This month, my “At the Airport” column in USAToday.com is all about Valentine’s Day specials at the nation’s airport.  Here’s a link to the column and, below, some highlights.

Valentine’s Day falls on a Saturday this year, so frequent travelers have a good chance of working out those plans to touch down in the same town as their sweeties. And while just showing up may get you a few extra points, arriving empty-handed just won’t cut it. Even if you have flown through three zones just to be there.

Romantic road warriors needn’t worry about making an extra stop at the mall. Many airports and airport shops around the country are rolling out love-themed art exhibits, giveaways, and special deals on romantic gifts you can grab-n-go in a heartbeat.

Hearts and art

To set the mood, a new exhibit titled Sweetheart Town – Loveland, Colorado at Denver International Airport is filled with items on loan from the Loveland Museum/Gallery, including Victorian-era valentines, historical photographs, memorabilia and new work by Loveland-area artists. Address one of the free exhibit-themed valentine postcards to your sweetie and the airport will take it to Loveland, 60 miles away, so it can be canceled with the town’s sweetheart postmark and then mailed for free. The exhibit is located pre-security in the walkway between the Jeppesen Terminal and the A gates.

At Miami International Airport, the newly renovated mia Central Gallery (Concourse E, second level, post-security) is home to a 120-foot-long art installation that uses 10,500 brightly-colored silk flowers to spell out the words “All we need is love, love” in six-foot-tall letters. The oversized artwork is by Miami architect/artist team Rosario Marquardt and Roberto Behar, who call themselves R&R Studios. “People walking by start singing that Beatles song All You Need Is Love all the time,” says Yolanda Sanchez, the airport’s director of Fine Arts and Cultural Affairs. “So the artwork makes its own soundtrack.”

Sweets for you and your sweetie

On Feb. 13 and 14, the Food & Shops in the Central Terminal at LaGuardia Airport in New York will be distributing free chocolate kisses to all travelers. And through Monday, Feb. 16, the shops in the Central Terminal will be offering special prices on gifts displayed on tables marked “Gifts for Your Sweetie.”

On Valentine’s Day, folks from Boingo, the new Wi-Fi provider at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, will be handing out free one-hour service cards to 100 travelers on their way into the terminal from the parking area. (Think e-valentines.) And on Feb. 13, 14 and 15, local favorite Amy’s Ice Cream will be setting up a temporary shop in the baggage claim area so travelers can grab their luggage and some chocolate-covered strawberries on their way home.

At Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, the Brighton stores in Terminal 4 will be celebrating Valentine’s Day with balloons and free cookies. The Paradise Bakery, which has locations in all three terminals, is baking up small and large heart-shaped cookies for sale. The large cookies weigh in at 30 ounces and need to be ordered at least two hours in advance (602-681-0909). Fresh Gourmet to Go, located in Sky Harbor’s Rental Car Center, will be stocking fresh long-stem roses and chocolates “for travelers coming to Phoenix to surprise their Valentines!”

More sweets – and some relaxation

The Natalie’s Candy Bar shops at San Antonio International Airport, Indianapolis International Airport, and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport will be giving a free quarter-pound of red and white Gummi bears to all women who make purchases at a Natalie’s shop on Valentine’s Day.

At the AIRMALL at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, Zona Mexicana is featuring Love Potion Margaritas until Feb. 14, and anyone who shows up with a heart-shaped anything (including a drawing of a heart on a piece of paper) will get a 10% discount on services at Destination Relax.

Finally, though Feb. 15, T.G.I. Friday’s, which has 18 airport branches (including 6 at DFW) is offering members of its Give Me More Stripes guest recognition program free Spiced Up Cupcakes with a side of ice cream when they purchase two entrees. Guests who visit Friday’s on Valentine’s Day will also receive a coupon for $5 off when they spend $15. (Coupons are redeemable between Feb. 15 and March 1. Joining the guest recognition program is free.)

For the complete article, see Airports Sweeten the Deal for Valentine’s Day here.

Tags: Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, Baltimore/Washington Thurgood Marshall International Ai, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, Denver International Airport, Flying with kids, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, airport shopping
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The Luxaholics folks are making sure their readers are in the know about airports and air travel.

Last week they asked for my tips on making a coach seat more cushy and first-class-like.

This week, they’ve asked me to share a few tips on airport dining. I did my best, suggesting wine bars such as Vino Volo (various locations), the new One Flew South outpost at Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), and a slew of others.  Moments after I sent along my tips (and walked out the door to the airport armed with a bag of leftovers from my fridge) this great article about airport dining by Matt Gross appeared in the New York Times.

Tags: Airport amenities, Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
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Last week, custom agents, or rather a Customs and Border protection dog, at Washington Dulles International Airport smelled something fishy in the suitcase belonging to a man arriving from Africa.

As reported in the Washington Business Journal and loads of other places, it wasn’t fish inside that suitcase. The man had three dead monkeys, 10 pounds of deer meat and 10 pounds of dried beef in there.

The meat products were seized, but the traveler wasn’t fined. Turns out that he, like other travelers, just didn’t know that you can’t bring any meat products into the U.S. from other countries.

What else won’t pass muster? Fruits, vegetables, plants, soil, products made from animal or plant materials – and the items in a new display at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. The airport’s art program has partnered with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to set up this temporary exhibit in Concourse E.

(Photo courtesy Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport)

Airport officials say, except for a few pieces of coral and tortoise-shell jewelry on loan from the Federal Repository in Denver, everything in the 13 exhibit cases was seized at ATL.

Here’s a sampling of what’s on display: a complete polar bear skin, a stuffed hyena, a blowgun from South America decorated with rare macaw feathers, giant mounted spiders, hiking boots made from elephant hide, beauty products made from caviar, and much, much more!

