City: Baltimore, MD

Category: Tours & Attractions

Telephone: (410) 859-7111

Description: Airports have a nasty rap these days, whether it’s expensive bland food or uncomfortable seating. So, it’s nice to know that the folks at BWI Marshall are trying to make your time here as pleasant as possible. Having said that, the airport has stopped the paging service. Hey, everyone has a cell phone or some portable communication device. Services for the disabled are particularly good with TDD-equipped public phones throughout the facility and at the information desks on the upper level concourse B, lower level in the Southwest Airlines baggage claim 1-5 area, lower level concourse E, and the customer service center. Visual paging monitors are available at the lower and upper levels at all concourses; call (410) 859-7111 to display a message. Shuttle service to the parking lots and the BWI Amtrak railroad station can be provided by requesting a lift-equipped bus by calling First Transit at (410) 684-3346 to request a wheelchair accessible shuttle bus.Unisex bathrooms are equipped for people with disabilities and can be used with or without an attendant. Two pre-security unisex bathrooms are to the right and left of concourse D security behind the airline ticket counters. Aviation Safeguards serves Southwest, American, Delta, British Airways, and USA 300; for wheelchairs call (410) 981-1251. Prime Flight Aviation Services serves AirTran, Continental, JetBlue, United, and USAirways. Request a chair at (410) 859-4444.The Baltimore-Washington International Marshall Airport has an observation lounge between Wings B and C for children of all ages to enjoy the scenes of a busy airport. Large windows allow for viewing the action outside, there’s a mockup of an airplane, a baggage train, and a gas truck for children to climb through and practice their flying and driving skills. On the second floor is an aviation exhibit that includes sections of a real airplane. You can’t crawl into the cockpit, but you can look through the glass and push buttons to light up specific cockpit lights. It’s the closest children can get to an airplane without shelling out big bucks for a seat on the next flight. A play area is adjacent to all this fun.