This is a specific conversation about Dog travel crates — safe and airline-approved — ask about yours and get one honest answer for your exact situation.
inparticular.ai
A mesh door ripping out mid-flight is exactly the kind of failure that grounds a dog on the next trip — airlines take crate integrity seriously, and a damaged or structurally weak crate will be refused at check-in. Travel crates have very specific requirements depending on whether the dog is flying in the cabin or hold, and airline regulations vary significantly, so getting this wrong means your dog can't board. To point you to the right crate: what's your Ridgeback's approximate weight and measurements (length nose to tail, height at shoulder), which airline are you flying with, and is the dog travelling in the hold?
She's 3 years old, about 38kg, roughly 75cm nose to tail and 65cm at the shoulder. She flew hold on British Airways last time — same airline again. The mesh door on the crate we used just gave way, she must have pushed against it repeatedly during the flight.
inparticular.ai
That's a classic sign of an anxious dog putting sustained pressure on the door — mesh doors on cheaper plastic crates simply aren't built to withstand that. British Airways hold cargo requires IATA Live Animal Regulations compliance, which means the crate needs to be rigid, well-ventilated on at least three sides, and have a door that cannot be pushed open from the inside. For a 38kg Ridgeback you're looking at a size 500 crate minimum. What did the previous crate weigh empty, and do you know what brand it was? That helps me confirm whether the issue was the crate category or just that specific model.
It was a Ferplast Atlas — I think the size 80. Fairly lightweight plastic. I didn't weigh it but it felt pretty flimsy honestly. I just want something she genuinely cannot break out of.
inparticular.ai
The Ferplast Atlas is a budget crate and the mesh door is its weakest point — not the right choice for a powerful, anxious dog in the hold. For your Ridgeback I'd go straight to the Midwest Skudo 10 — it's a heavy-duty ABS plastic crate, IATA compliant, with a bolt-secured metal door rather than a mesh panel. The door latches at multiple points and the plastic shell is noticeably thicker than budget alternatives. At size 10 (roughly 91cm x 63cm x 66cm) it fits your dog's measurements with the required space to stand and turn. It's available on Amazon UK and is one of the more robust crates at this size without going to full airline-spec aluminium. Given what happened last time, I'd also suggest securing the door bolts with zip ties as a secondary measure — BA ground staff check for this and it's standard practice for anxious dogs.
That sounds much more solid. Does it meet BA's specific requirements, not just general IATA ones? And is there anything I need to attach to the outside?
inparticular.ai
The Midwest Skudo 10 meets IATA Container Requirement 82 which is what BA holds to for dogs in the hold — rigid walls, adequate ventilation, secure door, absorbent bedding floor. BA additionally requires live animal stickers on at least two sides (they provide these at check-in but worth printing your own), a water and food dish attached inside the door, and contact details plus feeding instructions in a document pouch on the top. You'll also need to leave the crate unfasted for security inspection at check-in, so make sure you can easily reopen and resecure the bolts. One more thing: introduce her to the crate at home well before travel — dogs who've had a bad experience in the hold benefit from a lot of positive crate time beforehand.
Really helpful, thank you. I'll go with the Midwest Skudo 10.