Tags: Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, Dulles International Airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Washington Dulles Interntational Airport
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If you find yourself stuck at O’Hare International Airport or Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (and this time of year, it’s a fair chance you will) keep and eye out for these new sit-down restaurants:

At Chicago’s O’Hare Airport, a branch of local favorite Stefani’s Tuscany Café is now open in Terminal 1, Concourse B near Gate 18. The cafe serves northern Italian dining specialties including pastas, pizzas and wines. (The restaurant has a popular location on Taylor Street in Chicago’s “Little Italy” neighborhood and branches throughout the Chicago area.)

And Hartsfield-Jackson Airport (ATL) now has its first fine-dining restaurant: One Flew South.

The menu highlights ingredients from regional producers and includes items such as BBQ Duck Sandwich, Benton’s bacon & Sweet Grass Dairy goat cheese salad, and pecan & Georgia honeysticky bun with whiskey ice cream, pecan brittle, and sweet potato crisp.

Sounds yummy!

In addition to a sushi bar, the restaurant’s cocktail list, dubbed “Salute to Aeromarine,” pays homage to the four years starting in 1920 that Aeromarine Airways carried wealthy passengers from Miami to Nassau and Havana aboard flying boats(‘Floatplanes’) so that the guests could drink legally during the Prohibition era.

The restaurant is located in the E Concourse and is open daily.

Tags: Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, Chicago O'Hare Airport, airport food
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The list of stress-busting activities being offered at the nation’s airports this holiday season just keeps growing:

In addition to the entertainment being offered by airports around the country and the free amenities being offered by JetBlue Airways in its new terminal at JFK, on Nov. 25th and 26th, travelers passing through Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) can get free massages, free Wi-Fi, and free snacks.

The stress-reducing services are at the “privacy oasis” sponsored by 3M Computer Privacy Filters in the Airport Executive Conference Center on the 3rd floor of the Atrium. The company has also set up a Web site where travelers have been sending in tips about places to chill out at various airports around the country.

Given how close we sit next to each other on airplanes, computer privacy filters seem like a useful tool pretty much anytime. But as I wrote in a recent Well-Mannered Traveler column on MSNBC.com, privacy filters may become downright necessary as airlines roll out in-flight Wi-Fi. (Virgin America is launching its Gogo in-flight Internet service – on one plane – this Sat, Nov 22) Not all airlines plan to filter in-flight Internet service and some travelers are worried about being exposed to inappropriate material on a seatmate’s screen.

Tags: Airport amenities, Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, Free stuff, Guide to stress-free travel, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, In-flight Wi-Fi, JFK Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport
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Early this month I wrote a column for USATODAY.com about cheap, easy side-trips you can take from many U.S. airports. Since then, I’ve gotten email and tips on several more. Here are two of them:

Tampa resident Robert Danielson wrote with this tip:

“Adjacent to the south runway at Tampa International Airport (TPA) is “International Plaza,” Tampa’s premier shopping venue, with courtesy shuttles to the airport (about a five minute ride). Also, downtown’s Florida Aquarium is less than a 10-minute cab ride from the airport.”

And for folks with time to spare near Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), there’s this story about the new airport-built 56.5 acre Sams Lake Bird Sanctuary park, a short ride from the airport.

The sanctuary has a reconstructed stream, bat houses, three observation decks, a half-mile walking trail, and three ponds that are now home to bass fish. Deer, turkey, nesting birds, and other wildlife have been seen on-site.

Why did the airport spend $5 million on the project?

“Federal law required the airport to complete the wetlands restoration project after constructing its fifth runway, which paved through 14 acres in the Flint Basin. The Clean Water Act Section 404 mandates the restoration for every acre of wetlands disturbed by infrastructure development. The Army Corps of Engineers gave the airport a permit to restore Sams Lake.”

Whatever it takes.

Tags: Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, Tampa International Airport
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On Monday, a federal judge upheld a gun ban at Atlanta’s Hartsfield Jackson International Airport.

The gun rights group GeorgiaCarry.org is trying to convince the judge that the non-secure parts of the airport are included in a new Georgia law allowing people to carry licensed firearms in state parks, restaurants, and on public transportation.

U.S. District Judge Marvin Shoob is thinking it over and may not make a final ruling for several months. In the meantime, he’s letting stand the city’s declaration of the airport as a “gun-free zone.”

The gun rights group is calling this a temporary setback. City officials are asking the TSA for backup.

Read more about the issue and the ruling in this Associated Press story.

Tags: Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, Guns at airports
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From now until 2012, travelers passing through the Terminal 1 international arrivals area at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport will see a large Allosaurus bearing down on an Othnielia that has tripped to the ground.

Don’t be scared. The dinosaurs are on loan from the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), which has lots more dinosaurs on display. And while you can’t save the Othnielia from the Allosaurus, you can help pick new names for these two creatures.

“Ever since these two dinosaurs roamed the earth approximately 150 million years ago, they have been without given names. With help from the community, that is about to change. The GTAA [Greater Toronto Airport Authority] is launching a contest to find names for the new dinosaurs. …The experts aren’t sure if these dinosaurs are male or female, so send us whatever names you think fit!”

You can get more details and enter the contest here.

Interestingly, there are also dinosaurs on display in at least two other airports in North America:

A giant replica of a Brachiosaurus skeleton towers over the Field Museum store in Terminal One at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport and, at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, there’s a replica of a 33-foot-long dinosaur in the airport atrium. The Yangchuanosaurus skeleton is on loan from Atlanta’s Fernbank Museum of Natural History.

Tags: Airport amenities, Airport art, Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, O'Hare International Airport
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