Holidays

Ready for Thanksgiving travel?

Holidays, ,

Thanks to the record number of travelers expected to travel this holiday, weather woes and the usual list of things that can go wrong with any trip, airports are likely to be zany for the next few days.

Here are just some of the amenities airports are rolling out and reminding travelers about to help ease the journey.

We’ll add more airport holiday alerts over the next few days, but if you’re traveling by train in New York and Connecticut, look for these Metro-North Holiday Light Trains starting on Friday.

The Holiday Lights Trains are back!We'll be doubling the holiday spirit this year with the addition of a festive diesel train, bringing bright lights and spreading holiday cheer to even more stations!These Holiday Lights trains will make their debut on Friday and run through New Year’s.

— MTA Metro-North Railroad (@mtametronorth.bsky.social) 2025-11-25T20:36:39.759Z

Has the goverment shutdown ruined your holiday travel plans?

Holidays,

Air travel is working its way to ‘normal’ now that the government shutdown is over and Thanksgiving travel is about to kick into high gear.

Friday’s news that the Federal Aviation Administration reduced the mandate for U.S. airlines to reduce domestic flights at 40 of the nation’s airports by 6% to 3% starting Saturday will help.

How are travelers feeling about taking to the skies during in the upcoming holiday travel period?

On November 12, as Congress was voting to re-open the Federal Government, Longwoods International did a flash survey of Americans travelers and found: 

Over one third (36%) of American travelers say their travel plans have already been impacted by the Federal Government shutdown.

When looking at holiday travel, here’s how the holiday plans of that 36% break down:

37% says they’ve decided to drive instead of fly.

30% have postponed their holiday travel to a later date.

29% have canceled their holiday travel plans altogether.

26% say they’ve changed the destination for their holiday travel.

And 21% say they’ve shorted their holiday travel plans.

Have your holiday travel plans changed due government shutdown and it’s aftermath? Let us know in the comment section below.

Fly safe on Halloween

Holidays

Yesterday’s list of airports celebrating Halloween with in-terminals parties, decorations and more was just too short. Here are few more.

TSA donation policy + Airports & Halloween

Holidays,

Many airports, airlines and community groups have been helping out federal workers working without pay at airports by setting up food pantries and making gift cards, diapers and other basic necessitites available.

Members of the public are helping out too. And, if you’re so inclined, TSA has shared this information about the proper way to do that.

Airports getting into the Halloween spirit

Many airports around the country – and the world – have a great time celebrating Halloween.

Stuck at the airport: July 4th holiday version

Holidays, ,

Flying somewhere over the July 4th holiday? Lucky you! Airports are apt to be busy, but there are some fun amenities and events that may make your trip a bit more fun.

Christmas in July at San Jose Mineta Int’l Airport

We did a double-take, too. But the big baby chick in a sleigh in the baggage claim at San Jose International Airport (SJC) will be there through July 31.

Austin-Bergstrom Int’l Airport has a public patio. With a name.

For two years, it was a private lounge. But in April, the outdoor patio near Gate 2 at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) reopened to all passengers, offering a great view of airplanes taking off and landing on two runways.

The patio is open daily from 8 a.m.-8 p.m. and provides travelers with lounge chairs, picnic tables, fresh air and shade. And, now,the AUS Public Patio also has a name: AUS Sunrise Porch.

4th of July fun at FLL Airport. On July 3.

Airport dads +donuts for dads +dad jokes

Holidays

We poked around on social media over the weekend to see how airports were marking Father’s Day.

We found salutes to airport dads, airports handing out free donuts for dads and some great corny dad jokes.

Airports mark Star Wars Day – May the 4th

Holidays,

Star Wars fans celebrated the unofficial holiday of Star Wars Day on May 4th and airports worldwide got into the spirit with fun in-terminal events and online posts.

Here’s a round-up of some of the posts we spotted, including one from the National Air & Space Museum reminding us that one of the 400 mailboxes the US Postal Service cleverly turned into R2-D2 look-alikes back in 2007 is on view at the museum’s Udvar-Hazy Center near Dulles International Airport.

Let us know if we missed your favorite post.

It’s National Lava Lamp Day

Holidays

If, like us, you grew up with Lava lamps in your world, then you’ll want to put on something tie-dyed today and mark National Lava Lamp Day (April 5).

Lava lamps – as a brand – have been around since 1965, and this now cultural icon is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year.

According to MIT, Edward Craven Walker got the idea for developing the classic version of the lava lamp in 1948 after he saw an egg timer in a bar in Hampshire, England, made of a glass shaker placed in a pan with a boiling egg.

“The shaker contained a ball of wax in water that, when melted, would turn into a dynamic, globular, floating substance, indicating that the egg was done. A man known only by the last name of Dunnett had patented this device, but he was deceased, leaving Walker to ponder the possibilities for a similar design.“

Walker’s idea was to use an electric lamp to melt the wax, and his design used a ‘secret’ formula of oil, wax and more than a dozen other ingredients.

His Lava lamps packed the mixture in a glass globe on a gold base with a variety of optional ‘lava’ colors, red or white, with yellow or blue liquid.

Since then, lava lamps have helped fuel the psychedelic ramblings of generations.

You can make your own lava lamp with crayons, oil, rubbing alcohol and water by following the directions in the video below.

Or you can buy a modern-day version in stores and online and from Schylling, the toy company that makes them in a wide variety of sizes in ever-so-groovy Andover, Massachusetts.

Wish there was a town that had the World’s Largest Lava Lamp?

It may happen.

The folks in Soap Lake, Washington have been working on just such a project for many years.

Collectors: get an airport trading card on National Trading Card Day

Holidays,

February 24 is National Trading Card Day and a good time to remind travelers that many airports (and some airlines) have trading cards.

Airports Council International-North America, a membership organization for airports and aviation-related businesses, created a trading card program for airports back in 2014.

About 100 airports now participate in the program with cards that portray an image of the airport and the airport code on one side and a series of facts about the airport on the reverse. Some airports have issued more than one version of their cards.

How do you get an airport trading card?

If they’ve got any in stock, airports will likely have the cards available, for free, at their information booths.

Passengers flying on Delta Air Lines flights and those flying on Breeze (through Tampa International Airport) report getting trading cards from pilots and flight crew members.

And in some airports, handlers for therapy dogs hand out trading cards featuring their pups.