Animals

Wildlife spotted at Juneau International Airport

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Alaska’s Juneau International Airport (JNU) is far from flashy.

The most recent terminal renovation at JNU added some impressive pieces of art but left behind the taxidermy animals travelers have long associated with landing in this city.

We spotted arriving passengers dropping their bags to take selfies with these critters. And we wondered if grizzly bears were still around. “Oh, yes,” my Alaska-born seatmate told me on the return trip, pulling out her phone to show me a wobbly video of a large grizzly she and her family had encountered while strawberry picking on a remote beach the day before.

Travel Tidbits: Animals at Airports

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Update on the giant flamingo at Tampa Int’l Airport

The airport art team at StuckatTheAirport.com can barely wait for Tampa International Airport to finish the installation of a 21-foot tall sculpture of a flamingo in the main terminal.

When completed the big bird will appear to be gently dipping its head beneath the water’s surface.

TPA shared the news this week that the 6,0000 pounds of custom-made ceiling panels designed to replicate the surface of the water surrounding the flamingo have finally arrived in Tampa from Japan and are being prepared for installation.

On Watch for Wildlife at SEA Airport

Speaking of wildlife…

There’s a new exhibit at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) encouraging passengers to help save endangered animals around the world.

The exhibit includes information about endangered animals and illegal animal trafficking.

Included in the display are examples of confiscated illegally trafficked wildlife artifacts alongside sustainable look-alikes.

Look for the exhibit in SEA’s S Concourse, the departure point for most international flights.

Airports celebrate National Puppy Day

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Today is National Puppy Day. So get ready for lots of photos of airports pup to pop up on social media,

We’ll start off with Heathrow Airport’s early tweet and add more as we spot them.

Feel free to share pics of the way your airport’s pups are celebrating.

Travel Tidbits from SFO + Finnair +Indiana State Museum

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SFO’s Wag Brigade Gets a Bunny

Most airports that had them before the pandemic have now brought back their teams of stress-busting therapy animals to the terminals.

A great example is SFO’s Wag Brigade, which is made up of about a dozen cute pups, a pig named LiLou, and the newest member of the team, a 28-pound Flemish Giant rabbit named Alex the Great. Look for them all next time you’re in SFO.

Finnair handing out Nort Pole Diplomas

Yes, even adults love getting a set of plastic wings when onboard some airplanes. But Finnair has brought back a cool amenity for travelers: a certificate for passengers who have flown over the North Pole.

Back in 1983, when Finnair became the first airline to fly non-stop from Europe to Japan, passengers on the carrier’s Tokyo flights were given a certificate for flying over the North Pole.

Now, Finnair is using that polar route again in order to avoid flying in Russian airspace. And the carrier has brought back the certificate – plus some Moomin stickers.

On March 9, flight AY073 from Helsinki to Tokyo Narita headed towards the North Pole, instead of heading East. With this flight, Finnair resumed its service to Tokyo Narita, skirting around Russian airspace that closed on February 28.

Where We’d Go: Indiana State Museum

Now that the Stuck at the Airport museum team is back in the field, we’re adding a stop to the Indiana State Museum to our list so we can see the exhibit about Major Taylor: Fastest Cyclist in the World.

Airports deal with fire, a water main break, and the return of the dogs

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It was quite a Monday for some airports around the country. The day started out like this at Denver International Airport

Wag Brigade back at SFO

San Francisco International Airport (SFO) announced that the SFO Wag Brigade, a team of certified stress-relief animals, is back on duty in the terminals after a 20-month absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The San Francisco SPCA certifies all participating animals through their Animal Assisted Therapy (ATT) Program. And, prior to returning to SFO, all Wag Brigade animals were recertified. We hope that means LiLou the airport therapy pig that used to visit SFO about once a month will return soon too.

Fire at DFW, No Water at CLT Airport

Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) had to deal with a water main break nearby today.

And at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), there was a fire in one of the parking garages.

Let’s hope things go smoother on Tuesday.

Airports have gone to the dogs

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Thursday was National Dog Day and airports went all out to celebrate their favorite pooches.

First, let’s congratulate Alona, who works at Mccarran International Airport in Las Vegas, who is this year’s winner of the TSA’s Cutest Canine contest.

Here are some of the other working dogs at airports around the country who got some extra love and attention on National Dog Day too. All winners.

https://twitter.com/iah/status/1430990935547072516?s=20

Did we miss the pups at your favorite airport? Let us know and we’ll add them to the list.

