Back in the day, I used to escape the cold Washington, DC winters by flying down to the sunny climate of Naples, Florida, to visit my godmother. Since it was so cold I had to drag my winter coat from start to finish – which is always a big pain. My Florida flights are always packed (because who doesn’t want to leave the cold and snow for the sun and 80s heat?) And so are the overhead bins. The lack of space forced me to sometimes wear or sit on a coat. Every time I do that, I wonder why airports don’t offer coat checks for snowbirds like me.
Fortunately, Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport (MKE) heard my cry. Returning to popular demand, the airport is offering a coat check service for the fourth year. Working with the Paradies Lagardère airport franchise, locals flying to warmer weather can check their coats inside Summerfest Marketplace’s pre-security site for just $2 a day or $10 per trip.
This means you no longer have to wear bulky coats, gloves and other unnecessary items on board when traveling to warm weather locations. It solves the problem of trying to stuff a winter coat in your luggage. It frees up space in the overhead bins on the plane. Not to mention, it keeps you from looking silly when you get off the plane in Cancun in a t-shirt, shorts, flip flops, and loose jacket.
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Milwaukee will offer non-stop flights to cities in Florida, Arizona, California, Mexico and the Caribbean this winter, making this coat-checking service convenient for travelers. Airports Council International-North America, the organization representing airports, recognized Milwaukee’s airport for this unique service in 2020.
This is not the only airport that has ever offered the service. Frankfurt Airport (FRA) also allows travelers to leave their winter coats behind in warm weather. From October to April, the airport charges about 50 cents per day, per item, to store coats and coats in addition to luggage storage in Terminal 1, Concourse B of Frankfurt Airport ( incoming flights). For a short time in 2014, JetBlue offered jacket checks at New York City’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK).
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Here’s hoping a simpler version comes back and we have a coat check service at more airports.
