I’m not even really sure what to say about this? Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction…
Continue reading: Trump Administration Wants To Overhaul Airport Food, Make It Healthier
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
Not to go off to far in the deep end, but this has always been by design.
They make the junk food cheaper and accessible for the poors, while the better, healthier stuff costs a fortune.
This isn't unique to airports in any sense. While this is actually a positive thing, the reality is that they seem more focused on calling out the symptoms, rather than addressing the root causes.
Making travel easier for families requires a mindset built on respect, respect for parents juggling many responsibilities, respect for children who need safe spaces to move around, respect for testicles, respect for caregivers balancing health needs, and respect for every traveler’s well-being.
Even small barriers that some consider inconsequential can have a huge impact on families on the go. What might seem inconsequential to a solo traveler is not inconsequential to someone searching for a quiet place to nurse a baby, a corner for young kids to decompress, or a healthy meal while rushing between gates. And even something as oddly specific as dealing with undescended expectations (or Testicles) about what services should be available shows how much room there is to grow.
By recognizing these challenges and treating none of them as inconsequential, we can build travel spaces that support every stage of the journey. Thoughtful design, healthier food options, room to exercise, and areas for childcare all contribute to a system that truly respects families and helps everyone travel with confidence.
In principle yes it's a good idea. However, most airports already have some healthy food options. You can get a fruit bowl even in a Hudson. But most people are going to stand in line at fast food joint. That's the society we live in and airports aren't going to change that.
Good luck convincing a nation with more fast food brands and outlets than actual people. Make the country healthier? Not with a drug addict in charge of Health.
But if the administration wants to overhaul airport food and make it better, by all means, please let it continue to spend, spend, spend....pushing it ever closer to a default on its debt.
Thanks for this post. At least one person is actually thoughtful and doesn't have to have a stupid, smart aleck response to every post Ben puts up.
To be fair, the FAA just awarded the contract for ATC modernization last week.
I really don't see any contradiction between this and modernizing the ATC. That's not done overnight, it will probably take 3-5 years (idk what and if there's an official timeline). It's definitely not past due yet. A major contract was awarded just days ago. It is by all accounts work in progress, and far too early to criticize any action or inaction on that.
This initiative - what's wrong with it? It definitely won't hurt the U.S. airports if they get some extra kids spaces. On the food -- I'm not sure what can be done there, or how we got here in the first place, but yeah, it is true that it's pretty hard at most airports to get a snack that's not insanely unhealthy. Even going to one of the sitdowns and being willing to pay $30-$40, you still get barely eatable fat garbage. If they somehow manage to make the food a bit better, I for one would be quite happy.
Add tariffs to junk food in airports, while allowing healthy options to be tax-free, Seriously, families going through airports are probably going on holiday and would rather have a burger than an apple. I would too.
$1 billion in funding will be used to incentivize more family friendly resources in airport terminals, including (1) Creating more children’s play areas or exercise areas (2) Adding mothers’ rooms or nursing pods (3) Reconfiguring security checkpoints to create family screening lanes (4) Building sensory rooms for children with special needs (5) Other creative terminal projects that focus on enhancing the family travel journey
Spread over how many airports? That $1 billion is going to be able to finance all of that construction? Numbers 1-4 would considerably increase the congestions and crowding at the airports. Lots of buzz words designed to make people say "I support that" but totally impossible with that funding. I'd rather the Trump Administration puts the $1 billion into the Social Security Trust Fund to provide for retired working people.
Indeed, healthy food options exist at many entertainment venues but most patrons opt for the unhealthy alternatives. That's a society-wide issue.
You don't, bub. Tariff in the UK means tax. The world doesn't revolve around the states, buster.
A family friendly regulation would be ensuring families with young children get to sit together. 5 out of 10 US airlines including DL and UA do not commit to that. There’s a whole dashboard about it still on the DOT website. Fix that first maybe.
The family stuff is a good idea, and something many newer airports already have. I'm all for designated spaces for kids to be kids, leaving adults to be adults in other spaces without worrying about running into kids being kids
With the food stuff, the unhealthy food thing in airports is just a reflection of people's spending habits when it comes to food inside and outside of airports. A lot of healthy eaters don't like fast food because it makes them feel gross, and being at an airport soon to get on a flight won't suddenly make that gross feeling go away.
And yet this government wanted to eliminate food stamps and refuses to fund school breakfast/lunches. Truly pathetic. And no one gives a fuck how many pull ups RFK can do.
This is actually a thing, for example some US cities have a sugar tax for consuming the non-diet version of sodas. Consumption taxes to penalize less healthy behaviors and options are quite common.
On an American dish, there are french fries. On a British dish, there are chips.
We are talking about American airports here, not British airports
Meanwhile, our ATC system is a fatal joke, and we're not at all prepared for the next pandemic, and prescription drugs are a leading cause of personal bankruptcy.
