airport movies

Holiday travelers will find busy airports, but with plenty of free things to do

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(This is a slightly different version of a story we prepared for NBC News)

Over this holiday, the Transportation Security Administration is expecting to screen a near pre-pandemic number of passengers.

Many travelers will be visiting an airport for the first time in almost two years but will be pleased to find a wide range of free services and amenities at the ready to help ease the journey. 

Security Checkpoint Reservations

Travelers who haven’t paid for expedited security lane access with a TSA PreCheck or CLEAR membership may still be able to skip the long lines. A handful of airports now host free programs that allow travelers to reserve a time slot for going through the security checkpoint during the busiest hours. Look for the SEA Spot Saver Program, the LAX Fast Lane, DFW’s Fast Pass Pilot Program, Newark Liberty International’s Virtual Lane, and Orlando International Airport’s Reservation Lane, operated by CLEAR.   

Gate Passes

A handful of airports offer free gate passes to non-ticketed visitors who want to meet an arriving passenger, see someone off at the gate, or spend baggage-free time dining, shopping, or plane spotting in the terminal. Pass seekers apply online ahead of their visit and, if approved by TSA, go through standard security screening. Airports currently offering gate passes include  Seattle-Tacoma International (SEA), Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DTW, Louis Armstrong New Orleans International (MSY), Bishop International (FNT) in Flint, MI, and California’s John Wayne Airport. The gate pass programs at Pittsburgh International and Tampa International airports are still on hold due to the pandemic.

Holiday Entertainment  

Many airports have brought back free live concerts, performances, and other forms of entertainment just in time for the holiday season. For example, Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport (MKE) has a bright red mailbox set up to collect letters to Santa and promises a personalized response to anyone who includes their address.

Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) has a robust holiday performance series underway, and the 25-foot-tall water feature in Terminal B at New York’s LaGuardia Airport (LGA) is rotating in a holiday-themed show with its signature program

Movies and Games

At Dallas Forth International Airport (DFW) there’s a new, free interactive gaming experience at gate D-18 featuring a 40-foot-long media wall with a touchless tracking sensor.

The free 22-seat Hollywood Theatre Microcinema at Portland International Airport (PDX) has reopened, showing short films by Pacific Northwest filmmakers. (The films can also be viewed online). The free Video Arts gallery in the International Terminal at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) has reopened as well, showing four new films a month every 20 minutes or less in the gallery and online. Free short films are also screened at the See 18 Film Screen Room (by Gate C18) at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP).

Free books and short stories

Reading is a great way to pass the time when traveling and a handful of airports offer passengers free reading material.

In Houston, there are two free Little Libraries at George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) and three inside Hobby Airport (HOU). Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) has a book exchange corner in Terminal A West and a machine that dispenses short stories between Terminals D and E. Oakland International Airport, Pittsburgh International Airport, and Dane County Regional Airport (MSN) in Madison, WI, have short story dispensers too. And at San Jose International Airport (SJC), anyone can access the Pop-Up Library to download and access eBooks from the San Jose Public Library for free.

Free Airport Museums

In addition to permanent and changing art and history exhibits, airports in San Francisco, Miami, Phoenix, Albany, NY, and many other cities have free on-site museums and professional museum programs. For example, McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas is home to the Howard W. Cannon Aviation Museum, with its main exhibit up above baggage claim, and Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport (MKE) recently reopened the Mitchell Gallery of Flight, a free aviation museum open 24/7 in the pre-security area.

More free airport amenities

Look around and you’ll find plenty of other free things to do at airports this season.

Free yoga rooms are available at airports in Chicago, San Francisco, Houston, and Miami. American Heart Association kiosks offering free training in lifesaving, hands-only CPR are operating again at many airports. And cute as a button teams of therapy dogs are out in force in dozens of airports this season offering stress-busting visits and accepting free pats and hugs.

Drive-in movies at Ontario Int’l Airport

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Here’s an airport trend we’re thoroughly enjoying.

Ontario International Airport (ONT) in California is partnering with the City of Ontario and Street Food Cinema for a series of free drive-in movies.

The films are going to be shown on two 50-foot screens over four different nights on the northeast corner of the airport property.

And movie-goers will be able to tune into the film audio on their car radios.

The first movie on the schedule is “Ford v. Ferrari,” on June 19.

This is a perfect choice because many scenes in the film are shot at ONT.

The other movies to be shown at ONT Airport will be “The Sandlot” on July 3, “Princess Bride” on July 17, and “Napoleon Dynamite” on July 31.

Showtime for all four nights is 8:30 p.m.

The free movie series hopes to bring people together at a safe social distance (in their cars). The series will also support local food banks by encouraging movie-goers to bring donations of boxed food.

And it turns out the City of Ontario and Ontario International Airport (ONT) have a rich film tradition.

Movies such as “Argo,” “Catch Me If You Can,” “A League of Their Own” and “Up In The Air” are among the dozens of features shot in town over the years.

This is definitely a nomination for “Airport Amenity of the Week.”

Let’s all go to the movies – at Miami International Airport

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Miami International Airport (MIA) offers a quarterly screening series featuring contemporary art and image-making by South Florida-based video artists.

On view now near Gate J7 is a series of short experimental films and video art addressing themes of migration, travel, and journeys that are both physical and surreal. The work on view is by artists Carola Bravo, Claudio Marcotulli and Dinorah de Jesús Rodríguez.

Here’s a video of Migration Dreams #3, from Carola Bravo’s series of video art inspired by The Migration Series and Bravo’s own history as a Venezuelan immigrant.

