5 Things We Love About

ICT: 5 Things We Love About Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport

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This installment of “5 Things We Love About…” celebrates some of the features and amenities that delight us at Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport (ICT).

1. The Terminal

On June 3, 2015, Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport in Kansas (formerly Wichita Mid-Continent Airport) opened a swanky new state-of-the-art terminal building.

 The terminal was designed to reflect Wichita’s role in the aviation industry and has many elements that evoke flight.

For example, the terrazzo design on the floor takes inspiration from the contrails of aircraft flying in the sky. As a bonus, the lines serve as wayfinding tools for passengers to and through various parts of the terminal.

Historical exhibits are located throughout the terminal as well. And on the public mezzanine, wing-like exhibits contain historical data and graphics explaining the rich history of Wichita’s aviation heritage.

2. Wichita Airport’s History of Aviation exhibit

Wichita’s role in aviation history has earned it the title of “Air Capital of the World.” The legacy of aircraft manufacturing in the city is documented in the airport’s History of Aviation exhibit, which is like a free museum inside the airport.

3. ICT has glass jet bridges

Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport (ICT) has 12 glass jet bridges (11 are currently in use). That’s the largest installation of glass jet bridges in the country.

4. Cool Kansas Souvenirs

ICT airport is located in Kansas. So of course there are Wizard of Oz-themed souvenirs available in the airport gift shops. And lots of them.

5. “Aloft” art

Created by Ed Carpenter, the “Aloft” sculpture inside Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport (ICT) was designed to evoke “feelings of ascent and descent, and sensations of the allure of flight.”

The work is composed of a 360-foot-long main cable and sixty-five transverse cables that support alternating panels of laminated glass and plastic.

We love lots of airports

In addition to the Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport (ICT), our series “5 Things We Love About…” has celebrated San Francisco International Airport (SFO), Orlando International Airport (MCO), Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) and Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport (GSP).

So far.

If we missed a feature you love at one of these airports, please share a note in the comment section.

If you want to sponsor one of these “5 Things We Love About…” installments, please get in touch.

PHX: 5 Things We Love About Phoenix Sky Harbor Int’l Airport

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Here is another installment of our new “5 Things We Love About…” series celebrating some of the services, amenities and features we love about airports around the world.

We’re keeping our list to just 5 cool things about each airport, but feel free to add any bonus features we overlooked in the comments section below.

Feel free, too, to nominate an airport for the series or sponsor an installment.

So far, we’ve profiled San Francisco International Airport (SFO); Orlando International Airport (MCO) and Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport (GSP).

Today: 5 Things We Love About Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX)

1. The Phoenix Airport Museum

Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) is home to one of the largest airport art museums in the U.S. – the Phoenix Airport Museum.

The collection includes nearly 900 artworks, 35 exhibition spaces in six buildings and the Phoenix Aviation Archive.

Look for the art in both terminals and at the Rental Car Center. There’s also a treat at the 44th Street PHX Sky Train Station, which is home to a restored vintage World War I aircraft, the SPAD XIII.  

2. The PHX Navigator Buddies

PHX is one of a growing list of airports where teams of therapy dogs and their handlers regularly visit the terminals to hang out with travelers and help de-stress the journey. Here they’re called the PHX Navigator Buddies.

3. The Fitness Trail at PHX

The Sky Harbor Fitness Trail at PHX is located post-security in Terminal 4 and is measured out to just a little over one mile from Gate A30 to Gate D8.

The trail is part of FitPHX, a city of Phoenix initiative intended to help get Phoenix residents into better shape. In addition to getting some exercise, travelers who walk the trail are rewarded with views of the downtown Phoenix skyline, beautiful Camelback Mountain and more.

4. Animal relief areas at PHX

PHX goes all out with the pet relief areas for pups and has seven pre and post-security cute-as-a-puppy places where dogs can take care of business. There are even animal relief areas at the PHX Sky Train stations.

PHX pet relief area

5. The souvenirs at PHX Airport

We’ve found some charming – and quirky – souvenirs in the shops at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. Here are just a few of our favorites.

5 Things We Love About Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) is part of an ongoing series here at StuckatTheAirport.com.

If you’d like to sponsor one of the installments, get in touch.

MCO: 5 Things We Love About Orlando Int’l Airport

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5 Things We Love About Orlando International Airport (MCO)

It’s another installment of the “5 Things We Love About…” series on Stuck at The Airport, celebrating some of the services, amenities, and features we love about airports around the world.

We’ll (try to) keep these lists to just five items. But if you want to add a note about a bonus feature you love, please add it in the comment section below.

And if you want to nominate an airport for the series, or sponsor one of the “5 Things We Love About ..” entry in the series, get in touch.

Today: 5 Things We Love About Orlando International Airport (MCO)

The Traveler – by Duane Hanson

1. The art collection at MCO

In addition to “The Traveler” (above) by Duane Hanson, MCO’s art collection includes some real treasures, including “Space, Time and Energy” by Jacob Lawrence and a series of four terrazzo “Welcoming Gardens” by Scott Parsons (below) that serve as welcome mats at the airport.

Space, Time and Energy, by Jacob Lawrence

2. MCO’s airport tower

The air traffic control tower at MCO is not only pretty and quite recognizable for its design, at 345 feet it’s one of the tallest ATC towers in the United States.

3. The atrium at Orlando International Airport

The main terminal atrium at Orlando International Airport serves as part of the lobby of the Hyatt Regency Orlando International Airport. The atrium also features a water fountain, palm trees, high ceilings, and plenty of natural light. All rare amenities at an airport.

