Toronto Pearson International Airport

Cool new COVID-fighting airport amenities

Health, Uncategorized, , , , , ,

Airports are rolling out new COVID-fighting amenities faster than we can keep up with them.

Here are few I’ll be talking about this week during the virtual Travel 2021 Summit taking place on October 7 and 8.

We’ll be talking about airports and airlines on Thursday at 10 a.m. east coast time.

The line-up includes lots of experts talking about what’s going in travel now – and what might happen in the near future. Registration is free.

Use your toes in the elevators at Tucson International Airport

At Tucson International Airport (TUS), elevators are now touch-free. Thanks to the addition of toe tap buttons.

Free gadget cleaning at Toronto Pearson International Airport

It looks like a copy machine. But if you put your gadgets in these machines at Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) they will get zapped by a UV-C light that destroys novel coronavirus cells.

24-hour kiosk stocked with essentials at Edmonton Int’l Airport

This self-serve Rexall Drug Store machine at Edmonton International Airport (EIA) has 85 different items.

Long Beach Airport wants you back

Long Beach Airport (LGB) has a new video out to remind travelers that they’ve got outdoor concourses and other amenities that are reassuring for travelers.

https://twitter.com/LGBAirport/status/1313279134068400128?s=20

Toronto Pearson turned into snowglobe

Air Travel, Art, Entertainment, Holidays,

Toronto_Pearson_art

If you’re traveling through Terminal 1 in Toronto Pearson International Airport this week, be sure to look up.

Holiday themed images are being projected onto the ceiling of the Departures Hall, creating an snow globe-like feeling.

Carolers will be strolling the terminals singing holiday favorites and through December 23rd – and on Christmas Eve – Mrs. Claus and her elves will be stopping by to read Christmas stories to children waiting for their flights.

Free movies and free popcorn at Toronto Pearson International Airport

Entertainment, Events, Festivals, Food, Free Stuff, Movies, Snack Saturday, , , ,

Toronto Pearson TIFF previews at the airport

There are a lot of things you can do while hanging around the airport: eat, drink, snooze, shop, read, talk to a stranger or maybe get some work done.

Wouldn’t it be great if you could also take in a movie?

If you happen to be spending any time at the Toronto Pearson International Airport between now and September 19th, you can do just that.

The 35th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) is underway, and from now through September 19th, 2010 travelers passing through the airport can watch TIFF movie trailers in small pop-up theaters.

The 10 X 10 foot screening rooms are set up near gate 140 in Terminal 1 and near gate C35 in Terminal 3. Better yet – each evening theater-patrons can watch the trailers while munching on free popcorn.

Toronto Pearson proud to support TIFF from GTAA Toronto Pearson on Vimeo.

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Tidbits for travelers: Free Wifi at Toronto airport; fresh art at SNA; contraband at JFK

Art, Exhibits, free Wi-Fi, Layover, Wi-Fi, , , , , ,

Here at StuckatTheAirport.com we’re a big fan of free wireless Internet at all airports. Slowly but surely we’re moving in that direction. In July, Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) began offering free Wi-FI to all travelers and now comes word that Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) began offering free Wi-Fi at the beginning of this month (August, 2010).  Hooray!

Free Wi-Fi at Toronto Airport

Hooray! Free Wi-Fi at Toronto International Airport

There’s also some fresh art at John Wayne Airport (SNA) in Santa Ana, California.

Mt. Moran by Steven Gilb

Mt. Moran by Steven Gilb at John Wayne Airport

Photographs by Steven Gilb, who has been a contributing photographer for Arizona’s Highway Magazine since the 1970s are on display through September 7, 2010 on the Departure (upper) Level near the security screening checkpoints and on the Arrival (lower) Level near baggage carousels 1 and 4.  See more of Gilb’s photos here.

And through September 20, 2010, look for the collection of paintings depicting the Jazz Age that are on display in the Terminal A Vi Smith Concourse Gallery across from Gates 11 -14.

John Wayne Airport. Don't Eat Joe by Dong Moy Chu Kingman

Don't Eat Joe by Dong Moy Chu Kingman

The exhibition includes work by 12 California artists who explored geometric and angular abstraction during the Post WWII era. See more photos here.

And.. check out these photos by Taryn Simon that were published in the New York Times magazine on July 29, 2010.

Contraband confiscated at JFK Airport

Contraband becomes art

The photos – including one of a pitcher of salami – are from a set of more than 1000 photos of prohibited items taken from passengers – or discovered in express mail – over a five day period last year at JFK Airport.  (On-line, you can click on an image to see what’s what.) The photos will be part of an exhibition and a book (now on my wish list, Santa) titled “Contraband.”

You can learn more about this project on the New York Times Lens blog.

Get a Clue: toy exhibit at Toronto Pearson Int’l Airport

Air Travel, Art, Exhibits, , ,

Two new exhibits at Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) are all about toys.

Exploring the Toy Box and Boosting Business: Companies Team up with Toys includes dolls, games, trucks and even a few musical instruments from the 1940’s to today.

The toys are on loan from the Canadian Toy Collectors Society and most every toy on display was made in Canada.

Exploring the Toy Box is in the Malton Gallery, pre-security, above the Canada arrival hall, through July.  The other exhibit, Boosting Business: Companies Team up with Toys is in the International Departures area of the airport through mid-May.

If you’re interested in seeing more toys, be sure to check out the Canadian Toy Collectors Society virtual museum.

The site has photos of  toys made from tin, plastic, rubber and other materials – including this wood and tin Superskyliner by Noma Toys.

Airports in Reno, Toronto and Dusseldorf pay tribute to Winter Olympics

Air Travel, Art, History, Sports, , ,


(Eddie ‘The Eagle’ Edwards at the world’s largest ski jump inside an airport)

Airports around the world are marking this year’s Winter Olympics in Vancouver with special exhibits.

