As passenger numbers rebound at Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport (MSP), the Airport Foundation MSP is bringing back its Travelers Assistance volunteers, animal ambassadors and live musical performances starting Monday, June 29.
The Travelers Assistance program and musical performances were suspended in March to ensure the volunteers' safety as the COVID-19 pandemic began to affect the airport.
With safety measures now in place – including the placement of Plexiglas shield barriers on Information Booths – volunteers are eager to help travelers once again.
Volunteers will be wearing facemasks and there will only be one volunteer per booth.
Animal ambassadors
The animal ambassador program will be back with a few important changes.
The animal ambassador petting station will be located in the North Rotunda in the Airport Mall at Terminal 1. There will be retractable belt stanchions to ensure social distancing and there will be two types of stations -- one will be a no-touch station and the other will be a petting station.
For the petting station, there will be a portable hand-washing area and travelers must wash hands before and after petting the therapy animal. A new volunteer position -- animal ambassador helper -- was created who will help with queue management and reminding people to wash their hands.
Live music
Live music performances are also returning to Terminal 1 starting on June 29. Musicians will perform from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. – currently one of the busiest time frames at the airport – with social distancing practices in place. The schedule for the week is as follows:
6/29 - Heidi Nasby (North mall area)
6/30 - Jim Stevens (North mall area)
7/1 - Joel Shapira (South mall area)
7/2 - Nate Hance (North mall area)
7/3 - Holly Nelson (South mall area)
Learn more about the individual performers here. Future performances will be announced as they are scheduled.
