On Monday, a Burning Man art exhibition and therapy dogs dressed in costumes will welcome arriving burners.
Local volunteers and airport docents
(perhaps in costumes as well) will be on site to help with information about
and directions to the Playa.
And airport shops will be stocked with Burning Man essentials such as water, snacks, camping equipment and apparel.
The airport is also prepping for when the Burners leave.
Everything that comes back from the festival site will be covered with dust from the Playa that can ruin the baggage systems. So airlines are ready with rolls of large plastic bags to cover suitcases and anything else Burners will need to check in and take home.
Celebrations are
already underway to mark the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon
landing and the first steps taken by humans on the moon.
July 20 is the official anniversary day, but United Airlines and Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport are among the groups that have a planned more than a month’s worth of activities to mark the lunar milestone.
Win a seat on a
special United Airlines celebration flight
Top among the events
is a special flight from Newark to Houston on July 17, the anniversary of the day astronauts Neil
Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin Buzz Aldrin made their first TV
transmission from Earth to space.
On that day, United Flight 355 from Newark Liberty International Airport to Houston will be a celebratory flight with space-themed entertainment, inflight gifts and special guests who have been to space.
Want to go along? United is hosting a social media contest on Twitter with a prize that includes seats on board the Apollo 11 celebration flight as well as a behind the scenes tour of NASA facilities in Houston. Deadline to enter is June 22, 2019 at 10:29 a.m. CT.
Mission: Space City is a go! Retweet for a chance to win 2 tickets on our special flight to Houston and a behind-the-scenes tour of @NASA_Johnson & @SpaceCenterHou in celebration of Apollo 11's 50th anniversary.
Beginning July 1, members of United’s Mileage Plus mileage program can bid miles on space-themed experiences such as VIP access to Space Center Houston’s Apollo 11 50thAnniversary Celebration featuring the band Walk the Moon. More information on that here.
Courtesy NASA
No contest entry needed
for these Apollo 11 activities:
There’s more: Starting
July 1, seatback and personal device entertainment on United flights will
include a channel with dedicated space-related program from NASA, including
action cam footage of astronaut spacewalks.
In United’s Terminal C and E at George Bush
Intercontinental Airport (IAH), there are lots of activities planned as well:
In Terminal C, gate lounges will display digital photographs from the Apollo 11 mission on the monitors.
From July 9-11 Space Center Houston will provide Apollo 11-themed pop-up science labs in the terminals. In the United Clubs, customers will have a chance to meet and take photos with retired Astronaut Ken Cameron.
During July, travelers
will also have a chance to eat like an astronaut at In United Airlines’ at two restaurants at
IAH, one in Terminal C and one in Terminal E.
What did the astronauts eat?
Courtesy National Air and Space Museum
Between liftoff and touchdown
back on earth, astronauts Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong and Michael Collins were running
experiments, taking pictures, gathering samples and making history.
They also took time to
eat.
“More than 70 items
comprise the food selection list of freeze-dried rehydratable, wet-pack and
spoon-bowl foods,” NASA explains in the 250-page typewritten press
kit for the Apollo 11 Lunar Landing Mission on July 6, 1969.
The press kit lists the day-by-day,
meal-by-meal menu for each crewman and explains how some of the meals were
prepared.
“After water has been injected into a food bag, it is kneaded for about three minutes. The bag neck is then cut off and the food squeezed into the crewman ‘s mouth,” the release explains.
Freeze-dried ice-cream isn’t
on the list, but powdered fruit-drinks (not Tang; NASA doesn’t use brand
names), along with bacon cubes, shrimp cocktail, beef stew, frankfurters, fruit
cocktail, tuna salad and many other familiar foods are.
“Familiar foods, or even just fresh
foods, are often hugely satisfying in space for the memories they trigger and
warm feelings they generate,” said Jennifer Levasseur,
Museum Curator, Department of Space
History at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, which has 13 packets
of food the Apollo 11 astronauts didn’t eat.
