Pet Transport Poland to Latvia: 2026 Guide

Warsaw to Riga is served directly by both LOT Polish Airlines and airBaltic. This gives owners of large dogs in cargo a useful choice of carriers, with both having established live animal procedures on this route.

LOT Polish Airlines runs from its home hub at Warsaw Chopin (WAW) to Riga (RIX). LOT Cargo handles live animal bookings on the WAW-RIX sector. Warsaw Chopin has the cargo infrastructure to manage live animals before departure.

airBaltic connects Warsaw to Riga, and since Riga is airBaltic’s home hub, the airline’s cargo processes at RIX are well-developed. airBaltic Cargo is often an efficient option for owners needing a cargo slot on this sector.

For cabin pets, either carrier’s standard policies apply. The Warsaw to Riga flight is approximately 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours, which keeps the journey short for both cabin and hold animals.

Ryanair may also serve Warsaw to Riga but accepts cabin pets only. For any dog that needs the cargo hold, Ryanair is not suitable on this route.

Latvia’s PVD (Pārtikas un veterinārais dienests) handles pet arrivals at Riga Airport (RIX). For intra-EU arrivals from Poland, the process is straightforward: PVD may conduct occasional spot checks, which involve scanning the microchip and checking it against the EU pet passport, then verifying that the rabies vaccination is current and was administered after the microchip was implanted.

For a Polish pet with a compliant EU pet passport, the check takes minutes. No import permit is needed, no titre test is required, and no quarantine applies.

The compliance point to verify before travel is the sequence in the passport. The microchip number must appear in the passport before the rabies vaccination entry. If a Polish vet entered the vaccination before scanning or recording the chip, the passport may not be accepted. Check with your vet that the sequence is correct when you next visit.