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.
Before that happens, passengers can pick up a free souvenir button on their travels through the airport.
There are three different buttons in the “Memories Created in Orlando” program. And with each one the airport says passengers will have a chance to “celebrate special occasions, share their love for MCO, and take home a unique keepsake that highlights their experience in Orlando.”
This first round of buttons is a limited-edition collection, available only until MCO’s rebranding is unveiled on November 13. Then a new line of commemorative buttons will be introduced.
You can pick up your free Orlando International Airport souvenir button at the MCO information booths from 4:30 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., daily.
Where You Can Find MCO Information Booths to get a free souvenir button
Terminal A
Terminal B
Terminal C
Level 3 across from Gates 1-59 security checkpoint
Level 3 across from Gates 1-59 security checkpoint
Level 2 across from Gates C230-C245 security checkpoint
Level 3 across from Gates 70-129 security checkpoint
Level 3 across from Gates 70-129 security checkpoint
While you’re there, ask if there are any Orlando International Airport trading cards to add to your collection.
The collectibles department at Stuck at The Airport was thrilled to receive a package this week from our friends at Airport Council International-North America.
Inside was an almost complete set of the colorful collectible trading cards airports around the country have been issuing every few years since 2014. The number of participating airports has grown over the years and, at last count, there were more than 90 airports with their own trading cards.
Even better, some airports have issued multiple versions of their trading cards over several years.
The front of each card portrays an image of an airport and the airport code. On the reverse of each card are factoids about the airport pictured.
Want your own set of airport trading cards?
Our set is going into the Stuck at The Airport museum archives. But you can start putting your set together by stopping at an information booth in any airport you visit. Participating airports with a stash of current cards distribute them out for free. Some airports also have trading cards for their therapy dogs too. So be sure to ask.
It’s been a while since a new batch has been issued. But we think a fresh new round of collectible airport trading cards would be a great way to celebrate what feels like a very robust return to travel.
Which cards do you have? Please share your tips on how you got them.
More than a million cruise passengers pass through Seattle on their way to and from Alaska each summer and they bring a lot of luggage with them through Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
To keep out all those bags out of the airport check-in halls, the Port of Seattle offers Port Valet. The complimentary service allows passengers to check in for their flights and check in their bags on board their cruise ships and then explore the city luggage-free before heading to their flights. The luggage transfer is free; but regular checked bag fees apply.
Learn how to save a life while waiting for a flight
Los Angeles International is the latest airport to get a Hands-Only CPR Training Kiosk from the American Heart Association.
More than a dozen other airports have these kiosks as well and just five minutes – the time it takes scroll through your Instagram feed again – you can watch a short instruction video (in English or Spanish), practice on a rubber manikin, get feedback on your technique and learn how to save a life.
Get coffee made by a robot
In two locations at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, and one brand new one in Terminal 3 at San Francisco International Airport, travelers can order coffee drinks prepared and delivered by a robotic barista in a Briggo automated Coffee Haus kiosk.
Orders can be sent ahead via the app, no pre-caffeine chit-chat is required, local coffee blends are features, and there’s a robot on duty 24 hours a day.
Food and sundries
delivered to you at your gate
You found an empty seat by a working power plug near your gate and now you’re hungry.
Lucky for you gate delivery services are available in an increasing number of airports. The fast-expanding, app-powered airport order and delivery service At Your Gate rolled out this month in Terminal A at Boston Logan International Airport with plans to expand to Terminal C by the end of summer.
The service is also available in all or parts of Newark (EWR), JFK, LGA, MSP, PDX and San Diego International Airports (SAN) with more on the way.
Tour Tampa
International Airport without a ticket
Go to the airport – and through the TSA
checkpoint- if you don’t have to?
You might say yes if you wanted to greet or say goodbye to a friend or family member at the gate. Or if you wanted to check out the art, shopping, and the bars and restaurants inside the airport.
Since May, the All Access program at Tampa International Airport has been giving passes to 100 non-ticketed visitors each Saturday (25 per airside terminal). Pittsburgh International Airport’s MyPIT Pass program issues passes for post-security access on weekdays.
Free do-it-yourself piano concerts
Many airports
provide live music in the terminals during busy holiday periods and year-round.
Some also provide pianos and invite passengers to make their own music before or after a flight.
St. Louis Lambert International Airport (STL) recently installed a “Play Me” piano in Terminal 1. And Los Angeles International Airport recently debuted to new Kawai G-40EP manual and self-playing baby grand pianos; one in the Terminal 4 connector and one on the Upper Level of Terminal 7.
Just Plane Fun at Philadelphia International Airport
It’s
like a summer camp at the airport.
The summer-long Just Plane Fun program at Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) offers travelers an eclectic schedule of free activities that includes live music, magic shows, artist demonstrations and workshops, beauty demos, local celebrity appearances, and, our favorite, free sips and food samples.
Check the PHL website for scheduled events or pick up a flyer at an airport information counter.
Airport trading
cards – collect them all
They’re cool.
They’re collectible. They’re free. And they can be a challenge to find.
Over the past
few years, more than 70 airports have created trading cards as part of the North
American Airport Collectors Series trading card program. The 2019 series is
scheduled to debut in September.
There doesn’t
seem to be a master list of participating airports, nor a formal way to acquire
the cards. But to start your collection we suggest stopping by an information
desk in any airport you happen to be traveling to or through this summer.
Let’s all go to the movies – at the airports
The 17-seat free Hollywood
Theatre micro cinema at Portland International Airport (PDX) has
a fresh reel of short films by Oregon filmmakers, including Rob Tyler’s “The
Way We Melt,” starring brightly-colored, rapidly thawing frozen confections.
Summer travelers may also watch free films at
San Francisco International Airport (SFO) courtesy of the SFO Museum’s Video Arts
Program, at Minneapolis-St. Paul International
Airport (MSP) in the See
18 Film Screening Room on Concourse C, near Gate C18.
Sensory-friendly
Space with real airplane seating
Going to the airport and getting on a
plane can be stressful for anyone, but kids or adults with autism or other
special needs may need extra help acclimating and adjusting.
To help out, Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) just opened Presley’s Place, a 15,000 square-foot sensory-friendly space in Concourse A, by Gate 9. In addition to a calming transition foyer, family room, soundproof adult area, and restroom with adult changing table and adjustable sink, Presley’s Place is the first airport sensory room to also have the walls and floor of a real jet way and a seating section from a realistic airplane cabin, courtesy American Airlines.
Have a favorite airport amenity? Let us know; maybe it will be featured here on Stuck at The Airport.
St. Louis Lambert International Airport (STL) issued its third trading card in the series, which now includes trading cards from more than 80 airports.
The airport trading card series launched in 2014 and this fall 37 new cards were added.
Most airports hand these out for free (while supplies last…) at their information booths and at in-terminal events, so don’t be shy about asking the volunteers on duty if the new cards available.
