This US airport is trying to ease nervous flyers with llama therapy

You’ve heard of emotional support pets or therapy with puppies and kittens, but this US airport is doing things a bit differently at its terminal.

Portland International Airport has had high praise for some of its newest employees: the stress-relieving therapy llamas.

The llamas come from Mountain Peaks Therapy Llamas and Alpacas, a farm in Ridgefield, Washington, who run a non-profit that offers therapeutic and educational visits, with the help of their five llamas and six alpacas.

The mother/daughter duo who run the non-profit, Lori Gregory and Shannon Joy, have been escorting their fluffy friends to Portland airport in Oregon for various visits to relieve a little bit of stress for some nervous flyers and anxiety-induced travellers.

The furry animals are occasionally seen wandering about the airport concourse, receiving pets and head scratches from those on the way to check-in, as well as the occasional cuddle from those who need a bit of comfort before taking their seat on a plane.

These fluffy professionals don official uniforms during their visits, smartly dressed in ‘I heart PDX’ neckerchiefs and coats, complete with pompom headbands and other fashionable accessories.

Portland airport said the llamas, as well as the waggy-tailed emotional support dogs enlisted to help soothe passengers, have been introduced to the airport just “to make you smile”.

Differing from a service animal, emotional support animals provide a therapeutic benefit and comfort to those who may suffer from stress, anxiety, or have a mental health condition or hidden disability.

While therapy animals do not usually perform certain tasks like a service pet may do, they exude a calmness and joy that may relieve some symptoms, the UMass Chan Medical School says.

The llamas’ job at Portland airport is just to spread a bit of happiness and they are only in the concourse for periods of time that are healthy for them.

“It’s just pure joy,” airport spokesperson Allison Ferre told People. “Travellers’ faces say it best.”

The llamas are part of a wider effort by the airport to make air travel a calmer experience, with their recent airport redesign, which includes natural light, live trees and more natural accents, also contributing

“Being in nature is a stress reliever,” Ferre added to NPR. “The therapy animals that come in is just one way we kind of deliver on that for the traveller experience.”

However, picking the right llama is no easy task; the woolly airport employees are social animals who live in herds, so the llamas the farm chooses have to show they are interested in humans and can tolerate large numbers wanting to pet them.

“It’s maybe one in 15 llamas that are going to have that level of confidence and bodily autonomy,” Joy told the outlet. “It’s very rare.”

These llamas are not the only animals that have captured the headlines (and the hearts of many) over recent years.

One of the most famous therapy animals is Duke, a 14-year-old black and white cat that is part of San Francisco International Airport’s “Wag Brigade”.

Upon joining the team that helps soothe anxious travellers, Duke was pictured on social media wearing a tiny pilot’s hat and shirt collar.

Others have even been able to get on a flight with their very own emotional support animals in the past.

While cats and dogs are the usual go-to therapy pets, one American Airlines passenger sauntered down the cabin aisle in 2019 with their emotional support miniature horse named Flirty, travelling between the states of Illinois and Nebraska.

The Independent has contacted Portland International Airport for comment.