Pet relief area at Nashville International Airport (BNA)
Not many airport pet relief areas are so silly that they make me laugh out loud when I find them — the pet relief area at Dallas (Terminal D) was one, and now Nashville is on the list.
On the bright side, the airport’s web site provides detailed instructions to find the pet relief area, and it’s marked on the numerous maps posted in the terminal (though not on the on-line interactive airport map). It’s on the ticketing level, which is, conveniently, on the same level as the concourses (it is, however, on the land side of security — though I have to admit that getting back through security only took about five minutes).
The easiest way to find it is to locate the Frontier ticket counter. If, for some reason, the airline desks have been shuffled between now and the time you arrive, consult the airport maps — there are a bunch of them on the walls, and you can use them to track your progress. Walk to the end of the terminal, and exit the building to the right, through the doors across from the Frontier ticket counter. Once you’re outside, turn left. Here’s what you’ll find, maybe 50 feet from the doors:
Dear heaven, it’s tiny. Poop bags are provided, and a trash can, but that’s it. If your dog doesn’t have the scope she needs, or doesn’t like Astroturf, there is an alternative. Keep walking down the sidewalk that leads away from the terminal. As you can (barely) see in this photo, there are some patches of lawn in the distance. The one you can see best is actually across the airport roadway, and it’s really too dangerous to cross over to it. There is, however, a bit of grass across from it, on this side of the roadway, surrounding a parking lot attendant’s booth.
I looked for alternatives on the other, south, side of the ticketing level, and at both ends of the baggage claim level, and didn’t find any. The grassy patches I found are a bit of a walk (especially when the temperature is in the mid-90s, as it was when Chloe and I were there), but trudging out to them does give your dog a chance to stretch her legs. Be sure, of course, to grab a poop bag from the official pet relief area before you set off.
This post is part of an ongoing series of reviews of airport pet relief areas we’ve visited. To see others, visit Dog Jaunt’s handy guide to airport pet relief areas.