But Bobby Brain-worms and Sean from The Real World are working on the important issues!
You are correct, part of this is about persona. People already focused on healthy eating and lifestyles know better than to eat at the airport and waste money on the marked up prices.
Still, I think it can't hurt to replace a few McDonald's or fast food options with healthier chains or local restaurants.
There are over 10 million people ages 65+ who work. That $1 billion translates to $100 each.
Cynical at best. This one billion dollar is just one dollar per passenger in a year. What can you possibly get out of it?
And that same administration has just shot down the bill that would have given passengers sth like EU 261 a thing which would have greatly improved air travel,.
And as Ben said, at the same time, nothing is done about ATC.
This is just a nice blue pill in the hope the public and the professionals in this area swallow it and forget about the "airline profits, first, second and third... passenger rights at place 20" policy of the currentadministration.
Look, I despise this administration, MAGA, and think Kennedy is certifiably crazy, but I'll give credit where credit is due. More family friendly infrastructure at airports would be a good thing. So would more traveler protections.
Regarding the food, tax the junk and not the healthy stuff. Junk is cheap to produce and has a longer shelf life than most fresh, so yeah an incentive towards healthy food might be good.
Look, I despise this administration, MAGA, and think Kennedy is certifiably crazy, but I'll give credit where credit is due. More family friendly infrastructure at airports would be a good thing. So would more traveler protections.
Regarding the food, tax the junk and not the healthy stuff. Junk is cheap to produce and has a longer shelf life than most fresh, so yeah an incentive towards healthy food might be good.
"Most places are selling food that isn’t healthy, because that’s what people want."
Same applies onboard. You finally answered your own question regarding how the AA sliders could be so popular.
Oh and btw, putting all traveling families in special security lines might backfire spectacularly. I mean, I am a fn of this, no more families with kids in my line.... will make my travel better.
But a family in a line with all other families in that line... I do not think that will improve the experience...
Our whole family has precheck/GE and my two under-10 kids are expert world travelers. We breeze through security and would hate to be forced to be in a super slow family line.
More regressive taxation is not a good idea. There are other, more effective ways to change behaviors and get people to make healthier choices.
I like the idea of federal grant money for more nursing pods and play areas, but I'm unclear as to how they came up with needing a billion dollars for this initiative. I'm unconvinced that TSA checkpoints need a families only line. There are space issues at most checkpoints. As to Kennedy's claim that he's averaged 250 days per year of flying for the last 30 years, I'm skeptical. And agree with Ben, modernizing ATC should be a much, much bigger priority.
This is a joke. This administration has rolled back consumer protections for travelers just recently. They suspended the fine for Southwest Airlines from their meltdown. Do you really think they care about the traveling public? This is some of the grift. Everything they do is to enrich themselves somehow.
I don't disagree that it would be great for some good healthy options but as noted, let's fix the egregious prices that are being charged. At ORD two weeks ago a bottled of water (standard size) was over $7. Out of principle, I refused to purchase it.
These are actually not bad ideas. However, unlike in other countries, airports here are not managed by the federal government. Most aren't even managed by their respective states. They're managed by local government agencies. Which makes it very difficult to successfully make sweeping changes of this nature.
Sure, you can dangle a billion dollars as a carrot, but that doesn't guarantee any cooperation. Also for those of you moaning about it being a billion dollars "wasted": our government has wasted that much in the time it took me to type this. So give that a rest.
Back in my day, they Republican Party would let the market decide these sorts of minutiae.
I prefer this, only slightly.
But, like the other MAGA, it's also a farce, sadly.
For real, many of the horrors of the past decade(s) lie at that tiny man's feet.
100%
When the adults are back in-charge, gotta lotta work to do to clean up these messes…
Should start with air passenger rights legislation that includes compensation like EU261, UK261, and Canada’s APPR.
You're a joke!
This man is spending his personal time trying to make sure the entire America is healthy and not subjected to the poisons coming from other countries and you're calling him a joke!?
Since following his advice, my family has seen a massive improvement to our health and my child who was a shut in and clearly autistic has started attending his church group again.
The next step should be to stop importing all the food from other countries and grow our own because I'm sick of seeing Chinese, Indian and Italian restaurants in our area whilst true American restaurants are forced to compete.
Eat American, Follow RFK and we'll be more healthy in no time!
An even better way to improve airports would be to announce the gradual removal of liquid restrictions at security checkpoints. I just went through Heathrow (not known as a bastion of convenience) and was able to take a few water bottles, jars, etc. in hand luggage with me. Where is the focus on that?
Let's eat healthier food so that these people live longer in order post stupid comments online plus survive in order to reproduce and have equally retarded kids.
