As passengers return to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) for trips that may have been delayed due to the pandemic, concessionaires are rising to the occasion and providing passengers with multiple options for food and drink.

To navigate their way around lines that sometimes get long, passengers are encouraged to use the MSP-ASAP food-ordering website to place orders ahead of time. Passengers can choose to pick up the order at their restaurant of choice, or have it delivered to their location at MSP by AtYourGate. The MSP-ASAP website also enables touchless purchases, increasing convenience and safety for passengers.

Many MSP restaurants and grab-and-go options have also extended their hours recently to satisfy flyers who are in Terminal 1 in the evening.

Closing time for MSP restaurants and grab-and-go counters open later into the evening

• Blue Door Pub: 9 p.m.
• Twins Grill: 8:30 p.m.
• Vino Volo: 9 p.m. (closed Saturdays)
• McDonald’s: M-Th 10 p.m.; Sat. & Sun., 9:30 p.m.
• Republic: 9 p.m.
• Camden: 10 p.m.
• Hi-Lo Diner: 9 p.m.
• Panda Express: 9 p.m. Thu., Fri., Sunday; 8 p.m. Mon., Tues., Weds., Sat.
• Zona Cocina: 9 p.m.
• People’s Organic: 9 p.m.
• Stone Arch: 9 p.m.
• Firehouse Subs: 8-9:30 p.m. (grab and go only)

Also, a handful of restaurants at MSP offer menu items through the MSP-ASAP website until 9:30 p.m. – which is after their dining rooms close. Those restaurants are:

• Blue Door Pub
• Holy Land
• Bottle Rocket
• Firehouse Subs
• Red Cow

For a full listing of MSP dining options at both terminals -- including locations and hours -- visit this webpage.

This past weekend, MSP International Airport marked the 20^th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks with a pause in activity at both terminals and a short audio program. 

At 7:46 a.m. on Saturday, the local time that the first plane impacted the North Tower of the World Trade Center in 2001, an announcement went out on MSP’s public address (PA) system campus-wide, recognizing the anniversary of the attacks and asking all people at the airport for a moment of silence. 

As the airport’s TSA security checkpoints temporarily stopped all screening activity -- and all other business in the terminal was paused as well – “Taps” was played over the PA system. An honor guard was present at both terminals, which included members of the Airport Police and Fire Departments, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. During “Taps,” the electronic video displays in the security checkpoints showed an American flag. 

A couple of minutes later the program concluded, and the terminals returned to normal activity. 

“It’s a poignant way to remember and honor the victims of 9/11 and all those who responded bravely that day,” said Phil Burke, the assistant director of Customer Experience at MSP, who helped coordinate the event.

The airport has held the program each Sept. 11 for more than a decade. 

Also, Airports Council International-North America, an industry trade group, produced a "We Remember" video (2 minutes in length) about 9/11, which includes comments from Roy Fuhrmann, the Metropolitan Airports Commission's chief operating officer. 

MSP International Airport continues to partner with the State of Minnesota to provide COVID-19 vaccinations at the airport.

The vaccination sites – one at each terminal – use the Johnson & Johnson single-dose vaccine. The vaccine is offered at no cost.

At Terminal 2, the site is pre-security and is open to everyone. At Terminal 1, the site is post-security, meaning it is available only to ticketed passengers with a boarding pass, or to badged MSP employees.

Full information about the vaccination sites is available here.

For passengers looking for a COVID-19 test, MSP offers both a state-provided saliva-testing service (free to Minnesota residents), and a private, rapid-test service that’s convenient for travelers headed to a destination that requires a negative test result.

Full information about both COVID-19 testing options is available at this website.

The Airport Foundation MSP and the Metropolitan Airports Commission invite emerging, mid-career and established artists or artist teams residing in the United States to apply to join the Public Roster of Artists for Commissioned Arts. 

“Commissioned artwork at MSP provides opportunities for the airport, artists and community to transform ordinary spaces into dynamic, meaningful places,” said Ben Owen, director of Arts@MSP, a program of the Airport Foundation MSP and the MAC. “The Public Roster of Artists for Commissioned Arts provides an essential method for selecting artists expeditiously to develop temporary, permanent, free-standing or site-integrated artwork of various complexities, forms, and sizes, indoors and outdoors, at MSP Terminals 1 and 2.”

The Arts@MSP program encourages diversity in its collection, said Owen. “The Selection Panel will consider artistic diversity as a key factor in the selection process.”               

To be eligible to apply, applicants must be practicing professional artists or artist teams residing in the United States. Regional talent is preferred.

For more information about how to join the Public Roster of Artists for Commissioned Arts, click here.

For more information about the Airport Foundation MSP, visit airportfoundation.org or click here.

Summer is officially over but vacation destinations and weekend getaways are still calling, and we want to know what you're thinking as we move into autumn.

MSP Airport is soliciting input from would-be travelers via a survey that gauges attitudes about and interest in air travel. The answers help shape the MSP travel experience as the COVID-19 era continues to wane.

Even if you’ve already taken the survey, please feel free to take it again, as your thoughts and answers may have changed over time.

Survey takers have shown interest 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.