terminal lights

Stuck at the Airport: Music, masks and lots of lights

Very few people are flying right now, but airlines and airports are still in the news.

Masks – on the plane and in the airports

The list of airlines requiring crew members and passengers to wear masks, and the number of airports requiring anyone passing through to cover their mouth and nose keeps growing.

United Airlines, Frontier Airlines, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, JetBlue and Lufthansa are among the airlines already doing it. More will do the same.

Many of these airlines are also requiring that passengers wear masks during check-in, boarding and deplaning. And because an increasing number of airports are and soon will be requiring anyone in their terminals to wear masks, it’s a fair bet that wearing masks in airports is already the ‘new normal.’

Virtual music festival hosted by 23 airports

On May 6, starting at 5 p.m. CST, 23 airports across North America will be hosting the JetStream Music Festival, an online celebration of local music.

Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, located in the “Live Music Capital of the World” will be the official host airport, but the 23 participating airports will each stream the festival on their respective Facebook Live pages and each will feature a local musician from their city. Viewers will be able to tip the performers during each set.

Participating airports include:

  • Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) – host 
  • Albuquerque International Airport (ABQ)
  • Asheville Regional Airport (AVL)
  • Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG)
  • Dallas Love Field Airport (DAL)
  • Evansville Regional Airport (EVV)
  • Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport (FLL)
  • Fresno Yosemite International Airport (FAT)
  • Jacksonville International Airport (JAX)
  • John Glenn Columbus International Airport (CMH)
  • John Wayne Airport (SNA)
  • Lehigh Valley International Airport (ABE)
  • Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY)
  • Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport (MKE)
  • Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport (MSP)
  • Philadelphia International Airport (PHL)
  • Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT)
  • Portland International Airport (PDX)
  • San Diego International Airport (SAN)
  • Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport (SAV)
  • Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA)
  • Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ)
  • Yeager Airport (CRW)

Airports lighting up

Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), Dulles International Airport, San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and many other airports are lighting up their terminals in different colors to show their support for health care workers, first responders, front line workers, hospitality workers and airport and airline employees who are helping people get where they need to go.

Here’s SFO’s color-code and its upcoming lighting schedule.

  • First responders: red, white and blue (most Thursdays)
  • Front-line workers: gold (most Tuesdays)
  • Health care workers: blue (most Wednesdays)
  • Hospitality workers: purple (most Mondays)