Like modern day travelers, food is one of the few
things astronauts can control during a journey far from home. “Food must have
had a very important role on Apollo 11 because they were doing things that had
never been done before,” said Vickie Kloeris, NASA Food Scientist Emeritus.
Dine like an astronaut
Many of the foods found
on those original Apollo 11 menus are featured during July on a special menu at
OTG’s Ember Tavern and Tanglewood Grille in United Airlines’ Terminal C and E
at IAH.
To ensure authenticity, OTG’s culinary team visited NASA’s Space Food
Systems Laboratory in Houston to learn about and taste food prepared by NASA’s
food scientists.
“We wanted to understand what food meant to astronauts having that
experience and what it means now,” said Dan O’Donnell, OTG’s Head of Culinary, “We
wanted to know the science and philosophy behind space food; where they were
then and where it is now.”
The biggest take-away, said O’Donnell was that
the astronauts could choose a lot of the foods they wanted to eat. “It wasn’t
just about sustenance. Much of it was food that reminded the astronauts of home;
like beef and potatoes, tuna salad and sugar cookies. Our menu is a play on
those items.”
Travelers who order from
the Apollo 11-inspired IAH menu won’t be served meals that need to be
reconstituted and squeezed into their mouths from bags. Nor will they find 1969
prices.
Instead they’ll find modern-day
versions of many menu items from the Apollo 11 mission.
“For instance, our take
on the Tuna Salad uses seared ahi instead of regular tuna, but we prepared it
in the same way with walnuts, grapes, celery, apple and some fresh yogurt,”
said O’Donnell, “The Beef & Potatoes is made with grilled ribeye, scalloped
potatoes and parsley pesto.
Although there was no alcohol on Apollo 11, there’s are cocktails on the IAH Apollo 11 anniversary menu.
“The original menus said, ‘orange drink,’ ‘grapefruit drink’ or ‘citrus drink.’ They were very flavor focused and on the sweeter side, because people taste things differently in space,” said Allison Kafalas, OTG Beverage Director, “I took those flavors and translated them to cocktails that are a bit more relevant and modern for today’s eater, including a peach bellini, a martini using an orange vodka from Texas and a pineapple margarita.”
Chattanooga Int’l Airport goes all solar. Virgin Atlantic’s bespoke coffee. And a DJ Drag Brunch at Newark Liberty International Airport.
Tennessee’s Chattanooga Airport (CHA) is celebrating the completion of its 2.64-megawatt solar farm project.
And reaping the rewards.
For now, CHA is the first and only airport in the U.S. generating enough renewable energy to offset all the airport’s energy needs.
Power generated by CHA’s solar farm is sold through a partnership with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and EPB (the Electric Power Board of Chattanooga) and the airport then gets enough credit to cover its full electric bill.
“This project has immediate
benefits to our airport and community, and we’re proud to set an example in
renewable energy for other airports, businesses and our region,”said Terry
Hart, president and CEO of the Chattanooga Airport, “While generating a local
renewable resource, we are also increasing the economic efficiency of the
airport.”
Virgin Atlantic’s bespoke coffee helps the homeless
Virgin Atlantic is getting a bespoke coffee blend made by Change Please, an award-winning coffee company that provides support services for people who are homeless.
The new blend will be available on all Virgin Atlantic flights and clubhouses worldwide beginning in Fall 2019. Profits from the partnership will go towards Change Please’s efforts to help the homeless community reenter the workforce.
DJ Drag Brunch at Newark Liberty International
Airport
In support of Pride Month, airport restaurant operator OTG and United Airlines hosted a DJ Drag Brunch on Thursday, June 20 at Novella restaurant in the Terminal C Global Bazaar at Newark Liberty International Airport.
Proceeds from the brunch will support The Trevor Project, a suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning) young people that operates free and confidential crisis services including a 24/7 phone lifeline, text, and chat programs.
