Long one of our favorite airports (we’ve flown in just for the shopping and the speakeasy), PDX recently landed at the top of the Washington Post’s list of the 50 best airports in the country, in a Monocle Radio featureand as a World Finalist for the 2025 Prix Versailles Airports award.
More reasons to love PDX
Not content to rest on its laurels, PDX airport is amping up the fun this summer with a series of pop-up terminal street fairs featuring samples and deals at concessions, visits from therapy pups and llamas, plus lots of live music.
The Indianapolis 500 takes place this Sunday and it is a spectacle to behold.
But this year, ahead of the big race, the “Wienie 500” will take place, pitting Oscar Meyer’s entire fleet of Wienermobiles against each other at the legendary Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Friday, May 23 at 2 p.m. ET.
This is the first “meat-up” of all six Wienermobiles in over a decade and the first competitive race for the Wienermobile fleet.
Wienermobile racing seems fun (and odd) enough. But to make the Wiener 500 even more interesting, each Wienermobile will represent a different regional dog, including the Chi Dog (Midwest), New York Dog (East), Slaw Dog (Southeast), Sonoran Dog (Southwest), Chili Dog (South) and Seattle Dog (Northwest).
To round out the fun, there will be custom Hotdogger racing suits and a trophy presentation in the ‘Wiener’s Circle’, complete with a hot dog for the “wiener” and a post-race spray of condiments instead of champagne or the traditional drink of milk.
Back in 2011, Elvis and a handfulf of showgirls were on hand at what was then officially Las Vegas International Airport (LAS) to welcome attendees to the tech event known as CES.
This year, CES coincides with what would have been Elvis’s 90th birthday – January 8.
So (a young) Elvis showed up at what is now Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) to welcome everyone arriving to Las Vegas in true Sin City style.
Nothing beats Elvis.
So we’re declaring the Elvis impersonator at the Las Vegas airport the Airport Amenity of the Week.
🎸✈️ Viva LAS — where Elvis lives on! 🕺 We’re celebrating The King’s 90th birthday with an Elvis impersonator greeting passengers in true Vegas style. Snap a pic, tag us, and rock your travel day! 🎶 #ElvisAtLAS#VivaLASpic.twitter.com/KL8ayHBGIv
— Harry Reid International Airport (@LASairport) January 8, 2025
And look! Elvis stuck around to pose for photos with travelers.
Friday, August 2 is National Coloring Book Day and a good day to pick up a coloring book at an airport.
Friday, August 2, is National Coloring Book Day, and it’s a good day to pick up – or to download – a free coloring book from your favorite airport.
On Friday, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) will give away copies of its new 20-page PHX Airport Activity Book, filled with word scrambles, crossword puzzles, a matching game and coloring pages. Some of the puzzles are in Spanish.
The giveaway will take place in Terminal 3 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and in Terminal 4 from 1-3 p.m. In Terminal 3, the PHX Navigator Buddy Abby will be on-site for photos and paw-autographs. At Terminal 4 in the afternoon, the airport’s mascot, Amelia the Airplane, will be handing out coloring books and taking photos with passengers. Here’s a preview.
More airports with coloring books
Here are just a few of the airports around the country with coloring books you can download from their websites or pick up at airport information desks. In some airports, you’ll also get crayons or coloring pencils.
On its website, Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) has four downloadable issues of coloring books starring airport ambassador, Aussie the Flying Pup.
December 28 was National Card Playing Day, so the Stuck at the Airport games department asked the teams from the Phoenix Airport Museum at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) to share pictures of some of their favorite airline playing cards from the more than 300 decks in their Aviation History Collection. Here’s what they sent.
PHX wasn’t the only airport shuffling the decks on National Playing Card Day. Orlando International Airport (MCO) gave away some of their MCO-branded card decks to some lucky travelers.
Ready to deal out some serious fun? Meet us at the Hyatt Atrium (near the Holiday Tree) to score a deck of our airport-themed playing cards (while supplies last). You don't want to miss out! 🃏#NationalCardPlayingDay ⏰ 11:30 am – 12:30 pm pic.twitter.com/pHfoMICKMC
Airport socks. Yes, it’s a thing. An increasing number of airports are commissioning celebratory socks. Some airports even have socks that match their carpets.
