Anyone taken pets from US to Gatwick with Virgin?

Hi, so I'm leaving the US for the UK next Wednesday, got all the paperwork done for the two cats I'm taking, except the health certificate. My vet said that we should get it ten days before we leave and get it sent to the USDA for approval. Well, I called Virgin tonight and they said that if we do this we will be turned back. She says we have to pre-book the cats (which I did over the phone) then they send us an emergency certificate pack which we get signed by the vet, no need for the USDA to stamp it.

Anyone else have any experience of this? I'm highly confused and with just over a week to go, a bit worried about who is right and who is wrong...

Thanks

First I've heard you can bypass the USDA vet. I overnighted the stuff to them with a return FedEx envelope and got the whole thing turned around in 24 hours (quicker than my visa, for which I paid a courier a fortune!).

But I flew Virgin (Boston to Heathrow) and they certainly knew their stuff.

Hmm, the lady said that flying to Heathrow does it that way, but Gatwick is different. I guess that might be where the confusion with the vet comes from.

Hmm, the lady said that flying to Heathrow does it that way, but Gatwick is different. I guess that might be where the confusion with the vet comes from.

The USDA endorsement isn't for the airline, though -- it's ultimately for DEFRA, who aren't going to care what Virgin told you.  There's no bypassing it, no matter the airline or the airport.  I'd call Virgin again and try to sort it out.  I don't understand why you'd be turned back with the proper paperwork, anyway. 

Might the Virgin rep be talking about the Virgin Pet Health Certificate (which will be in the packet they're sending you)?  That's NOT the big 998 health certificate that needs to be endorsed by the USDA.  It's a simple 1-pager that is signed by your vet 10 days in advance and serves as your vet's statement to the airline that the cats are "fit to fly."

OK, it appears I needed to do both. Got them signed today and need to overnight them to the USDA for approval. It cost $23 for each health certificate. I don't need to send any more money to the USDA with the package do I?

Edit: nevermind, I found out it's $76 plus $4.25 for the additional cat