If you were stuck at the airport, what would you get for free?
If you've ever been held up at an airport due to a long layover or stuck in a terminal because of flight delays, there's plenty to do there, and it's completely free, if you know how to take advantage of it.
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| Photo: travelnews |
This means you don't have to waste money at a duty free counter or at an airport bar for hours.
Depending on your flight location and time, you may be able to take advantage of some of the following free airport perks:
Free calls
If you're saving on phone battery, you can make free calls at Denver International Airport, Washington Dulles International Airport, and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
Just look for a marked free phone. At Dulles and Ronald Reagan airports, local and long-distance calls to anywhere in the United States are free, as long as they are under 5 minutes.
Yoga
If you need time to relax and stretch, try yoga at San Francisco, Miami, Dallas–Fort Worth international airports as well as at Chicago's O'Hare and Midway airports.
These airports also have free mats for guests to borrow.
For those with particularly long layovers, catch a free movie at Portland, Oregon, San Francisco, California, or Minneapolis-St. Paul, Mississippi, international airports.
"Shopping Assistant"
Travellers in need of a wardrobe makeover can get a free "shopping assistant" at London's Heathrow Airport.
The fashion experts here don't work on commission and there's no minimum price for what you want to buy. Shopping assistants can be found in the private lounge. There's also free champagne.
View art
If you need cultural entertainment, some airports have free museums and live events.
San Francisco, Miami, Albany, Minneapolis, Portland, and St. Louis all have free art and history exhibits year-round right at their airports. And Austin and Seattle have free music shows every week.
Take advantage of sightseeing
If you have time to spare, explore a new city.
Free city tours are now available at airports in Singapore, Seoul, Tokyo, Istanbul, and more.
Passengers looking to learn a new skill can also take a CPR (child cardiopulmonary resuscitation) course while waiting for their flight.
Chicago O'Hare Indianapolis, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta, Dallas/Fort Worth, and many other airports have CPR training rooms available to passengers in need.
Therapy Pets
Tourists can also relieve stress by petting a therapy animal.
Many airports have therapy dogs on duty in the terminal building to help anxious passengers (especially children).
Interestingly, they also have some animals that are enough to surprise passengers, like San Francisco International Airport has a pig, Denver Airport has a cat, and Cincinnati Airport even has miniature horses.
In short, the secret to finding out what's free for passengers at the airport is: be bold and ask.
Just pop into an information desk and you'll be well-informed and prepared to be surprised.
