Lufthansa offers animals’ luxury

Lufthansa has opened a new animal station at Frankfurt Airport, designed to offer the latest in animal handling practices.

Called the Frankfurt Animal Lounge, the facility measures 3750m2 and is intended to unite Lufthansa's Competence Centre Animals building with veterinary surgeons. Marketed as the most modern animal station in the world, Lufthansa Cargo sees the development as an important milestone in its 30 year history of handling animals.

"The name ‘Animal Lounge' is very appropriate for the new animal station because just like in an airport lounge for passengers, the animals can relax and rest there before and after transport", said Axel Heitmann, director, Competence Centre Animals of Lufthansa Cargo.

The station will be available to all airlines present at the airport and is able to cater for a wide range of species of animals. It can provide animal shelters as large as 28m2 and possesses individual temperature controlled climatic chambers and specialised aviaries.

Plans for the facility first began during the 90s before a project team was assigned in 2000 consisting of Fraport and LH Cargo. With its previous animal station outdated in terms of size and latest legal requirements, Frankfurt Animal Station offers separation between import, export and transit animals alongside effluent disposal.

"The facility is part of our future plans for the continuous growth of our animal business, which is approximately 5% per year. It will add an improvement to our transport chain as a whole," Heitmann added.