Airports

Travel Tidbits from airports near you

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Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) hosted a popcorn giveaway in honor of the Super Bowl.

We wish we were there…

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) and San Francisco International Airport (SFO) are among the airports celebrating the Lunar New Year.


Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is marking Black History Month by celebrating an intriguing piece of its public art collection. Mark Bradford’s hard-to-miss giant sculpture, Bell Tower, is in the Tom Bradley International Terminal Departure Hall.

And we were delighted to add our comments to – and learn from – this article about observation decks and outdoor patios to be found at airports.

“I love the idea of being able to go outside and be a part of what’s happening on the tarmac,” said Thom Filicia in 2013.So do many travelers. In the years since, American airports have begun, if not clamoring for, actively including consideration of outdoor airside spaces in a myriad of projects.

— Airport Architecture (@airportarchitecture.byerussell.com) 2025-02-05T13:57:20.524Z

Travel tidbits from airports near you

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Winter weather is still wreaking havoc with air travel. As of 1 a.m. EST on Wednesday, flight tracking site FlightAware was showing more than 1,000 flight cancellations. Flight operations were scheduled to resume at the Houston Airports – IAH and HOU – but in other parts of the country, some airports were closed to air traffic due to storms.

Love Pie? Then head to PIE

PHX Airport is kicking off its 90th anniversary with … culture

The giant onion at Walla Walla Airport

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Walla Walla, Washington (the town so nice they named it twice) is well known for its world-class wines and the Walla Walla Sweet Onion.

Although there are more than 120 wineries in the area and more than 750,000 annual visitors, there are just two flights daily in and out of Walla Walla Regional Airport (ALW), both to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA).

Still, the airport has some charming amenities.

There’s a large onion sculpture welcoming passengers waiting at the baggage carousel and a cafe operated by the Hidden Valley Bakery serving sandwiches, bagel dogs and a wide variety of fresh pastries.

The Stuck at the Airport team was in town for work, but we did do some wine tasting at one of the many downtown tasting rooms.

And we tested Alaska Airlines’ Wine Flies Free program.

Mileage Plan members flying from 32 cities in Oregon, Washington, California and Idaho may check up to case of wine with no baggage fee. Some wineries also offer free tastings for visitors who show their boarding pass, which is a valuable bonus.

We purchased one bottle of wine from woman-owned Dama Wines and had it boxed up for travel.

At the airport, the gate agent said whether it is one bottle or a full case, it doesn’t matter. It is free to check it. So she added fragile stickers to our one-bottle box and handed us a bag claim ticket.

In Seattle, we waited a while for our box of wine to appear at the baggage carousel and got a bit nervous. But our box did eventually show up.

And now it was festooned with TSA stickers and a note letting us know that the agency’s officers had looked inside.

Roundup: Best Airport Amenities 2024

Airports

The Stuck at the Airport team, like Santa, keeps a list of airports that are very, very good.

And we’re happy to share our round-up of some of the best airport amenties we spotted in 2024.

If we missed your favorite, let us know!

Note: our first first appeared on the The Points Guy site in a slighty different format.

Surprise and delight events at IND’s Civic Plaza

While most airports have put key services and amenities behind security, Indianapolis International Airport (IND) maintains an active and inviting pre-security central hall called the Civic Plaza that has a 35-foot-high ceiling, a 5-story window wall and plenty of dining, shopping and art.

And they put it to clever use.

In January, when Indianapolis hosted NBA All-Star Weekend 2024, a full-size (94 by 50-foot) replica of an NBC basketball court made with vinyl adhesive appeared in the Civic Plaza. Free throws and pickup games were not allowed, but it was a big hit.

When Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour came to town in November, the airport turned Civic Plaza into Swift City, complete with Girl Scouts making and handing out friendship bracelets, a 30-foot-tall image of Taylor Swift, live music, concert-themed menu and limited-time souvenirs.

And in December, Santa Claus did a practice run at IND, racing across the taxiway in a firetruck and entering Civic Plaza on an airport-themed carpet.  

SFO’s Silent Disco

In keeping with its status as a “quiet” airport with minimal overhead announcements, San Francisco International Airport (SFO) introduced a silent disco in February appropriately dubbed the “San Fran-disco.”

For a month, passengers were invited to let their hair down and dance along to San Francisco-themed music using their own headphones in a specially decorated post-security area of Harvey Milk Terminal 1.  

Out of this world rocks land at Portland International Jetport

In March, airports in and around the path of totality for the April 8th total solar eclipse were gearing up for an influx of passenger traffic.

