John Wayne Airport – SNA

Travel Tidbits from airports Here and There

Some tidbits from museums – and musicians – from around the world to get your week started.

Flashy Fashion Photos at John Wayne Airport

A new exhibit in the Thomas F. Riley Terminal at John Wayne Airport features photography by Kurt Weston.

The images are inspired by the glamourous window displays of Orange County’s Fashion Island and South Coast Plaza shopping centers. Look Weston’s work through June 17, 2021 pre-security near security screening areas in Terminals A, B, and C and on the Arrival (lower) Level adjacent to Baggage Carousels 1 and 4.

Podcasts from Dallas Love Field

A while back we gathered up a list of some of the podcasts being offered by airports around the country, including Austin Bergstrom International Airport, Philadelphia International Airport, and some others.

Dallas Love Field Airport (DAL) has a live broadcast show and podcast titled “Lead with Love,” that continues on June 1 with a 30-minute format of conversations between an eclectic matchup of local citizens “discussing ways that strong leadership, respect of diversity, and inclusion, and celebration of local culture make a difference in the community.”

The shows air live at 12:30 p.m. (Central) and on Love Field’s social media: FacebookYouTube, and Pandora. After each episode airs, the recorded podcast is available on Apple Podcast, Spotify and iHeartRadio.

Here’s the intriguing line-up:

June 1  James Faust, Artistic Director, Dallas Film Society and Dallas International Film Festival, and Barak Epstein, Owner of Aviation Cinema, which operates the Texas Theater, and Co-Founder of the Oak Cliff Film Festival

June 15  Kevin Sherrington, Sports Columnist, The Dallas Morning News, and John Wooten, former NFL player,  one of the first Black football players at University of Colorado, and co-founder of the Fritz Pollard Alliance Foundation. 

June 29 Anthony Hill, Head of Regional Partnerships, UberEats, and Podcast Host of “Legacy is More” and Sterling Melville, Senior Strategy Manager at Pepsico and President of The Melville Family Foundation

July 13 Veletta Lill, Former Executive Director, Dallas Arts District

July 27  Dr. Michael Hinojosa, Superintendent, Dallas ISD

August 10 Sheri Crosby Wheeler, Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Fossil Group, Inc. 

August 24  Randall White, Founder, 24HourDallas, and Dr. Eric Anthony Johnson, Chief of Economic Development & Neighborhood Services, City of Dallas

September 7  Jason Roberts, Founder of Better Block, Founder, Better Block, Urban Planner, Restaurateur, Civic Activist.

SNA: 5 Things We Love About John Wayne Airport

Our “5 Things We Love About…” series celebrates features and amenities at airports around the country and the world.

Today we land at Orange County’s John Wayne Airport (SNA), located in Santa Ana, about 35 miles south of Los Angeles, between the cities of Costa Mesa, Irvine and Newport Beach, and 14 miles from Disneyland.

Keep in mind that some of the amenities we mention at SNA Airport may not be available due to current health concerns. We’re confident they’ll be back.

If we miss a feature that you love at John Wayne Airport (SNA), please let us know in the comments sections. And if there’s an airport you’d like to see featured in the series, please speak up.

SNA: 5 Things We Love About John Wayne Airport.

1. The OC Air Pass

We’re not sure why didn’t know this, but John Wayne Airport has a gate pass program, the OC AirPASS, which allows guests without boarding passes access to the secure side of the Terminal.

The program is currently still operating, which means pass-holders can shop, dine, watch planes, and send off or greet friends and relatives at their gates from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.

To apply for a pass, check-in at Information Booth B in Terminal B (Lower Level, Baggage Claim) with a valid government-issued ID.

2. Live music at John Wayne Airport

John Wayne Airport has an impressive roster of professional musicians who perform live in the Terminal as part of the JWAlive program.

Twice a month these performances are live-streamed on Facebook and Instagram as well.

For a sampling, here’s Bill Withers’ ‘Lovely Day’ performed by the JWAlive musicians.

3. THE JWA AirPAWS team

John Wayne Airport launched its AirPAWS Therapy Dog Program in late February 2020. The program works in partnership with Orange County Animal Allies to bring trained therapy dogs to the airport terminal to make everyone’s journey a little less stressful.

4. The JWA Art Program

Flight of Ideas, by Beth Nybeck

In addition to permanent public art installations in the terminal, the art program at John Wayne airport hosts museum-quality exhibitions in the terminal throuhgou the year.

Some of the hang glides on display at JWA

5. The Helping Hands program at SNA

Traveling through an airport is usually fun and exciting. But all those people, the bright lights, the odd noises, the security checkpoint experience, and the crowds can be overstimulating and overwhelming.

John Wayne Airport has a program called “Helping Hands” to help people especially sensitive to these situations and those traveling with people who may have a hidden disability, such as autism.

The Helping Hands team can do a lot to help make the airport journey smoother. The team can also provide an optional yellow bracelet to signal to airport employees that they may need to spend a little more time helping the bracelet wearer with for check-in, security screening, or other activities.

Did we miss one of your favorite features at John Wayne Airport (SNA)? Don’t forget to add it in the comments section below.

Where should we land next?