Honey bees are experiencing a drastic decline in the United States and that’s having a negative impact on the global ecosystem.
Creating habitats where they can thrive is part of the solution. And on National Honey Bee Day, Saturday, August 20, we recognize the contributions honey bees make to our lives.
Airports abuzz
Airports around the country are doing their part to help the honey bees thrive by hosting honey bee hives on airport lands.
The bees at MSP Airport are there as part of the University of Minnesota Bee Veterans program, which provides free beekeeping education for Minnesota Veterans, including monthly workshops, including in-person and online workshops.
Here’s a video from MSP showing honey bees in the hive.
Does your airport have hives? (Tee-hee) Let us know and we’ll update our list.
When completed the big bird will appear to be gently dipping its head beneath the water’s surface.
TPA shared the news this week that the 6,0000 pounds of custom-made ceiling panels designed to replicate the surface of the water surrounding the flamingo have finally arrived in Tampa from Japan and are being prepared for installation.
On Watch for Wildlife at SEA Airport
Speaking of wildlife…
There’s a new exhibit at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) encouraging passengers to help save endangered animals around the world.
The exhibit includes information about endangered animals and illegal animal trafficking.
Included in the display are examples of confiscated illegally trafficked wildlife artifacts alongside sustainable look-alikes.
Look for the exhibit in SEA’s S Concourse, the departure point for most international flights.
The swanky, new, state-of-the-art, International Arrivals Facility (IAF) officially began welcoming and processing all international arrivals at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) on Tuesday.
We stopped by to take some snaps, witness the official first-day operations, and collect some of fans SEA was giving out bearing the names and skylines of international cities served.
What’s the big deal about SEA’s new arrivals facility?
Well, the old one was dark, cramped, out-of-date, and overall just a sad way to say “Welcome to Seattle and the United States.”
The new one has a stunning 85-foot-high aerial walkway and a giant (450,000-square-foot) grand hall for baggage claim and customs processing.
We’d watched as the facility was built. But now that it’s fully operational, we’re glad that StuckatTheAirport.com’s headquarters is in Seattle so we get to use it.
Here are some more snaps from our visit on the cut-over day.
The aerial walkway is the star of the show. Passengers get great views out to the mountains and off to the city. Plus, there’s the treat of seeing planes go by below from the longest structure over an active taxiway.
Accessing the walkway is a thrill too on a ride up one of the longest sets of escalators in the country. Too long? There’s an elevator option as well.
Passengers may travel along the aerial walkway by foot or hitch a ride on the moving sidewalk. With such great views, we recommend a slow amble.
And then there’s the bag claim and arrivals hall. Which is now a million times more welcoming than what greeted passengers before.
As airport amenities go, it is charming and engaging for travelers. Much like many of the amenities on the list of Best Airport Amenities of 2021 we shared with The Points Guy site this week.
The list of Best Airport Amenities in 2021 includes:
The Shot Bar was created by Seattle celebrity chef and mixologist Kathy Casey, a frequent traveler whose company operates some food and beverages outlets at SEA airport.
“With the early covid restrictions on seating, no sitting at the bar, 25% occupancy, and tables 6 ft apart, our seating at Rel’Lish Burger Lounge was very limited,” Casey told us. “Options for travelers were very limited to get a quick drink before their flight. Many folks were also nervous about their first flight in a while, so they were looking for a quick drink.”
The to-go counter at Rel’Lish wasn’t busy, “so I thought, why not provide an area that people could have a quick shot and be on their way,” says Casey. “Our tag line was: order shot – shoot shot – fly off.”
The simple idea took off. Social media loved the concept and the tiny red Solo cups. And the Shot Bar even got a mention by Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show.
The Shot Bar was open from early March 2021 to June 30th, And during that time Casey says about 8,000 shots were sold – far above expectations. Now there are plans are for the Shot Bar pop-up to reopen sometime this spring or summer.
You know how during the airline safety instructions (you pay attention, right?) they say the nearest exit may be behind you?
Well, sometimes at the airport the coolest art features may be below you.
At Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) one of the artworks is a river of 300 brass fish running along the terrazzo floor in Concourse B.
The work is called Flying Fish and is by Judith and Daniel Caldwell.
Most of the fish are regular fish, but there are some unusual ones in there.
Including the fish spotted swimming with a suitcase.
We’ve been walking over the floor and appreciating the fish for years, but yesterday was the first time we noticed this bonus traveling fish.
Maybe it was because it was early in the day and we could actually take our time walking down the concourse.
But we think it was because after being so nervous about traveling during the pandemic, we’re finally starting to go back to our normal travel mode of being excited to travel and alert to everything around us.
