Airport Terminals

BWI Airport turns 75. Let’s look at baby pictures.

Airport Terminals

Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) will turn 75 years old on June 24th and is planning celebrations throughout the airport on that date.

The airport was originally named Friendship International Airport, as a nod to the local Friendship Methodist Church and surrounding community, but officially changed its name to Baltimore/Washington International Airport in 1973. The airport added “Thurgood Marshall” to its name in 2005 to honor the Baltimore native and the first African American Supreme Court Justice.

To get in the groove for a year of 75th-anniversary celebrations, this month the airport and local organizations are hosting live music performances on the upper level of the airport, near the B security checkpoint. If you’re headed to BWI this month, check the concert lineup before you go.

BWI is also sharing images from its photo archives. Here are a few of the airport’s baby pictures, including a snap of the outdoor observation deck and a game room with pinball machines – two amenities we’d love to see come back.


And look at this: Dulles International Airport wasn’t the only airport to have mobile lounges. In Baltimore, though, they were called “Planemates.”

And we can’t resist one more. This is a snap of the airport interior from the early 1990s, complete with built-in ashtrays in what looks to be hot pink and bright red couches.

All images courtesy BWI Airport

Visit Salt Lake City Int’l Airport without a plane ticket

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Thanks so $5.1 billion worth of renovations, “The New SLC,” as Salt Lake City Internatonal Airport bills itself, is a pretty impressive place.

In addition to new large-scale public art installations, the return of a massive terrazzo World Map, a dinosaur and a cool and convenient underground tunnel connecting Concourses A and B, the airport has many new shops, restaurants and other amenities.

To show it all off, SLC airport is hosting a public open house from 5 pm to 9 pm on June 28, 2025 and allowing 200 visitors to visit the terminal without an airline ticket.

Registration opens June 13 at 8 a.m. MDT and closes June 23. Tickets are limited to four per registrant.

(Image at top: artwork by Gordon Huether, courtesy Salt Lake City International Airport)

Amelia Earhart + pizza-inspired art + a snazzy new checkpoint

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Summer reading: The Aviator and the Showman

If you have a subscription to The New Yorker or can somehow click your way through to access it, be sure to read this revealing and heartstopping story titled: Amelia Earhart’s Reckless Final Flights, by Lauri Gwen Shapiro.

It’s taken from Shapiro’s soon-to-be-published book The Aviator and the Showman: Amelia Earhart, George Putnam, and the Marriage that Made an American Icon, which we just pre-ordered.

(Image above courtesy Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum)

Fresh art at Connecticut’s Tweed New Haven Airport

Connecticut, long known as ‘The Nutmeg State,’ also boasts about being home to the nation’s ‘best pizza.’

There’s a 20-stop Pizza Trail for pizza fans to test out the claim. And a sassy billboard campaign underway now in New York city cheekily trolling the Big Apple’s claim to having the best pizza.

Now there’s a pizza-inspired artwork at Tweed New Haven Airport (HVN).

Titled, The Pizza State,” the nine-foot by six-foot art piece is made of Connecticut highway signs (which we’re sure were secured legally) and celebrates New Haven-style pizza. The artist is Michael Pollack of the creative entity known as the New Haven Pizza Club (NHVPC).

SEA’s Checkpoint 1 welcomes travelers

During really busy travel times, the security checkpoint lines at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) seem to snake on for miles.

But this Friday’s opening of the new Checkpoint 1 should address some of that congestion by adding five additonal general screening lanes.

Look for SEA’s new Checkpoint 1 on the bag claim level of the airport (that’s unusual!) at the far south end of the terminal.  

In addition to a new batch of art being installed along the checkpoint, we spotted some of TSA’s newest body scanning equipment ready to go into operation.

These machines, which we tested out at Portland International Airport’s (PDX) new terminal last year, are more accessible, with wider portals and no neeed for passengers to raise their arms.

This rap video is a love song to the PDX wooden roof

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We already know the ZGF-designed expansion of the main terminal at Portland International Airport (PDX) made a very cool airport even cooler.

Now the amenities and features in the new terminal space, most notably the 9-acre mass timber roof, have inspired a fun rap video.

“‘PDX (Wooden Roof),” described in a press release as “the first and only rap video about the Portland International Airport’s mass timber roof,” debuted in April at a state travel conference held in Portland and is an original collaboration between DJ Avelanche, The Mayoress, Mike Likes Science, and Karma Rivera.

The video is joyous and fun. It shows off so many of the great new PDX Airport features, including the beloved PDX Carpet. And it is, hands down, the best love song to an airport and an airport roof ever.

Stuck at the Airport declares this The Airport Amenity of the Week.

Tiny tour of Pittsburgh International Airport’s new terminal

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Pretty much everyone who flies to or from Pittsburgh, PA is looking forward to the opening of the new landside terminal at Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT).

This $1.5 billion project is about 80% complete and will wrap up later this year with an opening date set for fall.

The Stuck at the Airport team stopped by for a hard hat tour to see how things were going.

Here’s a tiny tour of Pittsburgh International Airport’s new landside terminal, in progress.

Dolly Parton Int’l Airport + more travel tidbits from airports near you

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There’s a Change.org petition underway to change the name of Nashville International Airport (BNA) to Dolly Parton International Airport.

The petition calls Parton a “national treasure” and a Tennessee legend and points out that Dolly Parton is not only a celebrated artist “who encourages love, acceptance, and goodwill through her music,” but she is also a philanthropist “known for her countless contributions to society.”

Therefore, the petition reasons, “it is only fitting that an institution as significant as Nashville International Airport carries the name of such a remarkable woman.”

