Are you stressed before flying?Therapy dogs come to the rescue at this airport

“It relaxes me. I love animals. It’s nice,” one traveler said.

Istanbul:

Are you stressed before a long flight? Therapy dogs are now on hand at Istanbul Airport to help calm nervous passengers.

The airport has been running the program for the past month to help reduce stress and anxiety for passengers passing through the terminal.

Traveler Anastasia Podmazova knelt in front of pet therapy dog ​​Kuki and expressed her appreciation for the service.

“It relaxes me. I love animals. It’s nice,” she said.

After receiving positive feedback from passengers, airport operator IGA hopes to expand the program to include the existing number of dogs used to comfort travelers, customer experience manager Abdulkadir Demirtas said. Increased from 5 to 10.

“Traveling can be stressful…according to research, interactions between animals and humans can reduce stress levels and anxiety,” Demirtas said.

Murat Cengiz Koca is a dog behavior expert and trainer who accompanies the dogs around the airport. The animals are trained not to react to sounds or people, he said.

“The dogs we select here have gone through a year-long process and training. They are here today because of their success,” he said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)