Airports know that air travel can be stressful, and many of them go to great lengths to help alleviate passenger stress. Portland International Airport (PDX) in Oregon opened a new main terminal over the summer with exactly that in mind.
“The new PDX was designed based on the concept that nature helps you breathe a little easier—so we incorporated live trees, organic materials, natural light, and more open space to create a sense of calm for everyone passing through,” said airport spokesperson Allison Ferre.
In addition to the usual things like natural light and wide-open terminal spaces, there’s another amenity periodically offered at PDX to help alleviate traveler stress: llamas and alpacas.
On a recent morning, Beni the llama and Captain Jack the alpaca were on hand at PDX to visit with departing passengers. It’s part of an ongoing program, says Ferre, to help manage passenger stress levels at the airport. Certified non-profits and therapy programs, she says, are invited to periodically visit the airport with animals that visibly enjoy human interaction as a surprise and delight. The llamas and alpacas visit from Ridgefield, Washington’s Mountain Peaks Therapy Llamas and Alpacas.
Mountain Peaks has a total of five llamas and six alpacas. Llamas and alpacas are domesticated herd animals, and they go through years of training to serve as therapy animals. Once the farm can see they enjoy standing still, being pet, and leaving the farm by minivan, they’ll begin therapy training them. They also make sure they don’t travel for too long and have long breaks back on the farm between outings.
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Their visits to PDX are infrequent, but they make sure to post their planned visits to their social media channels so travelers and fans can perhaps plan a bit of extra time to stay and visit with them. On past visits, the llamas and alpacas have worn coats based on the famous PDX carpet, a distinctive teal-colored carpet that covered the floors of the airport’s terminals from the early 1990s until 2015, when an updated green carpet was rolled out (the newly-opened terminal has reintroduced the famous original carpet in some lounging areas, as wheeled carryons are much more prevalent now than in the early 1990s and roll better on other flooring types).
When the llamas and alpacas visit, passengers can stop for photos, pet them, or feed them carrots. Llamas and alpacas trained in animal-assisted therapy act as mood elevators for people who are coping with anxiety, stress, loneliness, or other challenges, and therapy animal programs have proven helpful at schools, senior centers, health centers, or after traumatic events.
Another popular member of the program is Dove Lewis Canine Therapy Teams, which does similar visits to PDX with therapy dogs, and also helped train the llamas and alpacas in Animal Assisted Therapy.
The new terminal at PDX was designed with calm in mind. There are over 5,000 living plants throughout the terminal building, which is lit by 49 skylights and packed full of art by local artists. All new concessions in the terminal are local businesses (including longtime local favorites like Blue Star Donuts), and the airport requires that they price the same at the airport as they do at their off-airport location.
The new terminal also has a wood lattice ceiling, and all of the wood was sourced within 300 miles of the airport, making sure that the money paid out for building materials also found its way into local pockets.
So while you’re enjoying the new terminal’s natural light, live plants, and tasty donuts, you might just also score a selfie with a friendly llama or alpaca before boarding your flight.