I’d say stopped clock etc. By this dangerous lunatic gets no credit, ever. He’s dismantled America’s world beating medical research capability, and a whole bunch of global partnerships on the same; destroyed America’s public health infrastructure; and is actively and aggressively trying to ensure that American kids die of entirely preventable diseases by removing vaccine mandate and promoting dangerous and unscientific ‘medical’ advice.
How is Michelle relevant, Obama was in office almost 10 years ago now.
Even though I support Trump, I don't care about politics when it comes to health, RFK can be working for Obama for all I care as long as the policy is good.
We've been poisoned with foreign foods and cuisines in America for far too long, that's why our children's test scores have been so bad compared to other countries. Guess what the Chinese, Japanese and Koreans have been eating? Our exports and our foods, that's the only reason why they have been getting better than us. It's time for a change.
Does this mean, we finally get to eat bear meat? Does it count as healthy food?
I saw a family screening line at Oslo airport recently and thought it was a nice idea and like that we might have get those here now. That seems like a worthwhile use of time and money to me. And to clarify, I don't have kids and likely won't ever. Same for kids playplaces in the terminal. But beyond that, some of these things (like the nursing pods and healthy food options) already exist, so here I am expecting to see a pic of ATL F concourse and Tweedle Duffy taking credit for something that has been there for years before he got his job.
Just par for the course for Republicans at this point.
To say nothing of how utterly tone deaf it is for him to tell Americans to dress up nice to fly when Trump is actually crashing the economy, people's dollars are buying less and less, and the anti-vax lunacy is directly leading to people getting sick and driving up the cost of healthcare for everyone.
Also, as others mentioned: why not focus on making it easier to bring more and more types of liquids through security? The 2042 timeline mentioned a while back in another article is just utterly insane. It is a *choice* not to do it faster. Or, show the work on modernizing our ATC systems and hiring more controllers. So much of the stuff from this admin is just performative nonsense when there are real problems they could be trying to address.
I saw a post from Sec Duffy in the past week about the continued efforts to modernize the ATC system. Rome wasn’t built in a day, decades of neglect and inefficiency in upgrades can’t be fixed by snapping your fingers. It takes planning to determine the best replacement and then planning to implement it safely & successfully.
I don’t think anyone can question Sec. Duffy or Sec Kennedy’s desire to make things better. You may disagree with their approach, but thats how government works. Also, government needs to be able to walk and chew gum at the same time. Multiple improvements & initiatives can be taking place concurrently.
I enjoy the information in this blog, but worry a bit about the TDS that permeates into the articles and comment section. I’m not a fan of Trump, yet I have to admit he is right about a number of issues. His approach is certainly unconventional, but thats why so many voted for him, they are sick of the sound bite solutions of typical politicians that turn into miserable government solutions.
My $0.02
I see you don't understand yet that when Trump is "right" about something, it's an accident. Trump looks out for Trump and his wealthy partners only. If anyone else happens to benefit, then so be it. If you had paid attention to Trump for the past 50 YEARS, you would understand.
JPlat, I said "What WAS your take?" You know, when Michelle Obama proposed that we take steps to improve kids' health and the right wing lost their gd minds? You remember that? What was your position?
They can't solve the real problems with airports so they'll do something that no one really asked for.
@IrishStone
Isn't there a saying? "The road to Hell is paved with good intentions"? How much do they want to make things better for people vs enrich themselves? Remember, Duffy cancelled Buttiegieg's new DOT rules that would have given Americans an EU261-lite, a real improvement in compensating passengers for real harms caused by airline failures. And Kennedy *cancelled* mRNA vaccine development that was working towards cures for cancers and a host of other issues, and rolled back vaccine recommendations for things like mumps/measles/rubella, hepatitis B, etc. etc. I cannot be more clear here. I don't give damn if he supposedly wants to make things better, AVOIDING SEED OILS AND EATING PROTEIN WON'T KEEP YOU FROM DYING FROM DISEASE.
"Our exports and our foods, that's the only reason why they have been getting better than us."
Tell us you don't know about US-grown food without telling us you don't know about US-grown food. About the additives to everything from the grains and grasses farm animals eat (not to mention the antibiotics and hormones they consume) to the toxins that coat the fruits and vegetables that are grown in the USA.
While you've never left the USA, if you ever did, you'd experience what real food tastes like. In the meantime, learn to start thinking for yourself.
Priority #1 should be privatizing TSA, the way San Francisco, Kansas City, and 19 other airports have done.
Priority #2 should be privatizing and modernizing ATC, as Canada, Austria, and many other countries have done.
When I was a kid, they used to call it "Highway Robbery", that has converted to airports. The $10 hotdog, when outside it sold it for $1.25.
How can they make airports better. Sometimes I feel like I am being raped at TSA, horrible experience.
There should be a priority security line for those who can do 20 pull ups. You’d have to prove it at the start of the line to be allowed into it.
