Thanks to a decision made by the United States Department of Transportation, airports serving over 10,000 passengers each year must offer at least one pet relief area in the post-security portion of each terminal.
According to N.B.C. News the legislation means there will be over 800 post-security animal relief areas across the United States, which will cost the Department of Transportation an estimated $88 million over the next 20 years.
Many airports have already installed the pet areas designed for passengers flying with service animals, including San Diego International Airport, Washington Dulles International Airport, Seattle–Tacoma International Airport and Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport.
Both Denver International Airport and Lambert–St. Louis International Airport added Service Animal Relief Areas in October, and Los Angeles International Airport added seven indoor pet relief stations in August.
This is another step in improving the travel experience for all passengers, especially those who rely on service animals to travel. Now those passengers with long layovers or connecting flights can more easily accommodate their animals with these new facilities without the hassle of going back through a security checkpoint.
The pet relief areas aren’t just for service animals, as they also cater to therapy-dog teams, K-9 security teams and emotional support animals.
Let's hope that this facility can be extended to all regular passengers who travel with their pets and even more so that our Canadian Airports will follow the U.SA. lead and provide the same service.