Airport play areas for your next long layover

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Giving kids time blow off some steam before boarding the plane is key to a successful flight—especially if it's a long-haul journey. Here are five airport playgrounds that make the task easy (and loads of fun).

Playgrounds at Singapore's Changi Airport

Everything else pales in comparison to the offerings for kids at Singapore’s Changi Airport (pictured above). There are seven playgrounds (some outside the security area), each designed to accommodate kids ages 1 to 12. Look for multilevel climbing structures, long slides, tunnels, tubes, art stations, and more. When your kids finally tire of that, there’s a butterfly garden and even free kids cartoons.

Spaceport at Calgary International Airport

Dreaming of the future of travel? At Spaceport, kids can learn about space with activities that range in age from a toddler play area to video game stations and exhibits for older kids in a 6,000-square-foot space. The main attraction, though is a space-capsule simulator ride in which up to eight people are surrounded by realistic digital images as they journey through one of seven ride films. (Note that Spaceport is outside of security, so allow enough time to re-enter before your flight.)

Kids' Spot at San Francisco International Airport

In a city where foggy weather can sometimes mean you’ll spend a little longer at the airport than you had planned, a weather-focused play area seems like just the thing. And don't worry that this exhibit created by San Francisco’s Exploratorium will be too cerebral. True to the Exploratorium’s character, there are places to run, crawl, and jump while you learn.

“Kids on the Fly” Exhibit at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport

This flight-themed exhibit, created by the Chicago Children’s museum, allows kids to use their imagination and get their jiggles out before stepping on a plane. Kids get to be the airplane pilots, air traffic controllers, and helicopter pilots in the play area’s pint-sized airport. Look for other kid friendly exhibits throughout the airport, including the 744-foot-long kinetic neon sculpture located in the underground walkway between Concourses B and C in Terminal 1.

A Treehouse Play Area at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport

Schiphol's playground goes well above the kid-sized soft foam airplane that many airports secret away in a dark corner. Instead, there’s a wooden treehouse, slides, and a climbing structure. It’s a lovely way to reconnect with the natural world during a travel day filled with steel and plastic.

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UK committee backs Heathrow airport expansion

Published May 09, 2013

Associated Press

LONDON –  A British parliamentary committee recommended Friday that the government permit an expansion of Heathrow Airport, rather than allowing the construction of a new airport east of London.

Heathrow is one of the world's busiest airports, and expanding it has long been a contentious political issue in Britain. The aviation industry has lobbied for a third runway for years, but opponents say the plan would damage the environment, worsen noise pollution in the city and lead to a loss of homes.

Parliament's Transport Committee said that after studying the government's aviation strategy, it has decided that allowing Heathrow to build a third runway was better than creating a new airport.

Louise Ellman, the chairwoman of the committee, said Heathrow has been short on capacity for a decade.

"We conclude that a third runway at Heathrow is necessary, but also suggest that a four-runway proposal may have merit, especially if expanding to locate two new runways westwards from the current site could curb the noise experienced by people affected under the flight path," she said in a statement.

The committee ruled out an airport east of the capital in part because it could not be done without public investment in ground transport infrastructure and because of impact on the wildlife habitat in the Thames Estuary.

The decision is not legally binding on the government, but House of Commons committees carry great weight because they are composed of members of all of the parties.

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Bomb squad check van parked at UK airport

Published May 01, 2013

Associated Press

LONDON –  British police say bomb disposal experts have carried out small, controlled explosions to break the locks of a van parked at London's Gatwick Airport after receiving reports that it appeared suspicious.

Sussex Police said in a statement Wednesday that officers are checking the scene but that there is no suggestion there are any threats to the airport.

The force added that it has not been able to locate the driver nor see the inside of the Renault van properly.

An area of the airport's north terminal short stay parking lot has been cordoned off as the investigations continue.

The airport on the outskirts of the capital said no flights have been affected, but a shuttle train that connects its two terminals has been shut down temporarily.

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Councils join push for airport

SUPPORT for a second airport at Badgerys Creek has received another significant boost, with a key group of councils backing calls for the first steps to be taken in its development.

The Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (WSROC), representing 10 local government areas and incorporating more than 1.5 million residents, yesterday threw its support behind calls by a coalition of unions and business groups for a new environmental impact statement to be prepared on the Badgerys Creek site.

"Attitudes in the region are changing from what they were almost two decades ago when the issue was last raised," WSROC president Tony Hadchiti said.

"It's time the government took these changes into account.

"The Greater Western Sydney Region is already home to 1.9 million people . . . these people are going to need jobs and access to transport."

Mr Hadchiti said support for Badgerys Creek as the location for a second airport was at a high.

