Are you ready for Valentine’s Day? Many airports are. And you should too.
The Clark County Clerk’s Offices is already set up at Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) in Las Vegas offering marriage licenses and vow renewal certificates to arriving passengers at a pop-up marriage licence bureau in the Terminal 1 bag claim. It will be there through February 25.
Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) is getting ready to hand out 1,200 red, pink and white carnations to guests and employees at the information counters in all terminals on Friday, February 14.
Smooches from Pooches is returning to Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) for Valentine’s Day this year, courtesy of the Canine Crew Therapy Dog Program from 10 a.m. to noon.
At California’s Long Beach Airport (LGB), a poet will be on duty again this year writing love poems on demand between 10 AM and 2 PM.
And between 10 AM and Noon on Valentine’s Day, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) will be hosting a free photo booth, craft projects for kids near the Children’s Play Area, SEA Pup Gracie, Jett the SEA Otter and valentines at the Central Terminal post-security.
SEA also has a great love story about “Gordy,” the SEA sloth that was discovered on Valetine’s Day back in 1961.
We know other airports are also planning to mark Valentine’s Day in special ways and we will add what we can as it arrives. If we’ve miss your airport, please let us know.
When the Stuck at the Airport team isn’t hanging out in an airport, it can usually be found in a museum.
And this week, while traveling through Australia and New Zealand on Holland America’s Westerdam cruise ship, we’ve been delighted to stop in towns with truly wonderful museums.
One of our favorite museum discoveries is the Tūhura Otago Museum in Dunedin, New Zealand. The museum has been collecting for over 150 years and houses more than 1.5 million objects from around the world.
Among its treasures is the Kodak camera that New Zealand’s Sir Edmund Hillary carried to the summit of Mount Everest in 1953.
It is one of the objects in the Museum Director’s Choice exhibition, with a note that says in part that the camera is “arguably the most famous camera on the planet” and was used to take the iconic picture of Tenzing Norgay on top of Mount Everest on May 29, 1953.
Hillary and Nepalese-Indian Sherpa mountaineer Norgay were to reach the summit of Mount Everest.
The director’s note goes on to explain that back then, the Kodak Retina Type 11 represented “the pinnacle of photographic technology” and was celebrated for its compactness, reliability, and high-quality images.
Featured performances in Terminal 2: 🐉 West Coast Lion Dance Company on Feb. 6 from 3:30 – 6:30 PM and Feb. 7 from 3 – 4:30 PM 🐍 Leung's White Crane Dragon and Lion Dance on Feb. 13 & 14 from 10 AM – 12 PM pic.twitter.com/MsROaB1In2
— San Francisco International Airport (SFO) ✈️ (@flySFO) January 29, 2025
(This is a slightly different version of a story we prepared first for The Points Guy site)
Over the past two years, 25.6 million travelers with disabilities have taken a total of 76.9 million trips and have spent almost $50 billion on travel per year. When you add their travel companions to the equation, this group spends over $100 billion per year on travel.
This data comes from a 2024 market study from the Open Doors Organization, a Chicago-based group that advocates for accessible services and goods.
Despite all that traveling and spending, ODO’s study found that in the past two years, more than 80% of travelers with disabilities have encountered obstacles when dealing with airlines and airports.
The problems include difficulty navigating narrow aircraft aisles, problems hearing announcements, long distances between gates, difficulty navigating terminals and lack of adequate seating areas.
And that doesn’t even address the jarring statistics of how often airlines lose or damage medical equipment and wheelchairs.
It wasn’t until December 2018 that the U.S. Department of Transportation began requiring airlines to report the total number of enplaned scooters and wheelchairs as well as the total number of scooters and wheelchairs mishandled.
Now, the DOT’s data shows that for every 100 wheelchairs or scooters transported on domestic flights, at least one is damaged, delayed or lost.
In October 2024, the DOT announced a $50 million fine against American Airlines for mishandling thousands of wheelchairs and failing to offer prompt wheelchair assistance — along with various other “serious violations” documented between 2019 and 2023.
“These problems are not unique to American Airlines,” the DOT said in a statement. It noted that it currently has “active investigations” into similar violations at other U.S. airlines.
New federal rules designed to help
New federal rules, evolving airline programs and innovative technology may bring improvements.
This change sets standards for assistance and requires hands-on training for airline employees as well as any contractors who physically assist passengers with disabilities and handle passengers’ wheelchairs.
For example, the rule requires that airlines provide “prompt enplaning, deplaning, and connecting assistance” and return all checked wheelchairs and other assistive devices to passengers “in the condition in which they are received.”
Airlines must also notify passengers — before they deplane — whether their wheelchair or scooter has been unloaded from the cargo compartment; they must provide appropriate loaner equipment if a wheelchair or scooter is mishandled.
Airport- and airline-specific changes
On their own, airlines and airports have been making progress in serving passengers with a wide range of disabilities.
