Airports

Airport amenities we’re loving this week

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Here’s a quick round-up of some of the fun airport amenities we’ve spotted this week – so far.

Abraham Lincoln photo op at DCA Airport

At Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) – the gateway to the National Cherry Blossom Festival – a new installation invites passengers to get a cherry blossom-framed photo while sitting in a replica of Abraham Lincoln’s giant chair at the Lincoln Memorial.

Vacay-bound in Ohio?

Akron-Canton Airport (CAK) has a fun vacation-themed photo op spot set up too.

How DID PHL install that 10 foot-tall ‘Rocky’ statue?

And remember back in November when a 10-foot tall bronze “Rocky” statue showed up at Philadelphia International Airport (PHL)?

This week the airport shared a video of how the statue was installed.

And for the lounge set

Swanky new and upgraded airport lounges seem to be popping up everywhere.

And if you have the right credit card, airline status or plane ticket, or can purchase a single visit pass, these lounges are great places to hang out.

Two in the news this week: Delta Air Lines’ newly renovated Sky Club at Denver International Airport (DEN) and, from American Express, the Sidecar by The Centurion Lounge at Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) in Las Vegas.

Delta Air Lines’ renovated Sky Club at DEN

The renovated Delta Sky Club in Concourse A at DEN officially opened on March 4 and is about three times the size of the previous club.

The 13,000 square foot space currently has seating for more than 200 travelers and will expand later in the year to more than 19,330 sq. ft., with seating for 400.

So – big!

(Courtesy Delta Air Lines)

In addition to a space that draws design inspiration from Colorado’s natural wonders, lounge guests will find double sided buffet tables serving dishes highlighting local ingredients, two new bars and Colorado-thenmed artwork.

(Courtesy Delta Air Lines)

A speakeasy-inspired Amex Centurion Lounge at LAS Airport

(Courtesy American Express)

On March 4, American Express officially opened Sidecar by The Centurion Lounge at Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) in Las Vegas.

Located in Concourse D by Gate D1, not far from the main, larger Centurion Lounge at LAS, Sidecar is a speakeasy-inspired space with about 40 seats, restaurant-style service (order via QR codes) and an upscale, Vegas cocktail-culture vibe.

Open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, American Express has designed Sidecar as an elevated and efficient quick stop experience for eligible card members, who will be able to access this new lounge within 90 minutes before their flight departs.

Card members can also still access the main Centurion Lounge at LAS up to 3 hours before their flight departs.

(Credit: American Express)

The StuckatTheAirport lounge review team will be visiting both new lounges soon…

Airports opening food pantries for unpaid federal workers

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***Updating as we learn of more

Air traffic controllers’ paychecks are not affected by the current partial government shutdown.

However, more than 60,000 Transportation Security Administration staff must report for work, even though there are no paychecks for them in the pipeline going forward as the shutdown continues.

Security checkpoint lines may start growing at airports around the country if a growing number of TSA workers begin to skip shift and look for work temporary work elsewhere.

But airports and community members are, once again, stepping in to lend a hand.

In late February, Virgnia’s Roanoke-Blacksburgh Airport (ROA) reopened the Care Cupboard it created during the last government shutdown and is accepting community donations of non perishable food and drink items, household items, toiletries, baby items, pet food and gift cards.

At Portland International Airport (PDX), there are donation bins in the main terminal (near the stadium stairs) where anyone can drop off non-perishable food items, household essentials and gift cards valued at $25 or less.

And Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) announced on Monday that it has started collecting itmes for a food pantry to provide staples such food, baby items, toiletries, pet supplies, gift cards and other items for federal airport workers.

We expect similar programs to pop up at other airports in the next few days.

If you spot any, please let us know.

Did Tampa International Airport ban pajamas?

Airports,

Maybe they should have held this for an April 1st post…

Late last week Tampa International Airport (TPA), the home of Phoebe the giant flamingo, got into a pickle over a tongue-in-cheek social media post announcing a ban on wearing pajamas in the airport.

It started with an an eyecatching headline: “We’ve seen enough. We’ve had enough.”

Then, after claiming that the airport had already banned the colorful, open-heeled slip-on shoes known as Crocs, the post went on to identify a new “crisis” that needs tackling.

What could it be???

“Pajamas. At. The. Airport. In the middle of the day,” the post explains.

And what is TPA’s solution to the pajama “madness”?

A “movement” that includes a ban on pajamas (as well as Crocs) at the airport. And the creation of the world’s first Crocs-free and pajama-free airport.

Here’s the viral post that alarmed pajama wearing travelers near and far.

So, did TPA really ban pajamas?

No,Tampa International Airport has not banned pajamas in it main or airside terminals.

In statements to local and national media, TPA officials say that the post was just a light-hearted joke.

