DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Officials have used some outside-the-terminal thinking to avoid having to build an estimated $100,000 indoor service dog bathroom at the Des Moines International Airport.
Airport officials had revealed earlier this year that a “service animal relief area” would be built in a boarding area to comply with an update of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973. It required most airports with more than 10,000 passengers a year to have a service animal relief area inside their terminals.
The airport has found an alternative — a grass area just outside the terminal, the Des Moines Register reports.
By getting a service animal organization to endorse the plan, the airport got a pass from the Federal Aviation Administration on building an indoor facility.
