A handful of airports have book exchange corners. But Chattanooga Airport has the “Skylib” – a little shop filled with new and used books with payment on the honor system. Sales benefit the Chattanooga Public Library.
Like you, airports around the country are getting ready to celebrate Valentine’s Day.
And a couple of our favorite airports have already shared a bit about what they have planned for their favorite passengers.
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) customer service staff will be handing out airport-themed Valentines and branded chocolate kisses at the airport information booths and in the Central Terminal. Look for a photo booth and keep an ear out for the roving violinist.
And over at Philadelphia International Airport (PHL), Volunteer Navigators will be handing out 2,000 red carnations on Valentine’s Day starting at 10 am.
For those who need a last-minute Valentine’s Day gift, Lily Palmer Flowers and Gifts, located in PHL’s B/C Connector, will have two pop-up shops selling flowers and goodies. One shop will be near the Terminal B exit and another at the top of Terminal E.
And, as we shared earlier, there will be a temporary Marriage License Bureau set up at Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) in Las Vegas.
The Stuck at the Airport romance team is gathering up Valentine’s Day activities planned for other airports, so stay tuned.
The Stuck at the Airport dessert team is delighted to learn that St. Pete – Clearwater International Airport, where the airport code is PIE – is celebrating National Pie Day on Tuesday, January 23 by giving away, you guessed it, free pie.
Travelers and guests will be able to grab a free mini pie at PIE in a PIE-branded box between 9 am and 11 am in the airport’s bag claim area.
Bonus activities include the chance to enter a contest to win two ticket vouchers on Allegiant Air and a stay at the Wyndham Grand Clearwater Beach, plus photo ops with a local TV celebrity and PIE’s new sand sculpture.
Sweeter Travel Starts with PIE! That’s why we’re giving away FREE mini pies on National Pie Day, Tues, 1/23. 🥧 Look for us in the baggage claim area for free pie, a selfie with our sand sculpture, and the chance to win free @Allegiant tickets. 🛩 https://t.co/4r3yKpoANFpic.twitter.com/0pFw4gOzqQ
— St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport (@iflypie) January 16, 2024
[This is a slightly different version of a story we first prepared for The Points Guy site.]
Airplane etiquette frowns on passengers taking home the blankets, the pillows, or the plates meals are served on. But some items are perfectly OK to swipe from your next flight.
Delta Air Lines’ ‘secret’ airplane trading cards
Delta Air Lines says that when they’re not busy preparing for a flight or flying the plane, their pilots are happy to pass out a collectible trading card featuring one of the airplanes in their fleet to “any customer that asks nicely.”
The carrier says there are 11 card types in the current collection and six total Delta collections since the beginning of the program, which has been active for more than 20 years.
Airplane Wings
If you are a kid – or an adult – stepping on a plane for the first time and a pilot or flight attendant hands you a small wing pin with the airline’s insignia on it, that’s going to make an impression.
Delta, Alaska, and Southwest Airlines still have airplane wings for kids and first-time flyers. Most are plastic, but the wings Alaska Airlines hands out are metal.
KLM’s little Delft houses
Long-haul business class passengers on KLM get to take home one of the more unusual and collectible items: a miniature Delft house.
The little blue-and-white houses are in the shape of historic and notable buildings in the Netherlands or abroad and are filled with Bols Genever, a liquor made with corn, rye, and wheat.
KLM commissions a new little house each year and releases it in October to coincide with the anniversary of KLM’s founding in 1919. This year’s house – the 104th in the series – portrays Valkenburg Station, the oldest existing railway station in the Netherlands.
Salt and pepper shakers
Airlines know that many passengers pocket salt and pepper shakers. And some carriers have fun with that.
Virgin Atlantic’s salt and pepper shakers say “pinched from Virgin Atlantic” on their feet.
Caught red handed? 😲
If you’ve walked away from one of our flights with a 'new' salt and pepper shaker, take a peek at their feet and you’ll be in for a surprise. pic.twitter.com/m6INViFl81
And the little see-through airplane (above) filled with salt and pepper on Condor Airlines (remove the propeller for pepper) says “aeroplane souvenir” on the underside.
Amenity kits
Premium passengers on international flights are issued some swanky amenity kits.
United’s new Polaris amenity kits are filled with products from the Therabody wellness brand. And Emirates has a collection of Bulgari amenity kits for First and business-class passengers with a wide variety of upscale products, including an engraved Bulgari mirror.
Dublin Airport (DUB) takes the Christmas holiday seriously.
The Stuck at the Airport holiday team thought it was cute when we saw the notice that the Dublin Airport was going to shut down on Christmas Eve to make sure the skies were clear for Santa.
