The German airline Lufthansa announced on Monday that in the coming months falcons are to be allowed in the cabin during flights in a specially designed “Falcon Master” tray.

“The Falcon Master ensures maximum hygienic protection of the cabin walls, seats and carpets from soiling by the birds,” the airline said in a statement.

The device is now in the design phase, and the certification process would likely take six to nine months before it is ready for use, a Lufthansa spokeswoman told AFP.

The target group would be customers from the Middle East, where falconry is “very popular”, said the statement.

While most airlines will allow a small domesticated cat or dog to travel with their owners in the cabin, provided it stays in its carrier or kennel under the seat and complies with the weight allowance (usually 6-9kg), American airlines United and Spirit also allow domestic birds, but not poultry or birds of prey.

Rabbits, guinea pigs and hamsters are less well-catered for but are allowed in the cabin with Finnair, United Airlines, Alaska Airlines and WestJet. Iberia welcomes tortoises on board, while Air Europa has one of the most inclusive pet policies, with fish, tortoises and some rodents all allowed in the cabin, and many other pets accepted as hold luggage.

Flights departing from or arriving in the UK are subject to more stringent restrictions set out by the pet travel scheme. Domestic animals can only enter the country via certain transport companies and routes, and they must also meet the entry requirements of a microchip, blood tests and rabies vaccinations.

Under the scheme, only assistance or emotional support animals are allowed in the cabin, with all other pets travelling as live cargo. But that doesn’t put everyone off. In 2013, a man on a Luton-bound easyJet flight shocked fellow passengers by producing a “harmless” pet snake from his hand luggage.