Much like the (odd) post it shared in late March, (right before April Fools Day) that starts off the same way – “We’ve heard enough. We’ve had enough” – and declares that Tampa International Airport is changing its name to “Giant Flamingo Home.”

So, what do you think? Is it OK to wear pajamas at the airport?

Bye-bye ATL clocktower. Hello 100th anniversary exhibit.

Airports

The landmark clock tower that stood in the Domestic Terminal Atrium at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) for 33 years is gone.

For more than three decades the ATL clocktower served as a gathering point, a meeting spot and a helpful timepiece for travelers.

But time marches on. And ATL officials felt it was time for the clock tower to go so that the atirum can evolve “to meet the needs of the future.”

New exhibit honors 100 Years of Atlanta Airport


ATL’s iconic clocktower may be gone, but the new exhibit in the Transportation Mall between Concourses D & E on the Plane Train level is intended to be permanent.

Unveiled last week, the “Blue Skies: 100 Years of the Atlanta Airport” exhibition highlights the Airport’s century-long evolution from its first commercial flight in 1926 to its position as the world’s busiest airport.

The exhibit explores milestones such as the growth of Delta Air Lines, the Airport’s role during the Civil Rights Movement and the launch of Atlanta’s first nonstop international flight.

Travelers can also learn about ATL’s rise to the world’s busiest airport back in 1998, the airport’s role in the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games and the Airport’s ongoing expansion and modernization plans.

Featured artifacts include historic airline uniforms and signage – including a working flip board – a large-scale model of a Pitcairn Mailwing airmail plane, and an original rotating beacon that was once mounted on top of the airport’s control tower.

Friday roundup: travel tidbits from airports near you

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Happy Friday. Here are some airport tidibits we’ve gathered through through the week.

Another airport adopts a mascot

San Antonio International Airport (SAT) introduces its first ever mascot: an airplane named Jett.

Not to be confused with Jett the SEA Otter, the mascot for Seattle Tacoma International Airport (SEA).

Dublin Airport honors iconic Irish musicians

Dublin Airport (DUB) – where the mascot Dubby, the Irish Hare, hopped onto the scene in February, 25 – debuted a new music wall dedicated to iconic Irish artists.

Qantas will fly from Las Vegas to Australia

Christmas is coming early to Las Vegas.

Qantas announced this week that it will fly the first non-stop flights between Las Vegas and Sydney, Australia from December 29, 2026 through mid-March 12, 2027.

The approximately 15 hour and 15 minute flight from Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) to Sydney Airport (SYD) will operate three times a week on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

Fresh exhibit at IND Airport’s KIND Gallery

Indianapolis International Airport (IND) has a new cultural exhibition highlighting more than three decades of iconic performances, rare memorabilia and Hoosier cultural moments from the historic Indiana State Fairgrounds.

The exhibition is on display now through July 9, 2026 and features many items from the private collection of Indianapolis-based historian and collector Thomas Fontain.

Included is memorabilia from the Beatles’ appearance at the Indiana State Fair in 1964 and from shows by Sonny and Cher, the Beachboys, David Cassidy, Johnny Cash, the Osmonds, Jimi Hendrix, the Jackson 5 and other State Fair favorites.

(Photo up top courtesy San Diego Air & Space Museum Archives)

How to get airport and airline trading cards

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February 24 is National Trading Card Day, but if you’re a traveler you can celebrate anytime.

That’s because many airports and airlines have trading cards that are free for the asking year round.

Airports Council International-North America, the membership organization for airports, created the trading card program for airports back in 2014.

More than 100 airports now have their own trading card, each bearing an image of the airport and the airport code on one side and a series of facts about the airport on the reverse.

And over the years some airports, including Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX), have issued more than one version of their cards.

At some airports, the therapy dogs have trading cards too.

These are the cards recently created for the therapy pups at Rhode Island T. F. Green International Airport (PVD) Airport.

Airline trading cards

Airlines have very popular trading card programs as well.

The list includes Alaska Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Frontier Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines.

@united

Step two: ask your pilot for one on your next flight #AircraftTradingCards #Aircraft #AvGeek #Travel #UnitedAirlines

♬ original sound – ava

How to do you get an airport or airline trading card?

Just ask.

If the cards are in stock and available, and you ask nicely, you can get a card for free.

Airports usually have their trading cards at the information desks.

If available, therapy dogs handlers will have trading cards for their pups with them in the terminals.

On airlines, it’s often the pilots, first officers and sometimes flight attendants that have trading cards, if they’re available.

Do you collect aviation-themed trading cards? Leave a note about your collection in the comment section below.

Best airports for customer experience. And cleanliness.

Airports

There are a lot of ‘best’ lists for airports.

Some are social media-fueled. But few are as credible, or at least as scientific, as the ASQ Customer Experience Awards, compiled by Airports Council International (ACI) World, the global trade group for airports.