It incorporates universally “rolled” curbs to floor-level baggage scales, couches without armrests to better accommodate travelers with mobility issues, and a tactile cane trail with ribbed tiles that runs from the check-in counters through the security checkpoint to the gates.
In France and 20 other countries, Air France offers a “bespoke” program called Saphir to provide assistance to travelers with disabilities.
In 2023, United Airlines became the first airline to add Braille markings on aircraft rows and inside lavatories. The full mainline fleet should have Braille signage by 2026.
More than three dozen domestic airports offer sensory rooms where neurodivergent travelers and their families will find furnishings, interactive activities and, in some cases, real airplane cabin seats that can help alleviate preflight anxiety.
Airports are also adding hearing loops that allow travelers with hearing disabilities to connect their hearing aids to an airport public address system and improve access to announcements for gate changes, boarding and other flight information.
Many airports also offer access to Aira — an app that provides people who are blind or have low vision with a live visual interpreter to help them navigate their surroundings — for free.
Delta Air Lines’ Flight Product division is working on a prototype for seating that will allow passengers to use their own wheelchairs on a plane.
American Airlines and its subsidiary Envoy Air currently offer travelers the use of autonomous, self-driving wheelchairs from Whill at a growing list of international and domestic airports, The list includes Tokyo’s Haneda Airport (HND) and Narita International Airport (NRT), Miami International Airport (MIA), and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).
Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS) is currently testing the wheelchairs, and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) is using them to supplement Alaska Airlines’ traditional, nonmotorized “pusher” wheelchair service.
Since August, more than 4,200 passengers at SEA have used autonomous wheelchairs, which drive themselves back to the base after delivering passengers to their gates.
Globally, air travel accessibility is getting attention as well. It was recently the topic of a symposium held by the International Civil Aviation Organization, Airports Council International and the International Air Transport Association.
“It is no secret that accessibility poses challenges for a significant number of our passengers who have disabilities,” IATA’s Director General Willie Walsh said in a statement. “Linking disparate approaches into a practical global outcome that will deliver for travelers without disappointment is the goal.”
A severe storm bearing down on the Gulf Coast will cause travel trouble for thousands on Tuesday – and beyond.
As of 1 AM EST on Tuesday, flight tracking service Flight Aware is showing close to 2,000 flights canceled, including all flights at Houston’s Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) and Hobby Airport (HOU), both of which halted operations at midnight.
To prioritize the safety of our passengers and staff, and due to extremely hazardous road conditions throughout Houston, flight operations at IAH will be temporarily suspended at 12 A.M. on Tuesday, January 21. Please do not attempt to travel to the airport after this time. 1/3 pic.twitter.com/YItcX5ta6w
To prioritize the safety of our passengers and staff, and due to extremely hazardous road conditions throughout Houston, flight operations at HOU will be temporarily suspended at 12 A.M. on Tuesday, January 21. Please do not attempt to travel to the airport after this time. 1/3 pic.twitter.com/mx7NvSYDsk
Most flights at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY) have also been canceled.
Most airlines at #MSY have cancelled flight ops, and depending on weather conditions, most airlines plan to resume operations on Wed., Jan. 22, 2025. Passengers are advised to check directly with their airlines on the most up to date flight info.https://t.co/Jxli8WM9uLpic.twitter.com/K6njAlxAlH
If you have a reservation to fly in the next few days, be sure to check with your airline for delays or cancellations.
Here are the links to the travel alerts and waiver policies in effect for flights affected by the Winter Storm Enzo in the Gulf Coast and Winter Storm Demi in the Northeast. Many airlines also have change fee waivers still in effect for the Southern California wildfires.
Alaska Airlines Winter storm change fee waiver in effect for flights to, from or through Washington DC (DCA), Dulles, VA (IAD), Baltimore, MD (BWI), Philadelphia, PA (PHL), Newark, NJ (EWR), New York, NY (JFK) and Boston, MA (BOS).
American Airlines About 40 cities are included in the carrier’s travel alert for flights scheduled January 20-22.
Delta Air Lines Change fee waivers are in effect for Atlanta, the Gulf Coast, the Northeast and Southern California.
Frontier Airlines Travel alert is in effect for many cities on the East Coast and the Gulf Coast.
JetBlue Travel alert is in effect for cities in the path of Winter Storm Enzo and Winter Storm Demi and those affected by the Southern California wildfires.
Southwest Airlines A travel alert is in effect for flights affected by Winter Storm Enzo, Winter Storm Demi and the Southern California wildfires.
United Airlines Travel alert is in effect for flights to, through and from dozens of cities affected by Winter Storm Enzo, Winter Storm Demi and the Southern California wildfires.
If you’re traveling or picking up someone from San Antonio International Airport, please contact your airlines for the latest travel information. The winter weather is impacting many flights across the United States. Our dedicated team continues to monitor weather conditions. pic.twitter.com/2AMEq7eM0Z
— San Antonio International Airport (@SATairport) January 20, 2025