Airport Experience® News - Post-Conference Issue 2024

receive a 20-percent discount on tuition, followed by children of those employed by the airport’s partners, with the remaining spots available to the public. Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG), meanwhile, launched a pilot program last year called CVG CARES (Child Care Assistance Rewards System), which contributes $2,500 to employees’ annual childcare expenses. “At CVG, we have a strategic workforce collaborative, where more than 70 employers on our campus are invited to discuss common workforce challenges, childcare being one of them,” says CEO

gives an open spot to an airport employee’s child or puts them first on the waitlist. Last year, the airport committed up to $7 million to subsidize childcare services for airport employees over the next five years, according to Doug Yakel, public information officer for SFO. Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA), owner and operator of Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and Van Nuys Airport (VNY), opened its First Flight Child Development Center just north of LAX in 1998. Enrollment priority is given first to children (aged 6 weeks to 5 years old) of LAWA employees, who also

Candace McGraw. “Oftentimes, our partners look to us as leaders and say, ‘What have you done differently?’ or ‘What do you recommend?’ This is one example.” Similar to CVG, there’s a scholarship program for Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) employees that helps pay the cost of tuition at childcare sites around Maricopa County, available to PHX badged workers who meet certain income criteria, including aviation department employees, airline employees, concessions workers and contractors. This program is part of the Phoenix City Council’s strategic plan for use of American Rescue Plan Act funds. Another aspect of this strategic plan is the construction of a childcare facility at the 44th Street PHX Sky Train Station, which is set to begin in late spring or early summer. “The approximately 13,000-square-foot site is connected to Phoenix Sky Harbor by the PHX Sky Train, and is immediately adjacent to employee parking, Metro Light Rail and regional bus lines, making it a convenient location for airport workers,” says Chad Makovsky, aviation director for the City of Phoenix.

Left: Last year San Francisco International Airport launched an airport-operated commuter bus, called Go>SFO Shuttle, which serves major communities across the Bay. The shuttle has been very successful, with roughly 600 to 700 employees using it every day, so the airport plans to expand the program with more busses and service routes.

Above: Construction is set to begin this year on a new childcare facility at the 44th Street PHX Sky Train Station at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport for children of airport employees (rendering shown). Left: Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA), owner and operator of Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and Van Nuys Airport, opened its First Flight Child Development Center just north of LAX in 1998. Enrollment priority is given first to children of LAWA employees, who also receive a 20-percent discount on tuition, followed by children of those employed by the airport’s partners, with the remaining spots available to the public.

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AX NEWS APRIL/MAY 2024