But we didn’t think that was for real.
Turns out it was. Not only does Dublin Airport shut down flight operations on Christmas Eve to make sure the air space is fully clear for the arrival of Santa, but the airport holds an annual ceremony to bless the planes on Christmas Day. And Dublin Airport has been holding a plane blessing ceremony each Christmas Day since 1947.
We’re ready for Santa too! Flight operations at Dublin Airport will cease on Christmas Eve after the last flight arrives at around 23.00, ensuring the air space is fully clear for the arrival of Santa’s sleigh after midnight. 🎅 https://t.co/EmvJnz6Ep9
Christmas Day is the only day of the year when Dublin Airport is closed. But we still had a skeleton team on duty to deal with emergencies – and also to escort airport chaplain Father Des Doyle as he carried out the annual blessing of the planes. 🎄 pic.twitter.com/8bJem1SHLx
Like Santa, the Stuck at the Airport amenities team keeps an annual list. Ours makes note of the airports that offer travelers great new amenities and events throughout the year.
Here’s what made our list this year.
(Our list of Best Airport Amenities of 2023 first appeared on The Points Guy site this year in a slightly different version).
1. A whole new airport terminal for Kansas City, Missouri
In February, Kansas City International Airport (MCI) opened its long-awaited and much-needed new 40-gate terminal. The $1.5 billion facility dazzles with a massive check-in hall, glass jet bridges, great art, and a wide array of locally branded shops and restaurants, including a barbecue restaurant with the only wood-burning BBQ pit in an airport.
2. Love in the airport
The Clark County Clerk’s Office in Las Vegas once again brought its pop-up marriage license kiosk back to Harry Reid International Airport (LAS), for Valentine’s Day. That meant couples could skip a visit to the license bureau downtown and go directly to their wedding ceremony.
New Year’s Eve is already a popular day to get married in Sin City, but this year the date – which can be written as 1-2-3-1-2-3 – is considered especially lucky.
3. April Fools’ Day airport pranks
Many airports go all on on April Fools’ Day. And this year was no exception.
Denver International Airport (DEN) promised the DEN Red Eye, the world’s first airport Ferris wheel. And Minneapolis International Airport (MSP) introduced an only-in-Minnesota amenity: the Lutefisk Fresh vending machine.
4. Airport childcare
In July, Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) became the first airport to open a childcare center on-site, in a surplus part of the terminal once used by US Airways.
The center won’t take care of your kids while you pop into an airport bar for a pre-flight cocktail, but PIT’s onsite childcare center is a welcome amenity for airport employees. Several other airports offer subsidized childcare for the kids of employees in nearby facilities. And some airports, including Phoenix Sky Harbor (PHX), are actively working on studies and facilities that expand childcare options for employees.
5. More Visitor Pass Programs
Orlando International Airport (MCO) joined the list of airports that offer an airside visitor pass.
Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) joined the visitor pass party in October with the introduction of its Wingmate Guest Pass Program, which comes with a bonus of dining and shopping deals from PHL merchants.
6. Flush with pride: BWI has America’s Best Restroom
7 All LAX terminals are now connected post-security. Finally.
This year one of the more irritating roadblocks to smooth connections at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) fell away when a post-security walkway opened between Terminal 3 and the Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT).
It is now possible to access all of the LAX terminals once you pass through security at one terminal.
8. Fort Wayne International Airport loves its customers. And feeds them.
Year-round, Hospitality Hosts at Fort Wayne International Airport (FWA) welcome passengers with a (wrapped) cookie from a nearby bakery. But this year, during Customer Appreciation Week in October, the airport treated passengers to free, fun food each day.
In addition to a popcorn bar, a caramel apple bar, a hot dog bar, and a walking taco bar with all manner of toppings, the airport presented passengers with a coffee and hot chocolate bar.
9. Baggage gargoyles return to Denver International Airport
In 1995, an art piece titled “Notre Denver,” by Terry Allen made up of two bronze gargoyles sitting inside suitcases was installed in the east and west bag claim areas at Denver International Airport (DEN). They are tasked with making sure DEN baggage arrives safely. However, the decorative duo spent about five years in storage due to airport construction.
In October the gargoyles returned to their perches, just in time to protect passengers’ holiday luggage. Unfortunately, there appears to be no plan to bring back DEN’s chatty gargoyle, which made an appearance in 2019.
10. Free books at Miami International Airport
A handful of airports around the country, including Oregon’s Eugene Airport, have free short story dispensers on site. Others, such as Philadelphia International Airport, have kiosks or book nooks where passengers may swap a paperback for another or download free digital books.
