Palermo Airport just opened the first pet area in Southern Italy.

It’s a 350 square meters outdoor area, open 24/7 and located right at the departures level. It has what it seems it will be a green area soon, water fountains with bowls, and waste bag dispensers. A fenced, dedicated space for passengers departing and family members passing by the airport.

Italy now has 6 airports with a dedicated pet zone:
✅ Milan Linate
✅ Rome Fiumicino
✅ Bologna
✅ Cagliari (Sardinia)
✅ Olbia (Sardinia)
✅ Palermo (Sicilia)

According to Roberto Lagalla, current Palermo’s mayor the message is clear “8 million Italians travel with their pets, and it’s right that both airlines and airport operators, also in Palermo, should make it easier to welcome and temporarily accommodate our four-legged friends. Having conceived of this space and made it immediately available to travellers with pets is a significant step towards ever-greater compliance between air travel and its users.”

65 million pets live in Italian homes.
Vueling alone, flew over 105.000 animals in 2024 in Italy.
Travellers with pets are a growing segment.
Infrastructure is finally catching up.

And the timing isn’t coincidental.

Remember the Aeroitalia‘s “Family Dog” service, allowing dogs up to 30 kg in cabin, that was set to go on sale for summer 2026?
The inaugural test flight departed from Palermo.

So when that same airport opens Southern Italy’s first pet area six weeks later, it starts to feel less like a coincidence and more like a direction.

But the question for me isn’t just about adding outdoor space. It’s about building the full infrastructure for what travellers are already asking for 🧡

Pic 1. Pet area location at Palermo airport (Google Earth)
Pic 2. Official picture from ITALPRESS press release

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