An Exclusive Airport Just For Animals: ‘The Ark’ To Open In America


Air travel has always been a hassle for us humans. However, the experience is almost always less-than-cordial for animals. Fortunately for our animal friends, the experience will soon change with the deployment of “The Ark” – an airport terminal dedicated for the non-humans.

John F. Kennedy Airport is set to open the first privately-owned animal terminal in the world. Christened as The Ark, the airport terminal is set to become functional as early as next year. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has signed a 30-year lease deal with Ark Development, an affiliate of the real estate company Racebrook Capital, to design and build a 178,000-square-foot animal cargo facility at the Queens, New York-based airport.

The Ark Will Feature All The Amenities For Animals
The Ark Will Feature All The Amenities For Animals

Apart from offering the best of air-transport facilities for animals, the $48 million project is expected to create 180 jobs and generate $108 million in revenues over its 30-year span.

Speaking about the project Cliff Bollmann, an architect at Gensler, one of the firms designing the facility, said, “For the animals who [will] pass through The Ark, as well as the people who own them, air travel can be stressful and confusing. Aligning the needs of quarantine with kenneling and elevating the experience for animals and their owners, our design team sought to create a comfortable, healthy environment for them all”

The Ark will include a departure lounge with comfortable places to sit, eat, and drink. Apart from the essentials, the airport will also have individual climate-controlled bedrooms for horses and cattle. The terminal will also boast a team of veterinarians as well as a full-fledged aviary. However, realizing that majority of the people who are expected to use this facility will be either cat or dog owners, the terminal will have a “Paradise 4 Paws” for cats and dogs. These luxurious facilities are expected to have bathing and grooming sections, apart from a recreational section to keep your pets occupied.

The Ark Will Ensure Air Travel Is Least Stressful To The Animals
The Ark Will Ensure Air Travel Is Least Stressful To The Animals

With over 50 million people using the JFK airport, is certainly one of the busiest airports in the world. Needless to say, though radical, the terminal does address a critical prerequisite of travel for people with pets or of animals that need to be safely transported, said John J. Cuticelli, Jr, the chairman of Racebrook Capital.

“The concept tackles unmet needs of traveling companion, sporting and agricultural animals. The terminal will set new international airport standards for comprehensive veterinary, kenneling and quarantine services.”

Airlines have long been blamed for turning their airplanes into flying tubes that are being crammed with people as if we are cattle. Now it seems even “cattle” may travel better than humans.

[Image Credit | Ark Development, Nigeria Current]

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