Claudio Marcotulli’s feature, Remo Memories is an avant-doc short film about a journey through childhood, memory, and water.

And Casas viajantes, by Dinorah de Jesús Rodríguez, mixes handmade celluloid film with digital video and includes footage of the artist’s family’s immigration journey.

Fresh airport amenities to take the hassle out of travel

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Airport amenities that might make summer travel fun. Or less of a hassle

Summer may be half over but many of the hassles of summer travel never end.

Which is why we’re always on the lookout for airport amenities that can take the hassle out of travel.

Here’s a list I put together for USA TODAY Travel.  

Cruise to SEA airport luggage-free

More than a million cruise passengers pass through Seattle on their way to and from Alaska each summer and they bring a lot of luggage with them through Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

To keep out all those bags out of the airport check-in halls, the Port of Seattle offers Port Valet. The complimentary service allows passengers to check in for their flights and check in their bags on board their cruise ships and then explore the city luggage-free before heading to their flights. The luggage transfer is free; but regular checked bag fees apply.

Learn how to save a life while waiting for a flight

Los Angeles International is the latest airport to get a Hands-Only CPR Training Kiosk from the American Heart Association.

More than a dozen other airports have these kiosks as well and just five minutes – the time it takes scroll through your Instagram feed again – you can watch a short instruction video (in English or Spanish), practice on a rubber manikin, get feedback on your technique and learn how to save a life.

 Get coffee made by a robot

In two locations at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, and one brand new one in Terminal 3 at San Francisco International Airport, travelers can order coffee drinks prepared and delivered by a robotic barista in a Briggo automated Coffee Haus kiosk. 

Orders can be sent ahead via the app, no pre-caffeine chit-chat is required, local coffee blends are features, and there’s a robot on duty 24 hours a day.

Food and sundries delivered to you at your gate

You found an empty seat by a working power plug near your gate and now you’re hungry.

Lucky for you gate delivery services are available in an increasing number of airports. The fast-expanding, app-powered airport order and delivery service At Your Gate rolled out this month in Terminal A at Boston Logan International Airport with plans to expand to Terminal C by the end of summer.

The service is also available in all or parts of Newark (EWR), JFK, LGA, MSP, PDX and San Diego International Airports (SAN) with more on the way.

Tour Tampa International Airport without a ticket

Go to the airport – and through the TSA checkpoint- if you don’t have to?

You might say yes if you wanted to greet or say goodbye to a friend or family member at the gate. Or if you wanted to check out the art, shopping, and the bars and restaurants inside the airport.

Since May, the All Access program at Tampa International Airport has been giving passes to 100 non-ticketed visitors each Saturday (25 per airside terminal). Pittsburgh International Airport’s MyPIT Pass program issues passes for post-security access on weekdays.

Free do-it-yourself piano concerts

Many airports provide live music in the terminals during busy holiday periods and year-round.

Some also provide pianos and invite passengers to make their own music before or after a flight.

St. Louis Lambert International Airport (STL) recently installed a “Play Me” piano in Terminal 1. And Los Angeles International Airport recently debuted to new Kawai G-40EP manual and self-playing baby grand pianos; one in the Terminal 4 connector and one on the Upper Level of Terminal 7. 

Just Plane Fun at Philadelphia International Airport

It’s like a summer camp at the airport.

The summer-long Just Plane Fun program at Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) offers travelers an eclectic schedule of free activities that includes live music, magic shows, artist demonstrations and workshops, beauty demos, local celebrity appearances, and, our favorite, free sips and food samples.

Check the PHL website for scheduled events or pick up a flyer at an airport information counter.

Airport trading cards – collect them all

They’re cool. They’re collectible. They’re free. And they can be a challenge to find.

Over the past few years, more than 70 airports have created trading cards as part of the North American Airport Collectors Series trading card program. The 2019 series is scheduled to debut in September.

There doesn’t seem to be a master list of participating airports, nor a formal way to acquire the cards. But to start your collection we suggest stopping by an information desk in any airport you happen to be traveling to or through this summer.

Let’s all go to the movies – at the airports

The 17-seat free Hollywood Theatre micro cinema at Portland International Airport (PDX) has a fresh reel of short films by Oregon filmmakers, including Rob Tyler’s “The Way We Melt,” starring brightly-colored, rapidly thawing frozen confections.

Summer travelers may also watch free films at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) courtesy of the SFO Museum’s Video Arts Program, at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) in the See 18 Film Screening Room on Concourse C, near Gate C18.

Sensory-friendly Space with real airplane seating

Going to the airport and getting on a plane can be stressful for anyone, but kids or adults with autism or other special needs may need extra help acclimating and adjusting.

To help out, Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) just opened Presley’s Place, a 15,000 square-foot sensory-friendly space in Concourse A, by Gate 9. In addition to a calming transition foyer, family room, soundproof adult area, and restroom with adult changing table and adjustable sink, Presley’s Place is the first airport sensory room to also have the walls and floor of a real jet way and a seating section from a realistic airplane cabin, courtesy American Airlines.

Have a favorite airport amenity? Let us know; maybe it will be featured here on Stuck at The Airport.

See what’s showing at the movie theater inside Portland Int’l Airport

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One of the many delightful amenities at Oregon’s Portland International Airport is the 17-seat, post-security microcinema showing short films by Oregon filmmakers.

A branch of the historic Hollywood Theatre, the Hollywood Theatre at Portland International Airport microcinema’s program offerings are changed quarterly. On tap for summer: shorts about everything from the Oregon Trail, the Rajneeshees, urban swimming, armadillos and more.

You can watch the films when you’re at the airport, see one of them below, or see the full list here.