For this competition, departures and arrivals surveys are completed by passengers while they are actually AT a airport, experiencing the good and the bad in real time.

For this year’s awards, more than 700,000 passengers at more than 100 airports were surveyed.

Which airports are the 2025 winners?

There are close to 200 award slots in this global survey.

You can see all the winners here. But let’s take a look at some of the top-rated airports in North America in some key categories.

Some airports, such as Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport and Salt Lake City International Airport, make appearances in multiple categories. While Indianapolis International Airport (IND) landed Best Airport in its size category for the 14th year in a row.

Cleanest Airport


Gerald R. Ford International Airport (GRR) – Grand Rapids, MI

Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport (GSP) – South Carolina

Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC)

Most enjoyable airport


Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport (GSP)

Orlando International Airport (MCO)

Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC)

Easiest airport journey


Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport (GSP)

Indianapolis International Airport (IND)

Portland International Jetport (PWM) – Maine

Most dedicated staff

Gerald R. Ford International Airport (GRR)

Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport (GSP)

Portland International Jetport (PWM)

Overall recognitions

Here are the “Best Airports at Departures” in North America, by airport size.

For airports serving 2 to 5 million passengers per year, Gerald R. Ford International Airport,

Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport and Portland International Jetport took top honor.

In the 5 to 15 million passenger per year category, Indianapolis International Airport, Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport and Ontario International Airport were honored.

Moving up the ramp, to airports serving 15 to 25 million passengers per year, Austin-Bergstrom Internatinal Airport and Tampa International Airport.

For airports serving 25 to 40 million passengers per year, Laguardia Airport and Salt Lake City International Airport got the nod.

And for the largest airports, those serving over 40 million passengers per year, Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, Orlando International Airport and Toronto Pearson International Airport came out on top.

Travel tidbits from BDL, PHX and IAH airports

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Shiny new concourse at Bradley International Airport

We’re loving the look of this concourse at Bradley International Airport (BDL) in Windsor, CT, which is an extension of the existing Terminal A and part of an 80,000 square-foot facility add directly behind the airport’s Sheraton Hotel.

The new concourse adds three additional gates, new restroom facilities, a second nursing room for mothers and new dining and retail option.

The new concourse is part of a larger terminal expansion that has been underway since March 2023 and includes a new inline baggage screening system below the concourse which opened in fall 2025.

A mile-long conveyor belt now carries bags from the airline ticket counters directly to the new screening facility, which houses the explosive detection machines that once took up a lot of space in the airport lobby.

Porter Airlines’s 1st transborder route from Western Canada

Toronto-based Porter Airlines‘s new seasonal nonstop service between Vancouver International Airport (YVR) and Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) is notable for being the airline’s first transborder route from Western Canada.

Flights will operate daily until April 19, 2026 on the airline’s Embraer E195-E2 aircraft, which have a 132-seats configuration with no middle seats.

This is Porter’s third route to Phoenix, joining year-round service from Toronto Pearson and seasonal Ottawa flights.

If you fly to PHX, be sure to check out this new pre-security exhibition.

New foosball table at IAH Airport

Airport entertainment doesn’t need to be complicated.

These new foosball tables at George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) will surely be very popular with travelers.

TSA expands Touchless ID + Free Wi-Fi on American Airlines + Places to go

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More airports will offer TSA’s PreCheck Touchless ID 

Having TSA PreCheck cuts down on the time it takes to pass through the airport checkpoint.

But if your airport and airline participate in TSA’s PreCheck Touchless ID program, your trip through the security checkpoint could be a bit faster.

The program allows opt-in PreCheck travelers to use a shortcut lane where their identity is verified by a photo.

To opt-in, you’ll need to add your passport information to your you frequent flier accounts with participating airlines, which currently include Alaska, American, Delta, Southwest and United.

A PreCheck Touchless ID indicator should appear on your boarding pass and, if you are traveling through an airport that offers the shortcut, you can access a dedicted lane for the service.

Until now, there were just 15 airports offering the service. But TSA just announced that is expanding the program to 65 airports by the end of Spring.

See the map up above for the airports where PreCheck Touchless ID is currently offered and the airports that should have the option soon.

American Airlines is the newest carrier to offer free Wi-Fi

Slowly, but surely, free Wi-Fi is coming to your airplane.

JetBlue offers it for everyone.

Delta Air Lines provides it for Sky Miles members on most flights.

Hawaiian Airlines currently offers it free on all its A330 and A321neo aircraft.

Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards members can get it free on equipped aircraft.

Atmos members with Alaska Airlines should have it on most aircraft by 2027.

And United Airlines offers free Wi-Fi to Mileage Plus members on aircraft equipped with Starlink Wi-Fi.

Several other airlines offers Wi-Fi for purchase. And, depending on their plans, T-Mobile customers can get free Wi-Fi on some airlines as well.