If the petition succeeds, the organizers point out, “We could all be Departin’ from Parton.”

 

 

More – much more – live music at Long Beach Airport

Long Beach Airport (LGB), which has proclaimed itself “America’s coolest airport,” is getting cooler.

The airport’s LGB Live! music series is expanding from 40 to more than 160 live performances a year.

The expanded LGB Live! program kicks off Thursday, March 27, with a performance by Acoustic Soul Express and will feature performances from professional artists and acclaimed youth performers.

LGB Live! performers are vetted and paid. Performances are typically held post-security for ticketed travelers from 3 to 5 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays and 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sundays, with additional shows during busy travel seasons. Exact showtimes, along with information about bonus pre-security performances can be found on LGB Live!

Happy 30th birthday, Denver International Airport

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Thirty years ago, on February 28, 1995, the future staff of StuckatTheAirport.com was having a hard time leaving Denver’s Stapleton International Airport.

It wasn’t that we loved that airport so much.

It was because operations were switching over from Stapleton to the brand new Denver International Airport (DEN) facilities, 19 miles down the road. And, as workers were, literally, rolling up the rugs and stacking up furniture, computers were shutting down and flights were getting later and later.

Those of us who received food vouchers for our delayed flights were having a hard time spending them at the one concession still open that was selling soda and juices for $10 a pop.

Eventually, our flight took off and Denver International Airport (DEN) opened for business.

The airport, which is now the 3rd busiest airport in the country, celebrated its 30th birthday on February 28 and shared some great images, an informative timeline plus a cool timelapse video of the airport’s impressive growth over the years.

Take a look. And let us know your favorite amenities, and if you’ve encountered any aliens from other planets, at Denver International Airport.

Travel Tidbits from Airports Near You

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Winning snowplow names at Bradley Int’l Airport

A second-grade class and a fourth-grade class from Windsor Locks, Connecticut, chose the winning names for two new snowplows at Connecticut’s Bradley International Airport.

The winning names: Snowbelle and Blizzard Wizard.

The story of how Salt Lake City International Airport saved its World Map

This is a great story of the heroic effort to save an iconic world map at Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) first installed in the 1960s.

When the new terminal was being built, the map was removed and word was that it was too complicated to save it and that the map wasn’t coming back.

But it did!

Do you have a vintage photo of standing on SLC’s World Map? Please share it.

Travel Tidbits from Airports Near You

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A lot is happening at airports around the country this week. Here’s a round-up of some of what we’ve spotted so far.

First – see if you can catch this deal:

Low-cost Icelandic airline PLAY is offering flights from the U.S. to Iceland for $99 and to London, Amsterdam, Berlin, Copenhagen, and Paris for $109 from October 24 through 31. Book it here.

This deal is valid for flights booked from November 2024 through January 2025.

Trick-or-Treat at the airport? That could be fun.

In some cities, they do safe trick-or-treating events at the mall. But in Canton, Ohio, kids will head to the Akron-Canton Airport (CAK) on Halloween.

Greeting card vending machine at OAK

The Stuck at the Airport shopping team loves creative airport vending machines. Here’s a new one at OAK airport that dispenses greeting cards.

SLC Airport still celebrating Phase 3 opening

We can’t wait to visit Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) to see the new art at amenities that opened as part of the Phase 3 redevelopment.

Fresh art at Bush Intercontinental Airport

And this week Bush Interncontinal Airport (IAH) opened a lovely Terminal D West Pier.

Central Tunnel – and more – lands at Salt Lake City International Airport

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Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) unveiled Phase 3 of its SLC Redevelopment Program, which includes the Central Tunnel, Concourse B Plaza, 12 concessions, 5 Delta Air Lines gates and new art and history installations.

Central Tunnel

The key new element is the Central Tunnel connecting A and B Concourses featuring a large-scale art installation by Artist Gordon Huether titled “The River Tunnel.”

This art installation reflects the rivers that flow through the state’s mountains and canyons. Huether even provides a Spotify playlist with more than 100 songs for the artwork.

As passengers exit The River Tunnel, they enter the Concourse B Plaza where there is an extension of The Canyon and the Northern Light oculus art installations by Huether.

Northern Light weighs 3.1 tons and is fabricated from 500 glass rods and 300 dichroic glass panels.

World Map returns

The Concourse B Plaza is now home to The World Map that once graced the floor of Terminal 1 in the original airport.

The World Map was created by Dallas stoneworker Julius Bartoli based on drawings by Ashton, Evans & Brazier and installed in Terminal 1 in 1960.

And a dinosaur!

A secret until opening day, SLC has made space for “Ally the Dinosaur,” a gift from the Natural History Museum of Utah (NHMU).

The replica fossil skeleton of Allosaurus fragilis—Utah’s state fossil—is the quintessential Late Jurassic carnivorous dinosaur. The giant animal roamed Utah’s landscapes 150 million years ago and is now one of the most popular dinosaurs worldwide.

New Concessions

This new phase at SLC includes a dozen new concessions as well.

Dining options include Bambuza Vietnam Kitchen; Freddy’s Frozen Custard and Steakburgers; Maggiano’s Little Italy; Sunday’s Best; The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf; and Thirst.

Shops include Cotopaxi; iStore Express; Relay; Travel Right; The Canyon; and Weller Book Works.

The River Tunnel is NOT filled with water

Contrary to what the airport announced on April 1 (April Fools Day), the tunnel is not filled with water.

And it does not have Disney-type boats instead of moving walkways with paddles provided to passengers who want to row their boats.

Though that would be fun…