The recovery of air service at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) is getting a huge lift as airlines expand their schedules to meet demand for the summer travel season. 

As MSP moves into the early stages of that season, airlines' numbers of average daily departures are increasing to 404 this month, and then are projected to rise to 431 in July. In May, that number was 346.

This week, Air France restarted direct service to Paris from MSP.

Sun Country Airlines, Delta Airlines, Alaska Airlines and Southwest Airlines have all announced service to new or restarted destinations recently, providing additional options for your next adventure. 

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Gov. Tim Walz announced recently that the State of Minnesota is partnering with the Metropolitan Airports Commission to launch a new temporary pop-up vaccination event in Terminals 1 and 2 at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP).

The MSP vaccination site at Terminal 1 began service on Saturday, June 5. The site is open seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and will be closed from noon to 1 p.m. each day. 

The Terminal 2 site launched service on Thursday, June 10. That site is open from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily, with a closure from 9:30 a.m to 10 a.m. each day.

“We’re making it even easier for Minnesota travelers to get fully vaccinated,” said Gov. Walz. “Since the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is just a single dose, now you can protect yourself from COVID-19 while you’re waiting for your flight. We are working hard to offer these safe and effective vaccines to every Minnesotan who wants them, and we are proud to offer options as convenient as this one for frequent flyers.”

The vaccine is offered at no cost to all passengers at MSP. The vaccination site at Terminal 1 is post-security, meaning it is available only to ticketed passengers with a boarding pass, and to badged MSP employees.

Directions to the vaccination site at Terminal 1:

From the North Security Checkpoint: After exiting security, head to the left through the Airport Mall. The Community Vaccination site is located in the center of the mall, across from Starbucks.

From the South Security Checkpoint: After exiting security, head to the right through the Airport Mall. The Community Vaccination site is located in the center of the mall, across from Starbucks.

The Terminal 2 site is on the ground level, past ticketing and near the escalators up to the security checkpoint -- a pre-security location.

Minnesotans age 18 years and older are eligible to receive the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. And if passengers need some extra motivation to get the shot, both Dunkin' and Peoples Organic's locations at the airport will serve up a free cup of coffee to those who produce their vaccine card, specific to their recent shot at MSP.

Walk-ins are encouraged and appointments are also available via the Minnesota COVID-19 Vaccine Connector or by calling 833-431-2053.

The state continues to encourage Minnesotans to get tested if they are symptomatic, unvaccinated, or under 12 years of age.

Wandertest, which offers the popular rapid COVID-19 testing at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP), is making the service available on the airport’s pre-security side.

Starting Wednesday, June 16, Wandertest will offer the rapid tests on Terminal 1’s upper east curbside, across from the passenger drop-off area directly in front of Terminal 1.

Wandertest utilizes easy on-line registration to provide access to three test types – Antigen, NAAT, and RT-PCR. Walk-ins are welcome as well. The service delivers test results in under 30 minutes, offered by Homeland Testing Specialists, Inc.

Previously, Wandertest rapid testing was only available for ticketed passengers who had cleared security at Terminal 1. The new site provides convenient access for travelers arriving at MSP and is available to non-travelers as well.

To get to the new Wandertest pre-security site from Terminal 1, follow signs for the GOLD Parking Ramp and go towards the GOLD Third Level.

Full information is available at the Wandertest website.

Passengers are returning to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and on-site businesses are hiring to meet the growing demand for a wide array of services.

Join Us at a Job Fair

MSP Airport is participating in an upcoming virtual job fair, partnering with Hennepin County and CareerForce. Fire up your computer or mobile device, get online and find out which jobs are a good match for you.

Virtual Hiring Event: Wednesday, June 16 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

• You are encouraged to pre-register for this online event.

• This event will feature 20 different MSP Airport employers and a wide variety of opportunities.
• Each employer will highlight information about their organization, job openings, interview questions and more.
• You will be able to chat with each employer to get your questions answered. Some employers may also offer virtual meetings or interviews.

For more information about this and other Job Fair opportunities, visit the Employment & Volunteering page of the airport website. There are also videos available from past events.

Also, the MSP Airport Job Board is adding positions at a steady clip. If you or someone you know is looking for a well-paying position with benefits, you’re encouraged to visit and return to this site often for job openings, descriptions, and links to employer hiring sites.

Retailers, restaurants, cleaning companies and rental car firms are among the businesses looking for people to fill these roles. Positions in need of candidates include traffic control agent, barista, baker, restaurant manager, retail supervisor and sales clerk, to name a few.

Minnesota and the Minneapolis-St. Paul area is well-known for its arts scene. Galleries abound, public art programs thrive, and every year tens of thousands of artists draw inspiration from the state’s natural beauty and cultural experiences to produce their unique art and music.

Showcasing this local and regional talent is what the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport’s Arts@MSP program does best. With more than 14 rotating visual arts galleries, 47 commissioned and permanent installations and 4 performing arts spaces at the airport, the program can showcase multiple artists’ work at the same time and exhibit their work to millions of people from all over the globe.

However, until recently, only people with an airline ticket or airport employees could view them. So in 2019, the program began uploading descriptions and images of every permanent artwork and every rotating exhibit to its Artwork Archive site, giving anyone with an internet connection the ability to enjoy these pieces. And for its performing arts program, people can enjoy a sample of the music played at the airport by local musicians on Spotify.

To extend the program’s reach even further and help travelers know where to go in the airport to view art or enjoy a performance, all 68 of these locations are now mapped on both the digital directories in the terminals and on the airport’s website.

“Viewing art and listening to live music during layovers is one of my favorite pastimes. That's why getting Arts@MSP resources onto the interactive maps within the terminals and online is so exciting to me,” says Ben Owen, director of arts and culture for the Airport Foundation MSP. “Guests can now take a walking tour of MSP's first-class permanent collection and its thoughtfully curated exhibitions while they're in the airport, learning about Minnesota's culture and the artists that are helping us transform MSP's spaces into an unforgettable travel experience.”

Getaway options are expanding and we want to know what you're thinking as we enter the summer travel season.

MSP Airport continues to solicit input from would-be travelers via a survey that gauges attitudes toward air travel. The answers help shape the MSP travel experience in the COVID-19 era.

Even if you’ve already taken the survey, please feel free to take it again, as people's thoughts and answers change over time.

Our survey takers continue to be most interested in MSP's safety initiatives, such as the increased presence of hand sanitizer dispensers, the face mask requirement and the airport’s efforts to increase physical distancing. All of those efforts are part of the airport's Travel Confidently program.

Thank you for your continued interest in helping us make air travel as safe and comfortable as possible.