The Daily Telegraph yesterday revealed about 60 NSW Labor-affiliated unions, representing 600,000 workers, had allied with business groups to back an airport at Badgerys Creek.

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Councils join push for airport

SUPPORT for a second airport at Badgerys Creek has received another significant boost, with a key group of councils backing calls for the first steps to be taken in its development.

The Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (WSROC), representing 10 local government areas and incorporating more than 1.5 million residents, yesterday threw its support behind calls by a coalition of unions and business groups for a new environmental impact statement to be prepared on the Badgerys Creek site.

"Attitudes in the region are changing from what they were almost two decades ago when the issue was last raised," WSROC president Tony Hadchiti said.

"It's time the government took these changes into account.

"The Greater Western Sydney Region is already home to 1.9 million people . . . these people are going to need jobs and access to transport."

Mr Hadchiti said support for Badgerys Creek as the location for a second airport was at a high.

The Daily Telegraph yesterday revealed about 60 NSW Labor-affiliated unions, representing 600,000 workers, had allied with business groups to back an airport at Badgerys Creek.

View the original article here

Councils join push for airport

SUPPORT for a second airport at Badgerys Creek has received another significant boost, with a key group of councils backing calls for the first steps to be taken in its development.

The Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (WSROC), representing 10 local government areas and incorporating more than 1.5 million residents, yesterday threw its support behind calls by a coalition of unions and business groups for a new environmental impact statement to be prepared on the Badgerys Creek site.

"Attitudes in the region are changing from what they were almost two decades ago when the issue was last raised," WSROC president Tony Hadchiti said.

"It's time the government took these changes into account.

"The Greater Western Sydney Region is already home to 1.9 million people . . . these people are going to need jobs and access to transport."

Mr Hadchiti said support for Badgerys Creek as the location for a second airport was at a high.

The Daily Telegraph yesterday revealed about 60 NSW Labor-affiliated unions, representing 600,000 workers, had allied with business groups to back an airport at Badgerys Creek.

View the original article here

Mom, 2 sons improving after Ala. airport sign fell

Published March 24, 2013

Associated Press

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. –  A woman and two of her sons are improving at hospitals after they were seriously injured when a flight information billboard fell on them at an airport in Alabama.

A third son was killed Friday when the electronic board, weighing at least 300 pounds, fell at the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport.

The boys' mother, Heather Bresette, had broken ankles and a crushed pelvis. A hospital spokeswoman says she had surgeries over the weekend and was getting better. However, she was still unconscious Sunday and does not know that her son died.

The Bresettes, a family of seven, took a weeklong vacation in Destin, Fla., and were about to fly home to Overland Park, Kan., when the sign fell.

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Falling Alabama airport sign kills boy, injures 4

Published March 22, 2013

Associated Press

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. –  A coroner says one of four children injured when a sign fell at an Alabama airport has died.

The sign fell in the newly renovated Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport terminal Friday afternoon. Officials say four children and their mother were injured.

Jefferson County Deputy Coroner Derrick Perryman says a 10-year-old boy later died.

Birmingham Fire and Rescue Battalion Chief Donald Jones tells WBRC-TV he estimates the sign weighs between 300 and 400 pounds.

Airport spokeswoman Toni Herrera-Bast says officials aren't sure how the sign fell and are investigating.

The airport completed the first phase of a more than $201 million modernization effort and opened newly renovated concourses last week.

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Man impersonating pilot reaches plane's cockpit at Philly airport

Published March 22, 2013

FoxNews.com

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  Oct. 29, 2010: A US Airways flight is seen landing at Philadelphia International Airport.AP

Philadelphia police have arrested a French national after he allegedly posed as an airline pilot and gained access to the cockpit on a US Airways flight Wednesday.

MyFoxPhilly.com reports that 61-year-old Philippe Jernnard is accused of impersonating a pilot while boarding the Florida-bound flight at Philadelphia International Airport.

After being a denied a seat in business class Jernnard allegedly boarded the plane and told the flight crew he was a pilot with Air France, according to the report.

"He had an Air France shirt. He had an Air France bag. He had some identification that looked like he was a crew member from Air France," Philadelphia police Capt. Michael Murphy told the station.

Jernnard reportedly ended up in the cockpit jumpseat behind the captain but was escorted off the plane after when he failed to produce proper credentials, police told the station.

No passengers were in danger and the flight took off on time, according the the report. The FBI has launched an investigation into the incident.

Jernnard is charged with criminal trespass, forgery-alter writing, tampering with records, false impression and providing false identification to law enforcement, the report states. He is being held with bail set at $1 million.

A US Airways spokesperson directed questions from MyFoxPhilly.com to the FBI, which is now leading the investigation.

Click here for more from MyFoxPhilly.com.

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