San Diego International Airport

Places to go. Things to do.

Here are some travel tidbits to get the week started

(The night sky above Kitt Peak National Observatory, the Burrell Schmidt Telescope. Courtesy KPNO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/J.Dai)

Things are looking up in Tucson

You’ve likely heard of Donut Trails, Cocktail Trails, Pie Trails and Barbecue Trails.

They are all good ways to explore a city or a region.

Now there’s an Astro Trail in Tucson, Arizona that highlights night sky viewing options.

Available as a web app and printed guide, the Astro Trail is billed as your “personal guide to the galaxy,” exploring all the dark-sky-related stops in Tucson.

The trail includes world-class astronomy institutes such as Kitt Peak National Observatory and the Richard F Caris Mirror Lab where the largest telescope lenses in the world are made, to casual stargazing at national and state parks.  

We’re planning our trip there now.

San Diego Int’l Airport Presents Dance Performances Inspired by Travelers’ Stories

As part of San Diego International Airport’s (SAN) Performing Arts Residency Program, San Diego-based dance company Malahock Dance will present newly choreographed works in Terminal 2 West on January 27, 29, and February 3 at 2 p.m.

The dances are inspired by the diverse stories of nearly three dozen passengers who have traveled through the airport and reflect the dance company’s three-month residency inside the airport.

During the residency, the dancers talked with nearly 300 travelers and ultimately collected 30 oral histories from passengers of all ages about their San Diego experience.  The dancers interpreted these histories into dance, developing their choreography in the airport where travelers and visitors could witness the creative process unfold.

Airports helping to save the earth

Airports pretty much everywhere are doing what they can these days to be light on the earth.

Recycling bins at airports were once a rare sight, but now you’ll see them pretty much everywhere.

But figuring out which bin to put your discards in can be confusing.

We’ve stood in front of bins trying to figure out if our coffee cup is compostable or recyclable. And what about the lid?

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) is one airport where artificial intelligence has been helping out for a while.

The airport uses an AI-assisted tool called Oscar, from Intuitive AI, that helps passengers sort waste items into the proper compost, recycling, or trash bins.

When someone walks up to the machine, which is mounted over the bins, they place an item in front of a camera for the system to analyze. Oscar then tells the user which bin to use to dispose of the item. For those worried about privacy, the cameras only capture images of the waste items presented and not the person presenting the item.

Look for the Oscar at SEA Airport in the Central Terminal, the North Concourse, the South Concourse near gate S2, and in the C Concourse near gate C17.

California’s Long Beach Airport (LGB), which officially identifies as “America’s coolest airport,” is also doing its part to save the earth and recently shared this video about all the food waste it has been keeping out of landfills.

“A Necessary Departure” at San Diego Int’l Airport

(“Blue Corona: Sunset Dances”/Artist: Lori Hepner/Location:Terminal 2 West, Post-Security, Stone Brewery Wall)

San Diego International Airport (SAN) is featuring a new temporary exhibition, titled A Necessary Departure, throughout Terminal 2 pre-and-post security.

A Necessary Departure is a collection of works from 17 local artists and organizations that examines personal transformations and how the community has remade itself after the pandemic.

Featured work in the exhibition includes sculpture, painting, photography, ceramics, site-specific installation, and more. All exhibition pieces will remain on display through 2023.

Here is a sample of artwork from the show.

[“Oneness.” Artist: San Diego MTO School/Kerry Soori McEachern. Location: Terminal 2 East, Pre-Security, Gallery]

(“The Wonders of Plastic”/ Artist: Terri Hughes-Oelrich/Location: Terminal 2 East 2nd floor, Post-Security, gate 24)

(“Farverig Sol”/ Artist: Kaori Fukuyama/Location: Terminal 2 East, Pre-Security, Checkpoint six)

All photos courtesy of San Diego International Airport

Would You Drink Beer Made With Water Dripped from Airport Air Conditioners?

