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Pet relief area at New York’s Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) — Terminal A

Like the website for LaGuardia Airport, the website for Newark merely states that pet relief areas are available. It’s up to you to “[f]ollow the signs in the baggage claim areas or ask a Customer Care Representative for information.”

When I arrived at the baggage claim level of Terminal A, I couldn’t find a single sign. Later, when I had returned from the pet relief area and was looking instead for the bus into Manhattan, I did see this one lone sign over Door 1:

On the right side of the sign, you can see EWR's icon for a pet relief area -- a person holding a poop bag at arm's length, his terrier, beside him, already thinking of something else

Follow it outside — or, as I did, exit the baggage claim level by any door and peer left and right — and you’ll see a narrow, dark stairway leading down to a lower level, with this sign above it:

When you reach the bottom of the stairs, you’ll see this sign, urging you to go left:

And as you emerge into the open air again, you’ll find this fenced area on the left:

Poop bags are provided, and there are trashcans in the parking garage you just walked through. I cannot explain the rectangle of small boulders in the middle of the pet relief area, but I’m willing to overlook them (with a bewildered shake of the head), given that the area is fully fenced, clean, large and grassy. It would be nice to see a bench, a trash can and a water source, but after the dreadful pet relief area at LaGuardia’s Terminal D, this one seemed heavenly.

If you’d prefer not to negotiate the steep staircase with your luggage as well as your pet, there is a workable alternative on the main arrivals level. Instead of descending to the lower level, simply turn left as you exit the baggage claim area and walk to the end of the sidewalk. Ahead of you is “Courtyard A,” a big parking lot with lanes for buses to pull into and out of (the Newark Airport Express bus leaves from lanes 1-4).

You've exited Terminal A at the baggage claim level and turned left; across a secondary roadway, you'll find this ahead of you -- slots for parking buses to the left, a useful patch of grass to the right

Cross the little roadway and walk towards the buses — across from the extended shelter under which you can wait for them is a long patch of grass. Be sure to bring poop bags, and clean up after your pup.

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.

9 comments

  • Me

    … if you keep walking past the buses, towards the Hertz and Enterprise stations, you’ll come to a nice small patch of green with benches. When I fly into Newark I don’t even bother taking thy sky train anymore.

  • Brian

    Once again you saved the day!
    Perfect directions!
    We are a dog traveling family because of your wonderful work here. On our way home from a great DC, philly and NYC trip!

  • Amanda

    Are there any pet relief areas or access to them in international arrivals as you go through customs? The website says there are no pet relief areas past security. We will be flying from London to Newark with the dog as excess baggage, so we have to collect him, like we do our luggage, upon arrival and recheck him with our luggage when we clear customs as we have a connecting flight to reach our final destination. I have never flown through Newark but with most airports you don’t leave the airport completely to recheck your bags from an international flight but you usually do leave a secure area as you typically have to go through security again but not all the time. I just hate the thought of seeing my fur baby but not being able to let him out to relieve himself after an 8 hour flight. Anyone have experience with this? TIA

  • Hello, Amanda — I am working on finding out when Newark’s Terminal B pet relief area on the sterile side of security will open (it’s under construction, apparently), and I’ll report back when I get an answer. As you know from my recent-ish post, all large U.S. airports are scheduled to have air-side (of security) pet relief areas by mid-August. If Newark doesn’t meet the deadline, you might call your airline and arrange an escorted visit to the existing outdoor pet relief area, OR they might have an area they use on the secured side, that they’d take you guys to. Definitely worth a try, and like I say, I’ll let you know what I find out.

  • Amanda

    Thank you so much! I didn’t even think about asking for an arranged escort visit, that would be wonderful. I appreciate you checking into this for me, we are due to fly mid September, so fingers crossed they stick with the proposed timeline!

  • Hello again, Amanda — Just spoke again with the folks at Newark, and the best I can tell is that an air-side pet relief area is in the works for Terminal B, but isn’t yet open. They think it’ll open sometime at the end of August or the beginning of September. It’s supposed to be in the “satellite,” between Gates 50 and 60 — but looking at an airport map, it’s not perfectly clear to me what that means. I’d check with an airport rep for more details, when you arrive (this is assuming you don’t get to arrange an escorted trip, which would be my Plan A).

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