Update: Despite the Covid Pandemic, Frankfurt Animal Lounge quickly put into place new personnel schedules and quickly came back to full functionality to serve our client’s pets. There has been no noticeable drop in the quality of care.
Open in September 2008, Lufthansa set the benchmark for transit animal care. Exclusively for pets transiting in Frankfurt Germany, the approximately 4000 square meter facility is staffed by trained personnel caring for Dogs, Cats, Horses and even wildlife.
Typically, pets in transit will spend their time in their travel crates. Their water would be refilled but the airport staff is not authorized to open their crates unless there’s an emergency. Even then, it would take a vet some time to get to their pet in such a situation. At Frankfurt Airport, in Lufthansa’s dedicated facility, pets are let out of their travel crates to relieve themselves. They are also fed, watered, and given a proper check on their condition for the next leg of their journey. In case of any emergency, there are veterinarians on duty there to handle emergencies.
The main reason other airports and airline staff are not allowed to handle pets outside of the travel crate is due to the lack of Standard Operating Procedures/Policies to ensure that the pet remains isolated during transit. To literally ensure that that is so, pets must not come in contact with other pets from the transit country or any other pet that is transiting there or other contaminants such as soil/plants. Frankfurt Animal Lounge stands out by separating export, import, and transit areas and also physically separating each pet. The policy and practice in place is recognized by all the countries of the world to allow pets to enjoy that bit of time out of their travel crates.
Why is this important?
Unlike human travel, where most might opt for a direct flight when they travel, pets do not get to visit the loo or have stewardess feed them meals during the flight. This is not to say that flights are not safe for pets, but they do lack certain amenities/conveniences your pet is used to. Therefore, in order for them to have a little rest and stretch their legs a little, it is Transcontinental Pet Mover LLC’s preference to plan a route that transits via Frankfurt when possible.
“The Frankfurt Animal Lounge combines all areas – handling, animal coordination, and veterinary services – under one roof over approx. 4,000 m2. 50 employees and qualified animal caretakers ensure round-the-clock care. Attention was paid during the design stage to ensuring the animals’ stay would be as pleasant as possible: the entire facility is equipped with a non-slip asphalt floor which is more pleasant and comfortable for animals and people than a conventional concrete surface. All of the loading areas is weather protected. The animal station contains export, import, and transit areas, all physically separated from each other to avoid any contact between animals being exported and imported. The individual areas can, in turn, be subdivided into multiple zones to prevent certain animals from seeing or hearing each other if necessary. Ornamental fish can be examined under black light and specialists are available in the case of an emergency. Besides this, 18 individually temperature-adjustable climate-controlled chambers are available for all kinds of species. There are four special aviaries for our feathered friends. People accompanying the animals have been thought of too and have access to their own washroom.”
Source: https://lufthansa-cargo.com/-/10-years-of-the-frankfurt-animal-lounge