Back in 2019 San Diego International Airport (SAN) partnered with local brewery Ballast Point and an industrial water purification company to create a special beer called SAN Test Pilot.

The beer was a sellout. Even though (or perhaps because) the water for the beer came from condensate that was dripping from the bottom of air conditioning units attached to the airport jet bridges.

Now SAN is at it again. The East Village Brewing Compan has two beers made with purified condensate collected at the airport.

Hoppy Travels IPA is a West Coast IPA with flavors of grapefruit and guava. Pre-Flight Pils is a German-style pilsner with bready and lemon zest flavors.

Both beers are currently on tap at The East Village Brewing Company and will soon be available at San Diego International Airport’s Terminal 2.

We can’t wait to taste them.

Here’s a video that explains how air-conditioning drippings at San Diego International Airport (SAN) become great-tasting, good-for-the-planet beer.

Fresh Art at San Diego Int’l Airport

Artist: Beliz Iristay

Are you sick of staying at home? Or maybe still trying to get home after being stuck somewhere due to the pandemic?

Perhaps some art will help.

In a new temporary exhibition at San Diego International Airport (SAN), 16 artists explore the concept of home.

From the exhibit notes:

Home is a lens through which people explore memory, identity, and belonging in an increasingly nomadic world. More recently, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, home became a safe haven–an all-in-one workplace, classroom, and living space for millions of people around the globe. The term also took on significance as a desired destination that was not possible to reach for some, whether due to travel restrictions or health limitations.

Artist: Cheryl Tall

Make Yourself at Home, located pre and post-security in Terminal 2 at SAN through May 2022, includes sculpture, painting, photography, video, woven textiles, ceramics, site-specific installation, and more.

[The] “exhibition takes on new and imaginative ways to view the concept of home,” says Kimberly Becker, San Diego County Regional Airport Authority President and CEO. “We hope passengers traveling through San Diego take a moment to embrace the art and find new meaning in what home means to them.”  

Here are few more selections from the exhibition.

Artist: Judith Christensen
Artist: Jane Brucker
Artist: Nasem Navad

Seasonal news from PIT, LAX, BWI, MKE, PHX & SAN airports

Whether or not you’re flying during the holidays, it pays to keep up to date with what airports are doing to serve passengers during what is sure to be another unusual season.

Here are some tidbits we’ve already spotted this week.

PIT has its holiday tree up

Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) won’t be having its annual Holiday Open House this year. And local choirs and bands won’t be offering holiday performances.

But PIT is setting up a holiday-themed selfie station in the Airside Center Core and hosting distanced (instrument-only) performances by local musicians. And there will be terminal visits from the PIT PAWS airport therapy dog team.

The holiday tree is already there. Here’s a fun time-lapse video of it going up. PIT reports that 20 people worked to raise the 26-foot-tall tree over a span of eight hours and that this year’s tree has 538 ornaments, 42 yards of fabric, and 166 strands of lights.

Take a 360 Virtual Tour of LAX

Missing airports? Us too. So we’re excited as all get out a new virtual 360-degree of the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) airfield.

This is the same airfield tour that used to be offered to students, community groups, and others curious about LAX operations before COVID-19 arrived. Now anyone can access the immersive, high-resolution 360-degree video experience online using a smartphone, tablet, computer, or VR headset.

Coat check reopens at MKE

If you’re flying from Milwaukee to Hawaii, Florida, or some other warm spot, you probably won’t need your winter coat when you arrive.

So, for the second winter in a row, Wisconsin’s Milwaukee Mitchell Internation Airport (MKE) has opened it popular coat check service.

The Coat check program operates in partnership with retail partner Paradies Lagardère and is offered inside the Summerfest Marketplace store, which is located pre-security. Each coat is wrapped in protective plastic and the charge is a very reasonable $2 per day, or $10 per trip.

As far as we know, this is still the only U.S. airport offering this service.

Fresh art at PHX

Fun and games from BWI

New experiences from SAN’s artist-in-residence

And, thanks, LAX for reminding us that it is December. Already.