When asked how they prepare for a trip, most travelers will answer with: taking care of the airfare, travel accommodations and rental car; making sure that everyone has their passport/ID; and getting to the airport on time, among other things.

Does anyone think about the air control towers of the airports they fly out of and into?

Beginning May 22, access to Philadelphia International Airport’s facilities will be limited to those with airport business, including badged employees, ticketed passengers and people who are transporting those with airport business.

Airports have two primary roles at this time: to be open for flights that transport essential personnel and to accommodate cargo flights transporting critical goods. “Since the travel restrictions went into place, our passenger volume is down about 80-90 percent over last year, but our cargo operations have increased 12.9 percent for the year,” said Stephanie Wear, PHL’s Director of Air Service Development and Cargo Services.

For several years, PHL has collaborated with The Enterprise Center and the United States Department of Transportation Women & Girls Transportation Initiative (WITI) to host an inspiring event for high school and female college students. WITI’s mission is to increase the participation of women in the transportation industry and prepare young women to become future leaders by creating ladders of opportunity, small business economic competitiveness through careers, internships, strategic partnerships and education.

Passengers may not realize this, but there are more than 800 employees in Philadelphia International Airport who work for the City of Philadelphia Division of Aviation, which owns and operates both PHL and Northeast Philadelphia Airport. About 200 of these employees work in offices for Human Resources, Finance, Safety, Capital Development, Planning, Communications, Marketing, Properties, and Legal. Most non-operations employees are currently working from home, due to COVID-19 physical distancing requirements.

When it is safe to travel, the airport experience will be very different for passengers. Safety shields, facial coverings and masks, and decals indicating where to queue—these are just some of the things that are part of the new normal in the world of aviation.  

PHL employees miss seeing passengers filling the terminals, either coming to visit Philadelphia or possibly heading on an exciting vacation. Staff members also miss being able to travel from PHL. To celebrate National Travel and Tourism Week, members of PHL’s Marketing and Communications teams upped their staycation game by remembering favorite trips from the past or thinking about where they’d like to go once it’s safe to travel.

Fifteen small and women business owners and Philadelphia International Airport employees recently graduated from the Construction Management Certificate Program, a comprehensive nine-month series of classes designed to provide business management tools to existing and aspiring independent contractors. The program was provided by Temple University and Temple’s Small Business Development Center and was sponsored by PHL.

The PHL Ramp Tower will be glowing blue in support of healthcare workers. With this new feature, the Airport's Ramp Tower (located between Terminals A and B) joins other local buildings and landmarks in illuminating the region in blue in appreciation of the healthcare community.

"The lights can be seen from miles away, including on I-95," said PHL CEO Chellie Cameron. “This is a great way for us to recognize the healthcare workers on the frontline of the COVID-19 crisis.”