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) is having an in-terminal and virtual celebration on Thursday, Nov 4 to celebrate the end of all the major construction at the N Concourse. If you happen to be traveling through SEA between 11 am and 1 pm, head to the N Concourse for music and spoken word performances, food sampling, art tours, and giveaways. The even will able streamed online. In the evening, at 6 pm, SEA will host a travel trends panel that will be streamed live as well.
We’re big fans of airport mascots and noticed that Orlando Sanford International Airport (SFB) has a bee as a mascot. We’re wondering if the beekeeper is an official part of the team.
A few months back, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) joined the list of airports offering mobile food ordering. The OrderSEA program works with the Grab and At Your Gate programs, offering pick-up and gate delivery options from more than 16 airport food outlets.
As a bonus, some travelers who order gate delivery find the At Your Gate delivery person accompanied by a Gita-branded robot like the one at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) named Nom Nom.
Now that it has been on site a while, SEA wants the Gita robot to be part of the permanen team. So they’re asking the public to help choose a name.
Have any ideas?
Share your creative robot names! 🤖 With a few months under its tires, our OrderSEA food delivery robot wants its own special SEA identity. So it’s time for a new name and we need your help. Learn how to submit a name idea and read our naming guidelines → https://t.co/pN1tcUvs08pic.twitter.com/uOAdguu0ef
Called Zoom Zone and located in Terminal B between Gates 24 and 25, the 600-square foot space was created with support from Zoom (Zoom Video Communications Inc.) and has an aviation theme.
Features of the Zoom Zone include a Pin Screen, a Bird Climber, a Zoom Plane, and a Kinectic Butterfly. There’s also an Alphabet Airplane that invites kids to open airplane window shades and discover objects representing destinations.
Zoom Zone is officially OPEN! 🥳 The lovely folks of @Zoom, @PurpleMuseum and @HenselPhelps made this aviation-themed play space possible, and they joined us today for a joyous ribbon-cutting ceremony alongside City Councilmember @RaulPeralez.
— San José Mineta International Airport (SJC) (@FlySJC) October 28, 2021
Nature Photos at IND Airport
Camouflaged Spider by Ronda Hamm
Indianapolis International Airport (IND) is hosting a new photography exhibition titled Indiana, Naturally through December 2021 in both the Ticketing Hall and in cases in Concourses A and B. The exhibition is part of a larger, ongoing cultural collaboration between the Indianapolis Airport Authority and the Arts Council of Indianapolis. Here are a few of the images. See more here.
Blue Sky Coreopsis by Jeanette Jeanette JaskulaZalman Wainhaus, Somewhere Silent
The uptick in air travel brings with it an uptick in airport security wait times. So airports around the country are getting creative in testing new ways to keep those lines from getting out of hand.
BREAKING: @TSA screened 2,028,961 individuals at airport security checkpoints yesterday, June 11. It is the first time throughput topped 2M since the start of the pandemic. The last time checkpoint volume was above 2M was 15 months ago, on March 7, 2020. https://t.co/Fp5cBJAjm8
— Lisa Farbstein, TSA Spokesperson (@TSA_Northeast) June 12, 2021
The “virtual queuing” test at SEA runs through August 31, 20201 from 4 a.m. to noon (the airport’s peak travel period). The program gives passengers who have neither TSA Pre-Check nor CLEAR memberships a way to streamline their security checkpoint experience by getting an appointment time (with a 15-minute window) to access the security line.
There is no fee to use the program, which is set up at two SEA checkpoints and open to all passengers.
At Boston Logan, the test is running through July 7 in Terminal B, from 4 a.m. to 8 a.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
The program at BOS is in partnership with the accesso, a company that provides virtual queuing for theme parks and attractions around the world. At BOS, the Virtual Security Line lets passengers use their mobile devices to reserve a spot in the line. They are then notified (with a countdown clock) when it is their time to approach the checkpoint, get their QR code scanned, and enter the checkpoint line.
We hope these test programs work out and convince these and other airports to make virtual cueing for checkpoint times a permanent amenity.
In the meantime, keep in mind that security checkpoint lines are usually longer in the summer. But now we have physical distancing, out-of-practice travelers, and lots more nervous travelers, so be sure to pack your patience when you head to the airport now.
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport’s 1970s-era North Satellite is undergoing a much needed, multi-year makeover to create a state-of-the-art facility to serve Alaska Airlines flights.
Phase One of the project brought us a swanky new Alaska Airlines lounge, restaurants and shops, and bright new gate areas.