Building on the excitement, Maine’s Portland International Jetport (PWM) debuted an exhibit of 18 meteorites. Titled Fly Me to the Moon, the exhibit includes meteorites on loan for 5 years from the Maine Mineral and Gem Museum’s world class meteorite collection. The specimens include the second largest piece of moon on Earth, pieces of Mars and an iconic Gibeon meteorite that looks a lot like Edvard Munch’s “The Scream.”

Airports get silly for April Fool’s Day

Many airports around the country lean into April Fool’s Day.

This year Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) shared a photo of a plane entirely covered in sticky notes.

Reno-Tahoe International Airport (RNO) introduced Travel Tubes, a “human pneumatic tube system allowing you to pre-check in the Ticketing Hall and then whiz straight to the gate.”

And Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) teased the opening of an underground tunnel with a major art installation titled “River Tunnel” by claiming that the tunnel would be filled with water. “Disneyesque-type boats will replace moving walkways and paddles will be provided for passengers who want to row their own boats,” SLC claimed.

More ways to visit airports without a ticket to fly

 

A growing list of airports offer gate pass programs that allow non-ticketed guests to go through the TSA security checkpoint to greet an arriving passenger, spend more time with a friend or family member or just hang out in the terminal enjoying the art, shops and restaurants. You can apply for a gate pass at airports in Seattle, New Orleans, Palm Springs, Philadelphia, Orlando and in a handful of other cities.

In July, Nashville International Airport (BNA) became the latest airport to come onboard with its version of the gate pass program. The BNA Passport gives non-ticketed passengers the opportunity to enjoy the airport’s robust offering of live music on multiple stages and its ‘drinks to go’ policy which allows a post-security mosey around the airport with a cocktail or beer.

My First Flight buttons at Norfolk International Airport

Your first flight on an airplane is a special occasion. No matter if it takes place when you’re a kid or an adult.

The team at Virginia’s Norfolk International Airport (ORF) gets that. And this year they bought a button-making kit so they could create souvenir buttons to help passengers mark and remember that giddy, special day feeling.

ORF’s “My First Flight buttons” are available at the airport information booth and the airport’s Volunteer Ambassadors have a stash as well.

Portland International Airport opens a tree-lined main terminal

In August, Portland International Airport (PDX) opened its expansive and reimagined main terminal designed by architecture firm ZGF. Part of a $2.15 billion makeover, the impressive forest-like pre-security space has a soaring timber roof, the latest in check-in and checkpoint technology, more than 70 live trees, more than 5,000 live plants and plenty of art, shops and restaurants.

Stadium seating in the main terminal are perfect spots for hanging out before a flight with friends and family or listening to live music. And there’s a treat in the lounge area atop each bank of seating. PDX has faithfully recreated the much-loved teal-and-purple carpet pattern that inspired thousands of shoe selfies.

SLC brings back its world map

In 2024, Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) completed the third phase of its redevelopment by opening a new underground tunnel, welcoming major new art installations and surprising the traveling public with the announcement that the airport’s iconic terrazzo World Map first installed in 1960 had been saved.

When the new airport terminal was being built, engineers announced that they couldn’t save the map. But they did. And the map is now back on view in the Concourse  B Plaza.

Long Beach Airports caps off its centennial year. With pickleball.

Long beach Airport ( LGB) celebrated it centennial in 2024 with a year-long campaign that included the reopening of its Historic Terminal, issuing a series of collectible series of posters in the style of  Work Projects Administration’s national park posters, installed a time capsule and by jumping into the pickleball craze with pop-up pickleball court, just in time for holiday travels.

Santa’s Layover Lounge at DEN Airport

And Denver International Airport (DEN) created a pop-up lounge for Santa and other weary travelers.

In addition to holiday cocktails and snacks, passengers can cozy up to the Rudolph’s Refuel Stations – a hot cocoa bar – through the first week of 2025.

SEA Airport gets a mascot

Airports,

Mascots.

Sports teams have them. Schools have them. Theme parks have them. And airports have them too.

The Stuck at the Airport team has encountered cute mascots at airports nationwide and around the world and is delighted that our home airport, Seattle Tacoma International Airport (SEA) now has one too.

Just in time for the busy holiday travel season, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) debuted Jett the SEA Otter, which airport officials say is pronounced S-E-A like the airport code.

Multiple regional mascots rolled out the red carpet for Jett during the mascot’s debut in SEA’s Central Terminal.

We’re looking forward to meeting Jett and getting a selfie.