Liverpool John Lennon Airport

Two cool things at airports

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Thanks for visting Stuck at The Airport today.

Here are two cool things we’ve spotted at airports around the world.

This cute little autonomous shuttle van is being tested at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS).

Passengers can hop on the airport’s Easy Mile EZ10 driverless shuttle for a ride between the airport’s main Barbara Jordan Terminal and the Rental Car/ground transportation facility.

The vehicle is electric, driverless and ADA-compliant. And it is running on the upper level of Garage 1 as a part of a test to offer another way to get travelers and meeters and greeters around the airport campus.

The shuttle has seats six and additional room for standing passengers. It also has a built-in automated electric access ramp for wheelchair accessibility.

Nervous about riding in an driverless vehicle? Don’t worry: while the vehicle itself operates autonomously, an attendant is riding along to assist travelers and for safety purposes during this pilot program.

Meet the Beatles

Johh Lennon Statue liverpool Airport

And how fun is this? We’ve visited several airports with arcades and game rooms, but at the Liverpool John Lennon Airport The Beatles get their own pinball machine.

Museum Monday: Liverpool John Lennon Airport

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On Saturday, October 9th, fans around the world will mark what would have been John Lennon’s 70th birthday.

One place they remember Lennon year-round is at the Liverpool John Lennon Airport:

Outside the airport, they’ve got this Yellow Submarine:

Inside the airport, there’s a statue of John Lennon

Johh Lennon Statue liverpool Airport

Song lyrics written by John Lennon

And even some of this suits:

Cheap and Offbeat Amsterdam

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On Monday, ash from the Icelandic volcano caused the cancellation of a lot of flights and left a lot of people stuck at the airport.

Again.

I was one of those people. I’d booked a one-day return trip from Amsterdam to Liverpool just to tour the John Lennon Airport, where the slogan is “Above us only sky.”

The airport has this 25 ton, 51-foot long yellow submarine sitting out front and I bet a lot of volcano-delayed travelers would have liked to have fired this up as an alternative form of transportation.

There’s lot more to Lennon stuff – and a fun-looking fossil ‘mystery tour’ – at this airport, so I’m determined to make my way back there soon.

But since I was stuck at Schiphol, I used to the time to work on the slide-show-style story about Amsterdam I had due. You can see the full story – Cheap and Offbeat Amsterdam on msnbc.com, but here are a few photos that didnt’ make it into the story.

These suitcases, carry-ons from another era – are on display at the Museum of Bags and Purses –

And it’s hard to miss these giant eyeglass frames at the National Museum of Spectacles.

Fossils at Liverpool John Lennon Airport

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It’s the 50th anniversary of the Beatles being “The Beatles” so I’m planning a visit to the Liverpool John Lennon Airport, where the slogan is “above us only sky.”

Poking around the airport’s website this weekend, I discovered that it’s really easy to get to JLA from Amsterdam and that the Liverpool airport has a John Lennon statue, a yellow submarine, and lots of Lennon, Beatles, and other art that I hope to be able to see – and report back on – in person.

In the meantime, I was delighted to find a downloadable Fossil Mystery Tour brochure on the John Lennon Airport website.  Many of the limestone slabs used to build the terminal contain fossils and, with the brochure in hand, you’ll be able to walk around the terminal and see Ammonites, Belemnites and Trace Fossils.