Pet Friendly Airport Series - Introduction to Los Angeles

Welcome to Week Two of our monthlong Pet Friendly Airport Series! This week we'll be featuring LAX (Los Angeles International), which was the sixth busiest airport in the world in 2009. This hub sees millions of human passengers each year and plenty of non-humans as well, so we thought at what they offer in terms of pet relief areas.

First, it's worth discussing how and why areas like this have come about. It's tough to keep up with every bit of new legislation that comes along, but recent changes to something called the Air Carrier Access Act amounted to noteworthy news for pet travelers. Expansions to these regulations now require airports to provide better accommodations for travelers with disabilities, many of whom are accompanied by service animals. This means, if airports are following the law, that anyone with an animal in tow (be it a guide dog or a pet Chihuahua) will now be supplied with a place to go for bathroom breaks and exercise. 

In LAX, for example, there are now a handful of pet relief areas to choose from - five, to be exact. The Pet Parks can be found near terminals 1-6 and 8. Many of these handy hideaways offer water, room to run around, doggie houses, clean-up baggies and colorful decorative fire hydrants. Though all the areas are located curbside (that's outside of security), the fact that there are five of them means that, when it's time for a necessary break, at least you'll have options. We'll go into more detail as the week goes on, so stick around, pet travelers!