cargo hold. It is more efficient to pressurize the entire tube than to attempt to compartmentalize.

One source of the misconception may come from some of the larger airplanes such as 747s. Many larger planes actually have 4 separate compartments or "bins". In these aircraft bins 2 and 3 (the middle two) are often unpressurized. However, bins 1 and 4 are pressurized which works out well because this also ensures pets are the last to be loaded on the plane and the first to be taken off.