Airports bow (wow) to National Work Like a Dog Day

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AND – THIS WAY TO O’HARE

National Work Like a Dog Day isn’t officially about dogs. (It’s about not being afraid to do hard work) But airports – and the TSA – took the opportunity to show off their working dogs.

And talk about working hard when you don’t have to

Take a look at this sign pointing the way to O’Hare Airport.

Snakes, scorpions, and Qantas planes

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Courtesy Qantas

Like a lot of airlines, Qantas is storing planes in the Mojave Desert while it waits for travel to return to pre-COVID levels.

The dry heat and low humidity of the desert make the California desert a good place to store the airline’s A380 aircraft. But engineers tasked with maintaining the planes have created their own special tool to deal with rattlesnakes and scorpions that like to hang out in and around the airplane wheel well and tires.

Qantas Manager for Engineering in Los Angeles, Tim Heywood, explains in a Qantas “Roo Tale,” that engineers make regular trips from LA to Victorville, CA to do aircraft inspections and that “encounters of the slithering and rattling kind are all part of the job.”

“Every aircraft has its own designated ‘wheel whacker’ – a repurposed broom handle- as part of the engineering kit, complete with each aircraft’s registration written on it,” said Heywood. “The first thing we do before we unwrap and start any ground inspections of the landing gear, in particular, is to walk around the aircraft stomping our feet and tapping the wheels with a wheel whacker to wake up and scare off the snakes. That’s about making sure no harm comes to our engineers or the snakes.”

New rules for service and emotional support animals on airplanes now in effect

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The U.S. Department of Transportation’s new rules regarding service animals and emotional support animals on airplanes goes into effect January 11, 2021.

You can read all the details here, but here are some key points to keep in mind if you’re planning on flying on a commercial flight with a service animal, emotional support animal, or pet.

The new rules define a service animal as “a dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of a person with a disability.”

If you are planning on flying with service dog, you will be required to submit a standardized federal form to your airline attesting to the health and training of the animal and comply with other rules.

The big change is that DOT no longer considers emotional support animals to be service animals and has given airlines permission to stop giving those animals free rides.

To no surprise, many airlines are rolling out “no emotional support animals” policies. Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Frontier, Hawaiian Airlines, JetBlue, and United Airlines have already posted policies or issued statements stating that emotional support animals, be they pigs, dogs, birds, or possums, will no longer be allowed on flights after January 11. We expect other airlines to follow suit.

Pets still good to go. For a fee

Of course, airlines are happy to take pets on flights if they meet the requirements and have a paid ticket. Here are the current fees for buying a ticket for a pet to fly in the cabin on a domestic flight.

Alaska Airlines: $100 each way in the cabin; Pets allowed in the passenger cabin are dogs, cats, rabbits, and household birds.

American Airlines: $125 each way.

Delta Air Lines: $125 each way. Pets allowed: small dogs, cats, and household birds.

Frontier: $99 each way. Pets allowed: dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, and small household birds.

Hawaiian Airlines: $35 within Hawaii; $125 between Hawaii and mainland. Pets allowed: cats and dogs.

JetBlue: $125 each way.

Southwest: $95 each way. Pets allowed: small cats and dogs.

United Airlines: $125. Pets allowed: cats and dogs.

Temple cats – 19th to early 20th century

Alaska Airlines to give emotional support animals the boot

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Back on the leash

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has ruled that airlines no longer have to make the same accommodations for emotional support animals as they do for trained service dogs.

So it was just a matter of time before airlines starting to change their policies.

And now the changes have begun.

“This regulatory change is welcome news,” said Ray Prentice, director of customer advocacy at Alaska Airlines, in a statement. “It will help us reduce disturbances on board while continuing to accommodate our guests traveling with qualified service animals,”

Alaska Airlines is the first to take action. Starting January 11, 2021, the airline will only allow trained service dogs to travel for free in the cabin.

Under the revised policy, Alaska will only accept two service dogs per guest in the cabin, including psychiatric service dogs. Anyone flying with service dogs will have to complete a DOT form attesting that their animal is a legitimate service dog, is trained and vaccinated, and will behave during the flight.

Emotional support animals, whether they be pigs, monkeys, hamsters, lizards, or miniature horses, will no longer be allowed in the cabin.

Pets, including dogs, cats, rabbits, and household birds, can still fly, but they must be ticketed, at $100 each way. And passengers who bring pets onboard must keep them in a carrier, which counts towards the carry-on bag allotment.

So no more emotional support animals taking up a seat or a tray table. Or getting under you feet.

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