Phase Two includes the two gates that opened today in advance of 10 more gates that will open at the end of June. This upgraded space has a mezzanine area and a central atrium that will offer a live performance stage, lots of seating, and great views out to the airfield thanks to a giant wall of windows. And new dining and retail options will include PF Chang’s, Beecher’s, SEA Roast Coffee House, and a branch of Seattle-based outdoor store Filson.
This is our home base airport, so we were excited to mask up and take a tour.
First: Cookies. All Airport Events Must Have Cookies.
Passengers riding up the escalator from the train level at SEA’s North Satellite are now met with an impressive sculpture titled “Boundary.” Seattle-based artist John Grade created this life-sized portrayal of the expanding root structure of an old-growth Western Red Cedar.
The work is 40 feet high, extends 25 feet out from the wall, and stretches 85 feet across – a distance, the airport notes, is equal to the wingspan of a Boeing 737.
Blackleaf, by Montana artist Deborah Butterfield is cast in bronze from pieces of driftwood.
Courtesy Port of Seattle
Bathrooms that use rainwater to flush toilets
We are disappointed that the newest restrooms in the North Satellite don’t have that much-appreciated red light/green light feature found in some SEA lavs that let you know which stalls are empty.
But we are pleased these restrooms make use of rainwater collected off the roof to flush the toilets. That will help save 2.8 million gallons of potable water annually – the equivalent of 4.5 Olympic swimming pools.
Now you can reserve your time on the TSA line at SEA Airport
(This is a slightly different version of a story we wrote for USA TODAY)
The good news: air travel is picking up.
On Sunday May 2, TSA screened more than 1.6 million passengers, the most since March 12, 2020.
JUST IN: @TSA officers screened 1,626,962 people at airport checkpoints yesterday, Sunday, May 2. It is the first time since the pandemic hit that passenger volume has topped 1.6 million in a single day and the highest checkpoint throughput since March 12, 2020. Mask-up!
— Lisa Farbstein, TSA Spokesperson (@TSA_Northeast) May 3, 2021
The bad news: long wait times at security checkpoints may be back coming back too.
Courtesy Port of Seattle
At times during spring break, the lines to go through the security checkpoint stretched into the food court at Orlando International Airport (MCO). At Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, lines snaked across the sky bridge and into the parking garage.
TSA is in the process of hiring 6,000 new screening officers ahead of the predicted summer travel surge. And that should help move things along.
So too could a new pilot program that debuts Tuesday at SEA airport.
The program, called SEA Spot Saver, will attempt to streamline wait times by offering digital reservations, or “virtual queuing” for passengers to go through the screening process.
Here’s how it works
The program will operate daily through August 31, 2021, from 4 a.m. to noon (the airport’s peak travel period) at two checkpoints (2 and 5) and offer expedited screening to general screening passengers for free. No membership or account sign-up is required.
Expedited, non-reserved screening remains available to passengers enrolled in Trusted Traveler programs such as TSA PreCheck and CLEAR.
SEA Spot Saver will be testing two options.
Alaska Airlines passengers can sign up for a security checkpoint appointment online up to 24 hours before their scheduled departure time or once they are in the terminal.
Passengers will receive a QR code to use at checkpoint 5 at their reservation time. This option is offered by Pangiam, and powered by WhyLine and Copenhagen Optimization.
The second option, operated by VHT, is for passengers flying on Delta Air Lines and all other carriers. This option allows passengers to begin booking a checkpoint appointment time by scanning a QR code once they are in the terminal. Passengers will show their emailed reservation appointment at checkpoint 2.
Both options give passengers a 15 minute window for their appointment times. The Alaska Airlines option lets you book up to 12 passengers in a group. The Delta/other airlines option lets you book a group of up to 10.
SEA will be the only airport in the United States currently testing a “virtual queuing” system as a solution for crowded general screening lines.
Montreal-Trudeau International Airport (YUL) has offered screening reservations since 2014 through SecureXpress, but that program is currently on hold due to the pandemic.
“The pandemic has left very few passengers coming and going through YUL,” said YUL spokeswoman Anne-Sophie Hamel via email, “As such, there is no line-up to get through security, and the service is simply not useful right now.”
From October 2020 through April 30, 2021, Denver International Airport (DEN) piloted the VeriFLY app and program. Passengers could book a timed checkpoint appointment, but they also had to file health data information before arrival and get temperature checks on site.
Port of Seattle officials say that after the pilot program is completed late this summer, they will evaluate usage, customer feedback, and line efficiency and, if successful, launch a broader program.
“These are the innovations and ideas that we love to make our guest experiences more convenient and stress-free, especially as more people get back flying again,” said Charu Jain, Alaska’s senior vice president of merchandising and innovation. “With very little effort, guests can lean on technology to get them through the security process quicker.”
