Jet-setting stallions and high-flying hounds at New York’s Kennedy Airport can look forward to a new luxury terminal, that will handle more than 70,000 animals every year.
The ARK at JFK – its name inspired by Noah’s biblical vessel – is being billed as the world’s first air terminal for animals.
Set to open next year, the $US48 million ($A65 million), 16,500 square metre shelter and quarantine facility will take in every kind of animal imaginable – even an occasional sloth or aardvark.
Horses and cows will occupy sleek, climate-controlled stalls with showers, while there’ll be an aviary and holding pens for goats, pigs and sheep.
For dog owners, The ARK will offer a 1860sqm luxury “resort”, complete with bone-shaped splashing pools, massage therapy and “pawdicures with coloured nail pawlish”.
Dogs can watch flat-screen TVs, and their owners can check in on them via webcam.
Cats will have their own trees to climb, while all animals will have access to a 24-hour clinic run by Cornell University’s veterinary college.
The ARK’s fees are still being determined, but high-end dog “suites” could top $100 per night.
With many arriving animals quarantined to ensure they are not carrying contagious diseases, The Ark is designed to make their stay as pleasant as possible.
“A lot of our design making is in collaboration with veterinarians and consultants to help minimise the amount of stress placed on the animal,” said Cliff Bollmann, a leading airport architect working on the project.
