San Diego International Airport

Free recipes, a flower class & audio-visual art from DEN, DAL and SAN Airports

We may not be flying much, or at all, right now but airports are still doing their thing with music, art, and tasty food and drink.

We appreciate that. And we’re paying attention.

Denver International Airport (DEN) has launched the Taste of DEN series offering recipes from the chefs at popular restaurants at the airport.

In the first episode, Tom’s Urban Kitchen & Brewery Chef Robert Garton cookes up a Prime Rib Dip Sandwich. A video from DEN’s Root Down Kitchen is promised next.

To celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, Hortencia and Rachel from the art and programming team at Dallas Love Field (DAL) Airport were kind enough to put together a video showing us how to make traditional paper flowers.

And the San Diego International Airport (SAN) Arts Program has a new artist in residence for Fall 2020.

Throughout her Performing Arts Residency at SAN Margaret Noble is offering a series of downloadable audio-visual works as part of her [Sky][Muse] collection.

The first set is called ‘Compass’ and includes two ‘experiences:’

One has interactive visual music; the other a ‘silent graphical score.’

Signs of the times: cool social distance signs at airports

Signs and floor stickers reminding travelers to keep their distance in airport terminals are necessary right now.

We get that.

But at least some airports are giving their signs some local character.

In the sign above, you’ll see that Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) is using Chinook salmon as a measuring tool. The airport has also enlisted the help of a moose and a Bald Eagle

These are animals locals will listen to.



Harrisburg International Airport (MDT), which is nearby Hershey Park in Pennsylvania, uses Kisses chocolates as their measuring tool.

We’re curious about how they figured out that 72 Kisses chocolates equals six feet and hope whomever was asked to lay the candies out to figure this out got to eat them.

Springfield-Branson National Airport (SGF) has a long-running thing for plastic pink flamingos. So it makes sense that a flamingo pops up in the airport’s social distancing signs.

In Chicago, they use these cute floor stickers at O’Hare and Midway Airports to remind people to keep their distance.

And at San Diego International Airport (SAN) it makes sense that the measuring stick is a surfboard. Passengers are urged to stay at least one surfboard apart.

We’ll keep adding to this collection of creative airport social distance signs and stickers as new ones arrive.

If you see a one in your travels that you think fits, please snap a photo and send it along.

Airport news from San Diego and Anchorage, Alaska

Courtesy San Diego International Aiport

Monsters at San Diego International Airport

The newest group to land a five-month artist residency at San Diego International Airport (SAN) is Beck+Col.

The Los Angeles-based duo creates performances that explore alternate universes populated by colorful and playful monsters.

During their residency at SAN, lumpy, musical monsters will be visiting the airport and interacting and engaging with passengers with exaggerated gestures and operatic vocalizations.

It could be fun. Or scary.

San Diego International Airport has been hosting artists-in-residence since 2016. The first group to move in was a circus.

REAL ID at Anchorage International Airport

In what seems like a super-helpful, no brainer, Alaska’s Department of Motor Vehicles has created a way for citizens to get the new REAL ID driver’s license at the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC).

This saves a time-consuming separate trip to the DMV offices.

Starting October 1, 2020, only REAL ID driver’s licenses will be accepted by the TSA at airport checkpoints. So here’s hoping airport DMV desks pop up at other airports too.

Giant puppets at San Diego Int’l Airport

 Halloween may be over, but at San Diego International Airport there’s more to go.

Today, November 1, the airport is marking Dia de los Muertos (the “Day of the Dead”) by inviting the San Diego Guild of Puppetry and their larger-than-life, 10-foot-tall puppets back for a giant puppet parade.

The parade takes place today from 11:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. in the pre-security baggage claim area of Terminal 2.

The San Diego Guild of Puppetry has been creating large-scale puppet parades in the community since 2004 and its Dia de los Muertos (“Day of the Dead”) figurines are the creations of Felix Diaz, his family, and his students.

Puppets in the Day of the Dead parade at SAN will include versions of skulls, skeletons and butterflies, which represent the spirits of the departed returning to join their families for the celebration.

TSA’s travel tips for getting souvenirs home from Comic-Con

TSA’s blog has some helpful information for anyone heading home through San Diego International Airport after attending Comic-Con International this week – and for those traveling with collectibles and souvenirs from this or any other special event.

TSA suggests that if you’re traveling with a collectible item that has an original seal on it that you don’t want broken, that you ship it home instead of taking the chance that the seal will broken during a TSA search.

Getting dressed up in a costume to attend an event? TSA reminds travelers that neither replica weapons nor real weapons should be placed in carry-on bags and that while both replica weapons and real weapons can be packed in checked bags, actual firearms must meet packing guidelines and be declared.

And, TSA s suggests that if you’re traveling with a lot of brochures, comic books or other books that you put them in your carry-on bag and then place them in a bin prior before sending them through the x-ray machines.

Those items can show up as dense blocks and “Packing these items in checked bags may cause alarms leading to bag searches that can cause a significant slowdown in the screening process leading to delays and bags possibly missing their flights,” says TSA.