The entertainment and engagement series brings a taste of the city’s diverse culture and neighborhoods into the terminals with live music, dance, arts & crafts, and demonstrations.
We snapped this fun photo during SFO’s Cherry Blossom Festival in April.
This month, SFO Celebrates Pride in the Harvey Milk Terminal 1 – the first terminal in the world named for a LGBTQ+ leader – with a photo opp and stage based on the iconic Castro Theatre.
Located post-security across from the iStore, this month’s Pride events feature live entertainment on Thursdays and Fridays between 11 am – 3 pm. Passengers may snap selfies with a version of the iconic Castro Theatre backdrop, enjoy live music, meet the Wag Brigade stress relief animals, and more.
Travelers can also celebrate Pride in other spots in the SFO Terminals.
Some people scroll through TikTok dances at the end of the day.
We click through the airport and airline news on Twitter.
Here are some items we stopped to read Tuesday evening.
Leave the fireworks at home
July 4th is going to be a busy time at airports and long security lines might make tempers flare. Don’t make it worse by bringing fireworks (even sparklers) in your carry-on bag.
As the July 4th holiday approaches, please remember that sparklers and other fireworks are not permitted to be brought on your flight in a carry-on or checked bag. They are highly flammable! These were removed from a carry-on bag by @TSA at @ALB recently. pic.twitter.com/WogswG4zd5
— Lisa Farbstein, TSA Spokesperson (@TSA_Northeast) June 24, 2021
Southwest Airline’s Freedom One
This plane with a patriotic livery is making the rounds. Be sure to watch how they made the paint scheme happen.
We had a special visitor at LAS today: @SouthwestAir's #FreedomOne stopped over in Las Vegas. The airline celebrates its 50th Anniversary with this high-flying tribute to the nation, the military and SWA’s 50,000+ employees. Click to watch the painting of this unique livery. https://t.co/V1Z7Kugxj4pic.twitter.com/rIwaXP2syQ
SFO keeps moving forward. We’re can’t wait to visit the new museum gallery.
✔️ A children’s area next to the new departure gates. ✔️ A new museum gallery featuring rotating exhibitions by @SFOMuseum. ✔️ A new temporary display from the exhibit Harvey Milk: Messenger of Hope. pic.twitter.com/LOVWHnMvol
— San Francisco International Airport (SFO) ✈️😷 (@flySFO) June 29, 2021
United Airlines going all-in with new aircraft
We’re all for new planes, bigger overhead bins, seatback entertainment, and the promise of being able to connect wireless headphones with Bluetooth technology.
Right now face coverings and masks are required in every airport and on most airlines due to continued concerns about the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
There are signs, stickers, and announcements everywhere a traveler turns, but still, not everyone is covering up.
Some people don’t want to mask up and it is reassuring to know that some airlines won’t let those folks fly.
Other travelers may have forgotten their masks or are neglecting to put them on in areas of the airport.
So, to help passengers get with the program, “ambassadors” who are serving as mask nannies are being sent out into airport terminals to help.
Yes, it’s come to that.
At San Francisco International Airport (SFO) “TravelWell Ambassadors” are roving the terminals to make sure passengers wear face coverings and maintain proper physical distancing.
SFO's #TravelWell Ambassadors help ensure that everyone wears a face covering and proper physical distancing. Look for them the next time you're at SFO! pic.twitter.com/qSXD0pBS4G
— San Francisco International Airport (SFO) ✈️ (@flySFO) August 5, 2020
At Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), the mask nannies are called “Travel Safety Ambassadors. They’re on duty in Terminal 1 and in the Tom Bradey International Terminal (TBIT).
Don’t have a mask? No problem. The mask nannies have a supply of them. So there should be no excuses.
Face coverings are required at LAX, and we now have Travel Safely Ambassadors working in Terminal 1 and the Tom Bradley International Terminal to remind guests and provide a free face cover if needed. Thanks for helping everyone #TravelSafelypic.twitter.com/NIHZ1p0CSf
Because the schedule for international flights from SFO will be reduced by 52% by April 1, the airport will temporarily close one part of the International Terminal.
On April 1, and through at least through the end of May, SFO will close Boarding Area A (Gates A1 to A15) in the International Terminal and consolidate all international flight departures to Boarding Area G, which houses Gates G1-G14.
The SFO Medical Clinic (in the Int’l Terminal Main Hall, by the A Gates); the Grand Hyatt at SFO and the Int’l Parking Garage A will still be open, but this will allow SFO to close a security checkpoint and consolidate Custom & Border Protection staff.
Consolidation is going on at other airports as well. So if you are traveling, be sure to check the airport and airline websites.
TSA’s COVID-19 Count Keeps Increasing
Over the weekend, TSA updated its map and its list showing
which states and which airports have TSA screening officers who have tested positive
for COVID-19.
On Saturday, March 28, TSA reported that over the past two weeks 55 TSA screening officers have tested positive for COVID-19.
TSA says 19 others who had “relatively limited interaction with the traveling public” tested positive as well.
We hope those officers recover quickly, of course. But if you’ve traveled through an airport in one of the blue states on the map during the past few weeks, be sure to check this list to see which airports are affected.
The list includes the last date the officers worked, the checkpoints they were stationed at and their shift hours.
If you think you may have passed through the checkpoints where these officers were stationed, please be sure to check with your doctor about what steps to take next.
On
February 14 – Valentine’s Day – SFO opened a new $6.3 million outdoor observation deck called the
SkyTerrace.
Located
pre-security in Terminal 2, the 1,460-square-foot SkyTerrace is open to the
general public and, as a bonus, offers 180-degree views of the busiest section
of SFO, where all four runways intersect.
Visitors will find wooden chairs and benches at the SkyTerrace, drought-tolerant landscaping, bird-safe glass panels to provide wind protection and great views.
Food and beverages are permitted on the SkyTerrace, and later this year a café will open nearby. So this sounds like a great place to hang out with friends or family before a flight.
SFO’s
new SkyTerrace will be open seven days a week from 7:00 am – 10:00 pm. And
while no ticket is required to access this new observation deck, visitors must
still undergo a security check as they enter the space.
As a nice bonus, the SFO Museum has installed an exhibit at the SkyTerrace titled The 1954 San Francisco International Airport Terminal, which explores the history and architecture of the building that was on the spot now occupied by the SkyTerrace.
Courtesy SFO Museum
Designed
in the International Style, the seven-story building was dedicated on August
27, 1954 and had panoramic views of the airfield and San Francisco Bay from
multiple spectators’ terraces. The
exhibition features objects and imagery from the first decade the building operated.
SFO’s other observation deck
And don’t forget that SFO airport has another snazzy observation
deck.
That one also offers 180-degree views of the airfield and is post-security at the end of the International Terminal, Boarding Area G. It also has wooden chairs, tables, and chaise lounges, ten-foot bird-safe glass panels, drought-tolerant landscaping and three bronze sculptures. Hours: 7:00 am to 11:30 pm every day.