Now American Airlines is getting board with free Wi-Fi.

The carrier announced on Tuesday that it plans to provide free Wi-Fi provided to all AAdvantage members.

The roll out begins with American’s narrowbody and dual-class regional fleets and the plan is to have free Wi-FI on all aircraft by early spring.

Places to go and the “Hotel Hopping” trend

We know we can’t go everywhere. But we want to. Here are some ‘wants’ on our list:

Rochester, NY: MAG and the Eastman Museum


Yes, it’s likely to be really snowly and cold in Rochester, NY in January and February.

But we’d go there to visit the Memorial Art Gallery (MAG), where the exhibition Frontiers of Impressionism: Paintings from the Worcester Art Museum, featuring work by Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Camille Pissarro, Mary Cassatt, Childe Hassam, John Singer Sargent and Paul Signac (above) is on view through March 1, 2026.

We’d also be sure to visit the historic mansion at Rochester’s Eastman Museum.

The shrine to photography beckons in winter with its annual Dutch Connection installation featuring a display of thousands of tulips, hyanciths, daffodils, amaryllis, tropical orchids and other flowers.

The museum says that George Eastman ordered tens of thousands of bulbs from Holland every year between 1905 and 1932. Most were for the garden, but many were ‘tricked’ to blooming indoors during the winter.

The annual flower disiplay is a nod to those original orders. And as a nice touch, the museum offers free Bulb Kits for kids with with museum admission. Kits include a pot, soil, and a forced bulb to take home, plant, and watch grow and flower.

Are you a ‘hotel hopper’?

And we’re encouraged to learn that we’re not the only ones who lean into “hotel hopping” when visiting a city.

We’ll sometimes book a hotel near the airport, another in town near a few attractions we want to be sure to visit and then a third in a neighborhood we want to explore.

Hotels.com has declared this a trend, noting that more than 50% of travelers book mulitple hotels in a single destination so that they can explore different neighborhoods and maximize deals and discounts.

Have you done this?

20 airports you can visit without a plane ticket

Airports,

Airport guest pass programs allow non-ticketed guests to go through the security checkpoint and access the secure side of a terminal to dine, shop, see the art and spend more time with family and friends.

Currently, about 20 airports offer this service. And each airport has its own set of rules for how many guests are welcome per day and the hours guests may enter the terminals.

But everyone who applies for a pass must provide and present a TSA-approved identification, go through a background check and complete the standard security screening. In many cases, minors are not allowed.

Here is the current list of airports offering guest pass programs

Akron-Canton Airport (CAK) in Ohio offers the CAK Guest Pass Program. Guests are welcome into the terminal Tuesday through Friday from 10 am to 6 pm. And as a nice bonus, concessions offers a 10% discount to anyone who shows their pass.

Albuquerque International Sunport (ABQ) gate pass program is called the FlySide Pass. Guests may enter the terminal 7 days a week from 4 am until 10 pm.

Capital Region International Airport (LAN) in Lansing, MI has the LAN Visitor Pass, with a limit of 25 visitors per day.

Cleveland Hopkins Interational Airport (CLE) offers the Hopkins Hangout Pass. Pass holders can get discounts a several airports dining venues.

Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DTW) is home to the DTW Destinaton Pass. Guests may use the pass from 4 am until 9 pm 7 days a week in both the McNamara and Evans terminals.

Kansas City International Airport (MCI) offers the MCI Guest Pass Program

Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY) has the MSY Guest Pass program.

Nashville International Airport (BNA) welcomes guests with its BNA Passport. The aiport limits the number of passed to 75 per day.

Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) program is called the the Wingmate Pass. Up to 100 passes are avialable each day and discounts may be available at shops and restaurants in the terminals.

At Seattle Tacoma International Airport (SEA), the SEA Visitor Pass Program is available to up to 300 guests per day.

OC AirPass at John Wayne Airport (SNA) in Orange County, CA.

Oakland San Francisco Bay Area Airport (OAK) now has the OAK Guest Pass Program.

The ONT+ Visitor Pass Program at California’s Ontario International Airport (ONT) provides access to a specific passenger terminal starting at a specific time and cannot be used to access another passenger terminal.

Orlando International Airport (MCO) has rebooted and expanded its Experience MCO Visitor Pass Program. Once limited to Terminal C, the program now permits guests to apply for a pass to any of the terminals.

Palm Springs International Airport (PSP) has a Stay and Play Visitor Pass

San Antonio International Airport (SAT) has a SAT Pass for guests.

San Diego International Airport (SAN) offers the SAN Pass for Terminals 1 and 2.

Tampa International Airport and its TPA All Access pass is back on the list.

Tri-Cities Airport (PSC) in Pasco, WA offers the PSC Pass.

Tulsa International Airport (TUL) has the TUL Visitor Pass Program.