Travellers go to the dogs at busy mega airport
– Six-year-old Kuki and one-and-a-half-year old Alita recently joined the staff of Istanbul Airport, one of the busiest in the world, with a mission to provide solace for stressed travellers.
At international departures just before passport control, the two dogs welcome passengers, some who are in a hurry, some feeling the tug of anxiety and some hanging around to say goodbye to loved ones.
Ali Bahtiyari, who was travelling outside his native Iran for the first time, was amazed as soon as he saw Kuki – a playful, dark brown Lagotto Romagnolo breed with thick curly fur, and Alita – a black-and-white border collie with expressive eyes.
“I’ve been in Istanbul for three to four days. I walked a lot. I was physically exhausted. But seeing these dogs here produced too much endorphins. I’m not tired at all,” the 31 year old said, petting the two dogs before catching his flight. “I’m so happy that they are here.”
The two dogs – part of five-member team – and their handlers have for two months been mingling with passengers awaiting flights at the mega airport that serves more than 76 million passengers last year.
“We implemented the therapy dog project to provide our guests with a better flight experience and to reduce any flight stress,” Volkan Arslan, a vet who is coordinating the project, said.
Five dogs, including Kuki and Alita, went through serious training, roaming domestic and international terminals. Two more dogs will join them once done with their tutoring. The dogs are the only canines permanently stationed at the airport, which only uses sniffer dogs when police are summoned by customs agents. They have been working for five days on rotation for three hours a day.
Their schedules depend on their breed. “A border collie, Alita is very energetic, loves spending time with our guests, so we keep her schedule a little longer,” Arslan said. “Kuki wants to rest and is unwilling to put in too much effort, so we keep his schedule shorter.”
While walking to the passport control, Fatima Bouzerda said in large airports like Istanbul, travel could be stressful. “So something like this, it’s so cute and it makes us less stressed,” she said.
Abdulkadir Demirtas, customer experience manager at Istanbul Airport, said the guests’ feedback was all positive. “People who are hesitant to approach the dog at first can interact with them in seconds,” he said. “This makes us very happy.” –