Long lines at security, flight delays, crowded gates — summer is the busiest time of year at Pittsburgh International Airport.
Last June, 970,000 passengers flew through Pittsburgh International Airport, according to the Allegheny County Airport Authority. By comparison, the slowest month is January when Pittsburgh had only 624,000 passengers.
“We’re expecting a very busy summer travel season, just like last summer,” said Bob Kerlik, director of public affairs at Allegheny County Airport Authority. “We’ve seen a lot of new flights this year, particularly as people go on vacation — schools out.”
But stressed out passengers should be on the lookout for some furry volunteers bringing calm with a wag of the tail. PIT PAWS, Pups Alleviating Worries and Stress, is the airport’s certified therapy dog program. Throughout the week, 43 good boys and girls hound down nervous fliers and seek out belly rubs.
The program began at the airport in 2017 with just three or four volunteers. As it has grown, the response from the public has been “overwhelmingly positive,” according to Elise Gomez, manager of customer experience at Pittsburgh International Airport.
“They have so many interesting stories,” Gomez said. “Some people are really in tears when they see them and joyful. They’re missing some of their own animals when they’re traveling and it’s just a little sense of relief and surprise when they are here at the airport.”
All of the dogs are trained therapy dogs, certified through the Alliance of Therapy Dogs. At the airport, the pups undergo another month or so of specific training — to make sure they can handle the chaos of roller bags and TSA pat downs.
Katie Blackley
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90.5 WESA
On the ground, they work shifts that last about two hours. Today was seven-year-old, 120-pound, snow-colored Great Pyrenees Annie’s first day training at the airport. She handled going through security with aplomb and instantly became a crowd-favorite at the airside terminal.
Annie was Laura Smerbeck’s favorite of the Friday morning crew. “I hate going to the airport,” Smerbeck, who was traveling to Texas from State College, Pa. said. “This whole thing is stressful, except for now. These [dogs] are amazing.”
Other dogs receiving coos and cuddles from passengers on-the-go include: Boone, an eight-year-old hound mix who wears a bow-tie and works the crowds from his doggie wheelchair; and Sophia, a four-year-old Miniature Poodle who loves to finish her shift with an Auntie Anne’s pretzel. Charlie is a 12-year-old English Setter who comes from a show dog line and has it in for backyard chipmunks. And then there’s Zeus — a 120-pound Bernese Mountain Dog who’s eight years old and longs for the airport air conditioning on a hot day.
“He just loves making everybody happy,” said Lisa Lemmex, Zeus’s owner. “His big thing is he’ll sit on your feet. Or, if you saw with this woman today, as soon as she knelt down, he just nestles right in, so he can get a good hug. For me, I just love bringing joy and happiness to all the customers and the passengers — especially with the ones that are scared of flying. You can see that stress-relief the minute they start petting the dog.”
For those flying this summer, the middle of the week tends to be less congested than weekends. Pittsburgh has a lot of early morning flights from 5 a.m. to 8 a.m. And lines at security can get clogged for these early birds. Passengers can check security wait times online.
“Particularly if you’re flying out early in the morning, we want people to get here at least two hours early,” Kerlik said.
Later this summer, new restaurants are coming to the airport including local-favorite Mineo’s Pizza and Shake Shack, the national burger, shake and crinkle-cut fry-serving chain.
The long-awaited new terminal at the airport should open sometime this fall, before Thanksgiving, according to Kerlik. They’re still working on pinning down the opening date, but the pups will be rolling on over.
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