4. MCO’s carpet – and matching socks

MCO’s airside carpet is quite photogenic and so popular that the airport has socks to celebrate the carpet. The airport has several other MCO-themed socks as well. You can’t buy them: the airport saves them to use as prizes for online contests and for surprise giveaway events in the terminal.

We don’t even have any of theses socks in our our sock drawer.

5. An aquarium, a giant screen + photo op spots

MCO has a 3,000-gallon food court fish tank containing eels and 40-50 fish. If you’re lucky, you might get to see a fun show when the tank is cleaned.

Other cool attractions we love at Orlando International Airport include the 36-foot-long hi-res video screen outside the Magic of Disney store in the atrium (across from security checkpoint for gates 70-129).

For visitors who didn’t get enough photos at area theme parks, there are photo ops spots outside of several stores, including an astronaut at the Kennedy Space Center shop store and minions and a velociraptor at the Universal Store.

And don’t even get us started on the airport souvenirs.

Stay tuned for more in our “5 Things We Love About ….” series.

Want to nominate an airport or sponsor one of the entries? Leave a note in the comment section and we’ll be in touch.

Here are 5 Things We Love About: Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport (GSP)

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Welcome to another installment of our new “5 Things We Love About…” series celebrating some of the services, amenities, and features we love about airports around the world.

To keep things moving along we are keeping this series to just five things we love about each airport.

If you want to nominate an airport for the series or add a note about a feature you love about an airport beyond the five items we here, please add it in the comment section below.

And if you want to sponsor one of the “5 Things We Love About..” entries in the series, get in touch.

5 Things We Love About Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport (GSP) in South Carolina.

1: ToonMobile

Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport (GSP) is the first and, so far, the only airport in the United States to offer free live-streaming of ToonMobile, a compilation of kid-friendly content from Warner Media’s Cartoon Network.

GSP also a live stream of the CNN Airport Network that includes live sporting events such as NCAA March Madness Tournament games, professional football, and basketball.

2: Bespoke beer

Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport partnered with local brewery RJ Rockers Brewing Company to create a special beer.

The Flight Line GSP craft brew is “infused with the energy and optimism of Upstate South Carolina and its namesake airport,” and is available only at GSP.

3: Airside Garden

GSP’s outdoor garden is located post-security and features a water and sculpture garden with benches and cafe tables surrounded by a grove of trees and hedges. The garden is an original feature at the airport and dates to 1962, with a refresh in 2016.

4: Art. Lots of art.

GSP has more than a dozen pieces of art throughout the terminal and most of it is inspired by and reflective of the region.

5: GSP’s sense of humor

Here’s a fun video GSP airport shared on May 4th. Charming, right?

Stay tuned for more installments of “5 Things We Love About ..” and please nominate your favorite airport or airport amenity for the series.

If you want to sponsor one of the installments, get in touch.

5 Things We Love About: San Francisco International Airport (SFO)

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5 Things We Love About San Francisco International Airport (SFO)

Today Stuck at the Airport kicks off a new feature of short airport profiles celebrating some of the services, amenities and features we love about airports around the world.  

We could go on and on (as we often do) about some our favorites, of course.

But to keep things moving along, we are keeping the list for this series to just five things we love about each airport.

Our goal is to add at least one “Five things we love about…” feature each week. But, honestly, we’re just hanging around waiting for the time we can once again step foot into some of these airports, so during the next few weeks we’ll likely be posting a few of these features each week.

If you want to add a note about a feature or amenity you love about an airport that we don’t mention, we encourage you to add it in the comments section below.

Keep in mind: some amenities may be temporarily unavailable due to COVID-19 concerns.

And if you want to sponsor one of the “5 Things We Love About…” entries, get in touch.

5 Things We Love About: San Francisco International Airport (SFO)

Courtesy SFO Airport

1. Museums at SFO Airport

Back in 1999, the SFO Museum was the first airport museum to be accredited by the Americal Alliance of Museums (AAM).

Today, the SFO Museum presents charming and educational exhibitions in more than twenty galleries through the airport terminals.

Courtesy SFO Museum

But that’s not all. SFO is also home to the San Francisco Airport Commission Aviation Museum and Louis A. Turpen Aviation Museum, which is home to a permanent collection dedicated to the history of commercial aviation.

2. SFO’s “Kids Spot” play areas

Kids will definitely enjoy many of the museum exhibitions at SFO Airport, but they’ll also enjoy the interactive Kids Spot areas around the airport, located in Terminals 1, 2 and 3.

3. The SkyTerrace outdoor observation deck

Outdoor observation decks at airports are rare amenities these days. SFO has two.

The Outdoor Terrace in International Terminal 5 is located post-security (near Gate G14) and wooden chairs, tables, chaise lounges, drought-tolerant landscaping, bronze sculptures and 180-degree views of the airfield.

 The SkyTerrace is an outdoor observation deck located pre-security in Terminal 2 that also offers great views of the airfield.

4. The Wag Brigade therapy animals

Like many airports, San Francisco International has a team of certified therapy animals that mingles with travelers to provide diversion and reduce stress.

SFO’s team is called the Wag Brigade and includes a charming assortment of dogs and a pig named Lilou.

5. Yoga Rooms

SFO created the first airport yoga room back in 2012. Now there are yoga rooms in Terminal 2 and Terminal 3. And a handful of other airports, include Chicago’s O’Hare and Midway Airports and Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, have yoga rooms as well.

This “Things We Love About Airports” segment is made possible by Reel Women Productions, creator of books, radio documentaries, news and feature articles, and the StuckatTheAirport.com blog.

If you’d like to sponsor an upcoming “Things we love about airports” installment, get in touch.