On National Sock Day – December 4 – we’ve gone into the archives and pulled up images of airport socks we’ve collected over the years.
Let us know if we missed the socks from your airport.
We gathered up some of the factoids airports, the FAA, NASA, and others shared for National Trivia Day, January 4.
Test your knowledge. Learn some factoids. And let us know what we missed.
Happy national trivia day! Did you know that the IND solar field is one of the largest on any airport property? It can power 3,675 average American homes per year. 🔌 🏠 #NationalTriviaDay
— NASA's Johnson Space Center (@NASA_Johnson) January 4, 2023
Happy #NationalTriviaDay! Get ready to test your air travel & aviation knowledge. What was the busiest travel holiday in 2022? Learn more at https://t.co/lx48YcBln4.
Last one! Who was the first female American aviator? Interested in learning more? Read about the pioneers of aviation at https://t.co/p4rN6kbluv. #NationalTriviaDay
The Denver International Airport (DEN) ice skating rink is back for its fifth season.
The rink took a two-year pandemic pause. But it’s back. And from ow through January 1, 2023 passengers and airport visitors – even visitors from other planets – are invited to ice-skate for free on the outdoor plaza between the DEN terminal and the Westin Hotel.
The DEN ice-skating rink is open daily from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., weather permitting.
The skate shop offers free ice skate “rentals” in multiple sizes and is located inside the Westin hotel on the west side near Tivoli Restaurant and Brewery.
Refreshments and holiday treats are available for purchase in the skate shop and, for those who just want to hang out, there’s outdoor lounge seating.
The ice rink is located pre-security and is just steps from RTD’s A-Line commuter rail station at DEN, or a short walk from the airport parking garages.
“This nonstop service on Flight CHBZ will depart from the Manyard H. Jackston International Terminal from Gate F8 at 7:30 p.m,” the airport said in a statement,” adding that concessions were going to be serving “Wakandan-inspired dishes pre-flight.”
That flight number, CHBZ, was unusual. But it was a nod to the late Chadwick Bosman, the actor who played film protagonist King T’Challa.
🗣Breaking News: Hartsfield-Jackson announces the return of direct flights to Wakanda! pic.twitter.com/EEkMPFYsJt
This isn’t the first time ATL got into the Wakanda spirit. Back in 2018, when Black Panther debuted, the airport announced that Flight 1234 would be heading to Wakanda as well.
The service is available inside MKE’s Summerfest Marketplace, which is located presecurity in the Airport’s concession mall.
Passengers heading to destinations where the weather promises to be warm can check coats, gloves, and other cold weather gear and travel lighter. When they return, their coats will be warm and waiting for them.
The service is available seven days a week, and is open through the last flight of each day from now until April 1.
This is the fourth year the service is being offered and the cost remains a reasonable $2 per day, with a maximum of $10 per trip.
PDX Carpet Gets Sporty
Courtesy Portland Trailblazers
The iconic carpet pattern that once graced the terminal floors of Portland International Airport (PDX) lives on. And on.
The latest tribute to the flooring design comes from none other than city’s professional baskeball team, the Portland Trailblazers.
They team’s new City Edition Uniform bears a teal sash that is an homage to the PDX Carpet pattern that represented the view of the North and South runways as seen overhead by air traffic controllers. The carpet gained cult status in the 1990s and was replaced in 2015. (But it’s coming back...)
The @trailblazers’ new City Edition Uniform has landed and it pays homage to our iconic carpet ✈️
The entertainment and engagement series brings a taste of the city’s diverse culture and neighborhoods into the terminals with live music, dance, arts & crafts, and demonstrations.
We snapped this fun photo during SFO’s Cherry Blossom Festival in April.
This month, SFO Celebrates Pride in the Harvey Milk Terminal 1 – the first terminal in the world named for a LGBTQ+ leader – with a photo opp and stage based on the iconic Castro Theatre.
Located post-security across from the iStore, this month’s Pride events feature live entertainment on Thursdays and Fridays between 11 am – 3 pm. Passengers may snap selfies with a version of the iconic Castro Theatre backdrop, enjoy live music, meet the Wag Brigade stress relief animals, and more.
Travelers can also celebrate Pride in other spots in the SFO Terminals.