Before and after brunch, travelers got a treat and, no doubt, great pictures, as the brunch entertainers traveled throughout the terminal.
Miami International Airport now has a multi-sensory room just beyond the Concourse D TSA security checkpoint. The room provides a quiet area for young passengers with cognitive or developmental disabilities such as autism.
The dimly lit space includes sensory-soothing fixtures, including an aquatic bubble tub, wall puzzles, cushioned seats and a light projector. Hours: seven days a week from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Party at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport
Look who's back in some shiny new digs! Renovations to @AmysIceCreams are complete, and the ice cream ready to go!
Now open Sunday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 8 pm. and from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays across from Gate 21. pic.twitter.com/8TRAx79Nim
— Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (@AUStinAirport) April 12, 2019
Amy’s Ice Cream is back at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and a good time to indulge is today during the kick-off party for the refreshed Asleep at the Wheel Stage in the center of the Barbara Jordan Terminal.
Located near Gate 19, there’s a 9-foot neon lighted guitar spinning above the area and seating for 190 patrons.
The party runs from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and includes a ribbon cutting ceremony and performances by Ray Benson, Heybale Band, and Love & Chaos.
NFL Hall of Famer Earl Campbell will be on hand to help celebrate the Heart of Austin area of the airport that includes the Saxon Pub Bar, Joe’s Coffee and Earl Campbell taco-themed food truck.
Fresh art at John Wayne Airport
A new photographic exhibit at John Wayne Airport in Orange County, CA by Jane Szabo’s is titled “Family Matters” and uses childhood posessions and simple objects to tell a complicated story of family dynamics.
After moving her 86-year-old father and 91-year-old mother into assisted living, Szabo began to organize the contents of their home of 36 years. “Family Matters” is a result of the final selection of treasures she kept before placing her parent’s home for sale.
Fiesta at San Antonio International Airport
San Antonio International Airport held its Second Annual Fiesta San Jacinto Day Parade recently, with mariachi music, parade floats, mascots and festive colors through both terminals of the airport.
Jewel, the new over-the-top attraction at Changi Airport, hasn’t officially opened to the public. But thanks to ticketed previews for local residents and, of course, all the media reports, word has been getting around.
The venue is part mall, with 280 swank and unusual shops and restaurants, and part forest theme-park, with the world’s largest indoor waterfall right in the center.
The flow of the waterfall and the size of the droplets can be controlled. And somewhow each evening the water becomes a screen upon which two different 360-degree light & sound shows are projected each evening.
Take a look.
This video is courtesy of Changi Airport. I took a video too during one of the preview nights, but there were so many thousands of people and cameras in front of me that my version features the back of someone’s bald head.
The Cherry Blossom watch is on in Washington, D.C., with the National Park Service predicting April 1 as the peak viewing time for cherry blossoms in nation’s capital.
D.C.’s National Cherry Blossom Festival continues through April 14, but travelers arriving or departing at the two DC-area airports, Reagan National and Dulles International, get a sneak peek, thanks to a cherry blossom pop-up at Dulles International and Japanese music and calligraphy at Reagan National airports.
At Dulles International (at the intersection of Concourses A and B) travelers will find a whimsical cherry blossom pop-up park with a 15-foot, replica cherry blossom tree, park benches or bistro tables.
The park will remain on site
through May, with scheduled events through April 8.
Each Friday through April 12, travelers flying out of Reagan National will be able to hear performances by Japanese Koto musicians. A master calligrapher (to inscribe luggage tags) and a sketch artist will be on site as well.
Both airports have partnered with the official
National Cherry Blossom Festival to present the exclusive 2019 National Cherry
Blossom canvas tote bag. Any purchase of $100 or more at any two retail or
dining locations will receive the tote as a gift with purchase. (Look for signs
telling you how to redeem).