Yesterday, the Reno Tahoe International Airport (RNO) opened an Olympics museum inside the terminal.

This past weekend, Düsseldorf  International Airport trucked in tons of snow to make the world’s largest indoor ski jump at an airport.

And now the Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) has a new exhibit, Champions on Ice and Snow, that pays tribute to athletes who have represented Canada at the Winter Olympics.

The exhibit includes skates worn by Kurt Browning, a four-time World Champion figure skater, skis that belonged to alpine skier Anne Heggtveit, and a reproduction of a sweater, hat and mittens worn by “Canada’s Sweetheart” Barbara Ann Scott, who won a gold medal in figure skating in 1948.  Life-size action photos of athletes such as a speed-skatering Gaétan Boucher, who won three medals at the 1984 Winter Olympics, are also included.

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Look for Champions on Ice and Snow at Toronto’s Pearson Interational Airport in Terminal 1, near Gate 120, domestic departures, through June, 2010,

New exhibit at Toronto Pearson Int’l Airport

Art, ,

The newest exhibit at Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) is an installation of eight 40” x 30” reflective lenticulars and two 60” x 40” backlit lenticular light boxes titled White NOise, by award-winning fine art and fashion photographer Barbara Cole.

The photographs were taken underwater.

toronto duet

[Lenticulars? Lenticulars are made by combining two or more images with special software. The interlaced images are then mounted behind a lenticular lens screen (a sheet of plastic ribbed with narrow cylindrical lenses) and results in an image that appears to move as the viewer changes position.]

Here’s some more information about the photos:

The dual nature of water is reinforced by two types of subjects in the photographs. There are “the swimmers” in Rondo and Pantomime, or subjects in bathing suits who seem to belong in the water. And there are “the others” in Duet and Sonia’s Suite: fully clothed subjects who seem accidentally inserted into the water. The effect is that of an elegant, ghostly shipwreck, whose passengers dance, rather than struggle, in the water.

White NOise will be on display until January 10, 2010 in the Airspace Gallery located in Terminal 1 at Toronto Pearson. The gallery is directly above the Domestic Arrivals Hall.

Hoop dancing at Toronto International Airport

Art, Entertainment

Toronto - hoop dancing

Toronto bound?  If you’re lucky you’ll get to see two-time World Champion hoop dancer Lisa Odjig, who will be performing Aboriginal hoop dancing at Toronto Pearson International Airport several times this month.

The hoop dance, which originated in New Mexico and gained widespread popularity across North America at powwows and festivals, is a traditional Aboriginal dance symbolic of the circle of life. A hoop dancer must exercise precision, showmanship, timing, rhythm, creativity and speed as he or she weaves her body in and out of the hoops in time with the fast beat of the drum, all the while creating depictions of animals, birds and the earth.

The performances are part of Planet IndigenUs, a multi-disciplinary arts festival taking place in Toronto that features the work of Canadian Aboriginal artists.  Ms. Odjig will be performing in Terminal 1 on:

Thursday, August 13, in the International Arrivals hall, from 3:30 – 4:30 p.m.
Monday, August 17, in the, the International Arrivals hall from 4 – 5 p.m.
Thursday August 20, in the International Arrivals hall, from 6:30 – 7:30 p.m.

Toronto Curtain of Beavers

An exhibition by Frank Shebageget, Curtain of Beavers, made from 238 models of the deHavilland Beaver float plane, is across from Gate 120 in the domestic departures area of Terminal 1.  This is also part of airport’s partnership with Planet IndigenUs.

The Beaver was put into production in 1947, and is still one of Canada’s most successful and long-lived designs.  The installation consists of suspended airplanes, which take the shape of a curtain. The curtain spans west to east, symbolizing their exploration into the Canadian north. Curtain of Beavers reveals the subtle relationship between Native communities and the deHavillandBeaver float plane. While the Beaver is a highly recognizable piece of Canadiana, the planes were also a vital part of Native culture.

Toronto curtain of beavers close up

Curtain of Beavers will at Toronto Pearson International Airport through November, 2009.

(Photos courtesy Toronto International Airport)


And you think your feet hurt…

Art, Exhibits,

A new exhibit at Toronto Pearson International Airport offers a glimpse inside the world of ballet.

toronto-ballettwo

Behind the Scenes brings together photos, costumes and other items from The National Ballet of Canada’s current productions as well as historical items from the archives of the National Ballet.  Look for it pre-security in Terminal 1’s Malton Airport Gallery on Level 2, above the Canada Arrivals Hall.

toronto-ballet

Photos by Bruce Zinger,Courtesy the National Ballet of Canada.

1. Putting on pointe shoes  2. Rebekah Rimsay preparing for the role of Carabosse from The Sleeping Beauty

Lights out at airports during Earth Hour

Energy, Environment, , ,

In my column about tourist destinations and travel spots planning to turn out lights for this Saturday’s Earth Day event, there are two (so far) airports.

But don’t be alarmed – there is no plan to put anyone in harm’s way by turning off important runway or tower lights.

Toronto’s Pearson International Airport, which participated in the event last year, will turn off many of the indoor and outdoor signs, some lights in the terminals and many of the moving walkways.

At Los Angeles International Airport, the focus will be on the iconic 100-foot tall colorful light pylons that illuminate the airport entrance and serve as a backdrop for many film and TV scenes. The pylons will be lit solid green for 60 minutes before Earth Hour and then be turned off completely for the event.

Gateway-2000/improvements/lightpylons/Glamour/LAX-sign

Here’s a link to the full story, which has a description of how all the lights will go out on the Las Vegas Strip including, for the first time ever, the “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign.

vegas-panda-showgirls

Photo courtesy The Firm Public Relations & Marketing.