Miami International (MIA) is the newest airport to hop on the book exchange program.
In mid-December, MIA debuted its colorful Books with an Altitude Library in the airport’s South Terminal, between gates H5 and H7. The Miami-Dade Public Library system seeded the library with a donation of 1000 books and passengers are now refreshing the selection with their exchanged books.
Yes, airports were very, very busy this year. But which one was the busiest in 2023?
That would be Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL), which topped the list put together by flight data company OAG.
OAG measures ‘busiest’ by airline capacity (seats), and during 2023 Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL) had more than 61 million departing seats.
That is 12% over 2022 and just 3% below 2019 levels. ATL was also the busiest global airport in 2022 and 2019.
Full list of airports that made the Top 10 of World’s Busiest Airports in 2023
Here are the rankings of the busiest airports in the world, ranked by seats. You’ll see that 5 U.S. airports ranked in the Top 10.
Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson International Airport (ATL)
Dubai International Airport (DXB)
Tokyo International Airport – Haneda (HND)
London Heathrow Airport (LHR
Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW)
Denver International Airport (DEN)
Istanbul Airport (IST)
Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD)
China’s Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport (CAN)
The carrier began operating in 2007 and became a passenger favorite thanks to leather seats, cool cabin mood lighting, premium entertainment systems, a super-catchy award-winning safety video (see below), and its high-energy flight and ground crews dressed in hip, casual uniforms.
Virgin America’s planes had cool names, such as Jefferson Airplane, Legally High, and Let There Flight. And when new routes were kicked off, Richard Branson would often show up
The airline ceased operations in 2018 following its acquisition by Alaska Airlines. But the airline lives on in the collection of the SFO Museum at San Fransisco International Airport (SFO).
A new exhibition at SFO, titled VX Forever: The Legacy of Virgin America includes flight and ground crew uniforms and accessories, inflight service items, promotional material, seats, photographs, and ephemera.
Look for the free Virgin America exhibit pre-security in the Aviation Museum and Library in the International Terminal of San Francisco International Airport through November 17, 2024.
If you’re looking for the perfect gift for someone who loves history or aviation, take a look at the Images of Aviation series by Arcadia. The prolific publishing house puts out hundreds of photo-rich books on local and regional history.
There are more than 100 titles in the series. Each one is written by a local writer and/or historian using the standard Arcadia format of about 200 black-and-white photos with explanatory captions.
New to the series is a book on Dallas Love Field, by Bruce A Bleakley, the former director of the Frontiers of Flight Museum in Dallas, Texas. This isn’t Bleakley’s first Arcadia rodeo; his other books in the Images of Aviation series include Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and Dallas Aviation. So it’s pretty clear he’s the go-to expert for anything aviation in the Dallas area.
The Stuck at the Airport book club received a copy of the Dallas Love Field book and is leafing through it now. But we wanted to share some of the photos and stories that stand out so far.
This is a photo of Bessie Coleman, the first Black person (man or woman) to earn a pilot’s license. We knew about Coleman, but we didn’t know that in 1925 she bought her last airplane – a Curtiss “Jenny” – from the Curtiss Aeroplane Company at Love Field. Coleman died in an airplane accident a year later. Photo courtesy of Amanda Potts).
This photo, from 1938, shows aircraft from the three largest airlines serving Love Field at the time. From front to back, there’s a 12-passenger Delta Air Lines Lockheed Electra, a 14-passenger Braniff Airways Douglas DC-2, and a 21-passenger American Airlines Douglas DC-3. (Photo credit: Frontiers of Flight Museum).
In 1973, Braniff International Airways commissioned Alexander Calder to come to Dallas to create a Latin-themed livery, TheFlying Colors of South America, for one of its Douglas DC-8s. Calder came back in 1975 to create another special livery, The Flying Colors of the United States, (pictured above) on a Boeing 727 for the US Bicentennial. As with all the images in the Arcadia series, these special liveries appear in the Dallas Love Field book in black and white. But Bruce Bleakley was kind enough to share this color version of Calder’s bicentennial livery.
(Courtesy of Frontiers of Flight Museum)
When Dallas Love Field opened a new terminal in 1958, it was the first airport to feature moving walkways. (Courtesy Frontiers of Flight Museum).
Dallas Love Field was also where Lyndon Johnson was sworn in as president of the United States aboard Air Force One on November 22, 1963, less than two hours after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.
That photo is in the Dallas Love Field book, along with a photo of the bronze marker inlaid in a concrete ramp at Love Field at the spot where Air Force One was parked.