Find more details about the Cherry Blossom
Festival events, including a discount parking offer, at DCA and IAD airports here.
To mark the Chinese New Year and celebrate the Year of the Pig, Los Angeles International Airport will be hosting a Lion Dance for two days this week.
The Lion Dance symbolizes power, courage and good fortune. It also chases away evil spirits and bring happiness and good luck.
At LAX, the 20-minute Lion Dance will be performed by Wushu Shaolin Entertainment on Tuesday, February 5 at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m, and on Friday, February 8 at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m in the post-seurity area of Tom Bradley International Airport.
The terminal will also have festive decorations in honor of the Chinese New Year. Red envelopes with gifts and offers from LAX shops and restaurants will be handed out to passengers. So don’t shy away from the lion!
But wait – there’s more.
The 61st annual Grammy Awards take place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Sunday, February 10.
To celebrate, on Tuesday afternoon February 5 LAX airport and the GRAMMY Museum will host a Grammy-themed event for passengers arriving in Terminal 2.
The event will take place between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. and again from 2 p.m. to 4 pm and feature live music plus gifts for arriving passengers of official GRAMMY merchandise and souvenirs.
A five-case display showcasing the evolution of the gramophone award has been installed in Terminal 2 and will there all year long.
On Tuesday, down in the Terminal 2 baggage claim area, a giant gramaphone will be arriving to remind passengers that this is an especially festive week in LA.
Airports, airlines
offer holiday cheer for stressed out flyers.
This holiday season you’ll likely find long lines at security checkpoints, crowded gate areas and fully packed planes. But you’ll also get holiday treats, fun activities and perks. We’re updating our list.
Through December 26, more than 110,000 square feet of covered space between Terminals 1 and 2 is once again transformed into a pineforest surrounding a giant ice rink.
The market also includes more than 40 booths offering handicrafts and traditional Christmas treats, live music, kid’s activities and free ice-skating.
At London’s Heathrow Airport, British Bake Off winner Candice Brown and food artist Michele Wibowo teamed up to create a giant gingerbread model of the entire airport. Look for the airport terminals, the runways, control towers and thousands of details and decorations.
Fans of the airport’s popular and heartwarming series of holiday ads will even spot miniature versions of stuffed bears Doris and Edward Bair.
Cleveland Hopkins International Airport is holding a pop-up Holiday Marketplace from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. on December 18, 20 and 21.
Vendors will be offering many “made in Cleveland” and “made in Ohio” goods in the Main Terminal Food Court and on Concourses A, B and C.
For most of December, diners at OTG’s Marathi Indian restaurant in Terminal 1 at Toronto Pearson InternationalAirport will receive complimentary spice kits and a recipe for Chicken Biryani.
Marathi’s chef, Paul George, hails from India and is well known for his specially-curated spice blends. His spice blend for Chicken Biryani includes Fennel seed, Shaijeera, Cumin, Cashmirchilies, Black cardamom, Green cardamom, Cinnamon, Cloves, Javathri, Nutmeg,Bay leaf, Star anise, Black peppercorn and Poppy seed.
The selfie-friendly Snoopy statue on the mall at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport is wearing a festive sweater this season, complete with 3D decorations, crocheted by local textile guilds.
And through January 6, Denver International Airport is offering free ice-skating with free skate rentals on the plaza between the main terminal and airport Westin. To keep spectators and skaters warm, there’s free hot chocolate and cider beginning at noon on Fridays.
Alaska Airlines will celebrate National Ugly Sweater Day on December 21 by offering early boarding on all Alaska and Horizon Air flights to any passenger wearing a festive holiday sweater.
Alaska Airlines offers early boarding on Dec. 21 for guests wearing holiday sweaters.
And bonus: United Airlines will be giving 2,500 bonus award miles to passengers who will ‘miss’ December 25 because they’re booked on the carrier’s seven international flights that depart on December 24, but don’t arrive at their destinations until December 26.
