Vancouver International Airport

Miniature horses at Vancouver Int’l Airport

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A real dog and pony show at YVR Airport

The folks at Vancouver International Airport (YVR) know travel can be stressful.

That’s why this award-winning airport has great art, a public observation area, a giant aquarium and lots of other great amenities.

Since 2017, the airport has also had a pet therapy program called the Less Airport Stress Initiative or LASI (get it?).

Until now, the LASI program was staffed with dogs.

But this summer, the airport is adding miniature therapy ponies to the team.

Throughout the summer, Miniature horses, Magic and Tinkerbell (3 and 17 years old respectively), and their handlers will be visiting from Green Acres, a local organization dedicated to equine-assisted activities (EAA) to improve well-being.

So pack some carrots in your carry-on.

While YVR may be the first airport in Canada to welcome miniature horses to the airport, they are not the first airport in North America to do so.

For several years, starting in 2016, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) welcomed miniature therapy horses from a local farm to mingle with travelers.

Travel Tidbits from Airports Near You

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Here’s a quick roundup of fun posts and new amenities recently spotted at airports.

New York’s Albany International Airport (ALB) is getting ready for all the travelers who will be arriving for the Belmont Stakes horse race in Saratoga on June 8.

They’ve set up a selfie station with a horse statue just past the security checkpoint.

Party on!

Airports often put together a gate-side celebration when an airline kicks off a new route. But Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY) does it especially well.

We’ve been watching these Jabbrrbox workspace pods sprout at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) over the past few months and have yet to try them out. Given how busy the airport is this season, though, we’re sure travelers with work to do or important calls to take will find them useful.

We’re keeping an eye out for the colorful posts from airports in support of Pride Month.

Vancouver International Airport (YVR) is lighting up its tower with a two-fer in support of Indigenous History Month AND Pride Month.

And we got a kick out of this TSA post recognizing National Hug Your Cat Day. Is that even a real thing?

Travel Tidbits from airports here and there

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Flight attendant unions mark an anniversary

Shuffleboard (!) at United Airlines’ new DEN lounge

Sheep at London’s Gatwick Airport

Formula 1 car at Schiphol Airport

Pancakes for a cause at Vancouver Int’l Airport

Cool Airport Amenity: Smoothie Vending Machines at YVR Airport

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Here’s a great, new airport amenity we hope to see at other airports very soon.

In what may be a first for North American airports, Vancouver International Airport (YVR) has partnered with the Trendi Smoothies company to host smoothie vending machines at the airport.

The 24-hour vending machines offer sippable snacks that are nutritious and eco-smart because the smoothies are made from rescued fruit and vegetables.

Each machine can blend up a smoothie in about a minute. Flavor options include Groovy Guava, Mango Tango, and Strawburst; each with no added sugars or preservatives.

But what are ‘rescued’ fruit and vegetables?

They’re imperfect foods that aren’t quite pretty enough to send to retail stores but are otherwise just fine to eat.

Traveling to or through YVR soon? Look for the smoothie vending machines at Gates B13, B27, and B28 in domestic departures and D62 and E74 in US and international departures.

First Nations Welcome Figure lands at Vancouver Int’l Airport

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‘The Story of Frog Woman and Raven,” by Dempsey Bob, courtesy Vancouver Airport Authority

Vancouver International Airport (YVR) is well-known for its impressive art program featuring the work of many First Nations people.

Throughout and around the airport, passengers see art that draws on and invokes the themes of land, sea and sky. 

This week, the Vancouver Airport Authority righted a past cultural wrong in the airport art program by installing a new Musquem Indian Band welcome figure near the International Arrivals Area, in Chester Johnson Park.

The newly raised welcome figure, carved by ʔəy̓xʷatələq (Musqueam artist Brent Sparrow), is visible when you exit YVR’s International Terminal and is in a spot significant to Musqueam culture.

Courtesy Vancouver Airport Authority

Musqueam are the original stewards of Sea Island, which is the land where the airport is now located. And, per an agreement made between the airport and the Musqueam in 2017, the Indigenous artworks at the airport and on Sea Island are to be created by Musqueam, reflect their culture and tradition, or be approved by the Musqueam.

That’s why the airport also moved three traditional Gitxsan poles from the airport to a nearby park.

The poles were created in 1970 by Gitxsan hereditary chiefs and students, and have been on loan to YVR from the Museum of Vancouver since 1995. The poles at YVR predate the airport’s agreement with Musqueam and were moved because, while Indigenous artwork, they do not represent the Musqueam, whose land they were on.