Travel Tips

Travel Tip: Pet-Friendly Airports

Locations in this article:  Denver, CO Houston, TX Phoenix, AZ Portland, OR Seattle, WA Tacoma, WA

If you’re a pet owner, you know our pets are part of the family.

And while the airlines don’t make it easy to travel with animals, some airports are a different story.

In cities like Boston, Portland, Denver, and Columbus, Ohio, travelers can find small pet “relief” areas outside many terminals.

Usually it’s a fenced in patch of grass or Astroturf where dogs can do their business. Other airports have gone even further.

Reno-Tahoe airport has a Gate K-9 Bark Park equipped with fresh drinking water and plastic clean-up bags, and is landscaped with trees and shady areas.

Phoenix Sky Harbor has not one, but two dog exercise areas. At Terminal 4 you’ll find the 2,000 square-foot Bone Yard, and near Terminal 3 you’ll find the grassy Paw Pad.

In Seattle-Tacoma airport they’ve got a pet relief area INSIDE the main terminal, beyond the security checkpoint, which is great for pets on layover.

And, the Houston’s Bush Intercontinental Airport, Continental Airlines operates its own kennel in the cargo facility.

The rates are higher than most kennels: $100 the first night, and $15 for each additional night. But if your flight is delayed or canceled, it can be an easy way to shelter your pet until the next flight out.

For more tips on traveling with a four-legged companion, visit our Pet Travel section.

And get more of our Daily Travel Tips here.