Just catching up on some airport-related events and amenities posted on X the past few days.
At George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) a cat took an unusual ride, and a new vending machine has Pokémon and sports cards.
Calgary International Airport (YYC) set up a make-your-own welcome sign station. (Our Airport Amenity of the Week!)
And Quad Cities International Airport (MLI) has a new art exhibit that looks charming.
For the 13th time, Singapore’s Changi Airport has been named the World’s Best Airport in the Skytrax World Airport Awards.
Changi also won awards for the World’s Best Airport Dining, the World’s Best Airport Washrooms and as the Best Airport in Asia.
It’s no wonder. Changi Airport is a destination on its own, with free snooze lounges, game rooms and movie theaters, a butterfly garden, a swimming pool, great art, a fitness zone and, over in the Jewel entertainment and retail center, the world’s largest indoor waterfall.
Here are some of the other awards:
Houston Airport System got the award for having the World’s Best Airport Art for the third successive year.
Vancouver International Airport ranked as the top airport in North America
New York’s LaGuardia Airport was awarded the best regional airport in North America
Tokyo Haneda Airport received an award as the World’s Cleanest Airport among major airports
Seoul Incheon Airport got the nod for having the World’s Best Airport Staff.
Istanbul Airport received the award as the World’s Most Family Friendly Airport.
Crowne Plaza Changi Airport collected the award as the World’s Best Airport Hotel.
The TWA Hotel at New York’s JFK airport received the award as the Best Airport Hotel in North America for the second time.
The Skytrax awards are based on the World Airport Survey questionnaires that evaluate customer experience across a wide varfiety of indicators, from check in, arrivals, transfers, shopping and security / immigration through to departure at the gate.
Giant headaches for travelers and airlines around the world today and no doubt for many days to come as London’s Heathrow Airport closed completely after a power outage caused by a nearby electrical substation that shut down power at the airport.
Heathrow initially announced it would be closed throughout Friday, March 21, but has since announced that it is restarting flights with a priority on “repatriation and relocation of aircraft.”
As you may imagine, a lot of travel plans are a mess.
More than 1000 flights to and from Heathrow – and to and from other airports around the world – have been canceled – so far – leaving hundreds of thousands of passengers affected.
As always, if you’re scheduled to fly to, from or through Heathrow or, really pretty much any European airport (many Heathrow-bound flights were diverted elsewhere), be sure to check with your airline for the latest news. And, if your schedule is at all flexible, consider taking the flight change waivers for this incident.
Here are links to the change fee waivers offered by just a few airlines – including, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue, and British Airways. Check your airline’s website for the latest “Travel Alerts” to make sure you don’t end up getting stuck at an airport.
IATA Director General, Willie Walsh, clearly not a big fan of Heathrow, is thanking travelers for their patience, but saying that the shutdown “is yet another case of Heathrow letting down both travelers and airlines.”
Airports in the U.S. and abroad are preparing to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, March 17.
In February, JetBlue invited customers to vote on which of three special livery designs created by Puerto Rican artists will be painted on a JetBlue Airbus A320 to honor Puerto Rico’s rich culture.
The winner is the design created by Juan Gutierrez, better known as The Stencil Network.
The design embodies the spirit of Puerto Rico and features the proud jíbaro (Puerto Rican farm worker) on the tail and images of Puerto Rico’s fruits and flora on the body. On the plane’s belly is the phrase “Yo Soy Boricua” (I am Puerto Rican).
Look for this colorful plane to be flying this summer.
Here at StuckatTheAirport.com, we often say that the best airport is the one that serves as the gateway to where you want to go.
But there are many ways – and many organizations – that evaluate airports using other measurements.
And that’s just fine.
Airports Council International (ACI) World is one of those organizations. And, in partnership with travel technology company Amadeus, ACI just announced the winners of the 2024 ASQ Airport Experience Awards, which are determined by passenger surveys.
Here are some of the North American airports that got some of the top honors. You’ll notice some patterns. An airport that gets it right in one category is likely to get it right in others.
You can see the full list of worldwide winners here.
This award recognizes the top 5% of airports for their performance on the ease of going through the airport.
Gerald R. Ford International Airport (GRR) – Grand Rapids, Michigan
Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport (GSP) Greer, South Carolina
Portland International Jetport (PWM) Portland, Maine
This award recognizes the top 5% of airports for their offering, such as restaurants, shop and entertainment, and for the their efforts towards making the waiting time enjoyable and comfortable.
Gerald R. Ford International Airport (GREE) Grand Rapids, Michigan
Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport (GSP) Greer, South Carolina
Indianapolis International Airport (IND) Indianapolis, Indiana
Gerald R. Ford International Airport
Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport
Indianapolis International Airport
This honor is awarded to the top 20% of the airports with overall satisfaction.
St John’s International Airport (St John’s, Canada)
Victoria International Airport (Victoria, Canada)
Gerald R. Ford International Airport
Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport
Portland International Jetport (Portland, United States of America)
Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport
Indianapolis International Airport
Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport
Dallas Love Field Airport
Tampa International Airport
LaGuardia Airport
Dallas Fort Worth International Airport
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
Toronto Pearson International Airport