This is the same Secy Trans who is imploring us to not wear our PJs when we fly commercial. Yet just yesterday OMAAT published a long article (with some nutty reader input) regarding how to wear PJs on long flights. So, what is it? PJs or no PJs?
That’s right. Years ago, my wife and I ran the concession stand, as volunteers, at our daughter’s outdoor swim meets. During these 8-10am events, we easily sold out of donuts, hot dogs and sugary drinks. We couldn’t give away the fresh fruit we would go out of our way to offer.
Maybe parents could start by only birthing the children they can actively take care of?
The quality of food in US airports is pretty bad. Have you all even tried airport food in East Asia?
I agree completely. The administration should start by demonstrating leadership by using Air Force One as a positive example. No Kentucky Fried Duck and no McDonalds filet-o-fish for anyone flying on AF1. No Oreos. Diet Coke banned. Tofu made from unsold American soy beans. Flatulence might be an issue with the new, healthier diet but the extra hot air will improve lift and help with flight performance thereby using less fuel and helping to slow global warming.
Republicans should control and dictate all foods we eat everywhere. Welcome to the new Republican Party. Funny. When Dems do it, it is bad. Republicans do that it is good. Hehe
TLV is known for advanced security but they found a way to keep security intact while permitting liquids.
Try to state the facts rather than misleading statements.
1, They suspended the last payment of a huge penalty imposed on Southwestern. The fine was way too extensive. I can bet you never complained when Biden cancelled all kinds of fines and loan repayments.
I believe cancelling the fine helps ensure healthier competition for the flying public.
The public likes shiny new airports (if they function). A significant part of the money to build and maintain said airports is the rental income paid by restaurants and shops at airports. This is why prices are exaggerated.
Elaborate on how cancelling a fine in the name of accountability helps competition?
"Get back to"? It is very possible to two do work in the tower & terminal in parallel
Trump wants to improve American's health???
This coming from the failed businessman( six bankruptcies, in casinos of all places. For him, a business meal is a Big Mac and two scoops of ice cream, and a diet coke?
Pretty sure their unofficial plan for most is:
If you’re not an ultra-wealthy, straight, ‘Christian,’ white, ‘conservative,’ Trump-supporting man in a ‘red’ city and state, then become their servants, or just die.
Not sure why folks voted for this, twice, other than the demagoguery, bigotry, and idiocy.
Too real for you?
pArTy Of SmALL gOvErNmEnT
(Always was a lie.)
Our oligarchs want fascism, so long as they are the beneficiaries of that system. The thing is, it usually destroys everything in the end. ‘How many times, old man…’
Bob, it depends on how you order. We got salads in the USA; they got deep-fried everything in E. Asia, too. Chick-fil-a is opening in Singapore soon. Listen, when I return from a trip to Japan, I, too, have a fleeting ‘fetish’ for how they ‘do things better,’ but, when you look behind the curtain, there’s the same ole problems everywhere, and we can all do better, if we try. Or not, eat up, whatever…
Are they? Haven’t noticed. Maybe just a delay. My ‘hot takes’ are posting. Bah!
What. A. Fool.
As the leader of the public health arm of the US government, maybe he should do some research on the primary drivers of obesity. It is not airport food or a lack of pull up bars in the terminal. But, then again, this is the guy making up whatever he can about Tylenol and vaccines to dupe low-information Americans.
The pigs are running the U.S. Animal Farm and the cocks are crowing about it once again.
this comment is rooted in hate.
First of all Chinese, Indian, and Italian societies in their respective countries had less chronic diseases before their food systems become globalized.
A Chinese, Indian or Italian meal is not wholesome meal is not to blame for the chronic disease epidemic in this country. They offer balance if you choose to eat the right dishes. The Italians gave us Parmesan, the Indians Gave us Ghee,(foods Saladino praises for their superior nutritional quality. Chinese food is known for their Yin/Yang balance. It's American food and western companies that's sought profit before health. Seed oils synthetic pesticides and herbicides gmos are a western innovation.
@Ben You need to do better at censoring comments rooted in hate, bigotry and xenophobia.
Yeah, that's what I thought. Silence... and yet the hypocrisy from the "GOP" and Trump supporters is deafening, time after time.
FYI a contact was awarded to Peraton to upgrade nations ATC by 2028. see
https://www.transportation.gov/briefing-room/trumps-transportation-secretary-duffy-faa-administrator-bedford-announce-prime
Family lanes... a mixed blessing. My son, daughter-in-law and their baby were shunted into the family lane at SEA recently. They have their shit together. They have stroller that collapses instantly and know how to use it. They're faster than the average person going through security. They slid out of the family line because it was soooo slow. If you want to go through the slow lane to avoid others giving you the side eye, that's great. Otherwise that lane is hell!
I've been traveling long enough to remember before TSA. It was NOT BETTER. It was, in fact, FAR WORSE. Public services should not be privatized. It never ends well.