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These Travelers Aid Volunteers Will Solve Your Airport Problems

By Gilbert Ott

Despite their best efforts to add brand-name shops, fine dining, and even live music venues , airports just aren't places we would visit for fun. But there’s a very special group that chooses to spend its free time doing just that: hanging out at the airport waiting to help stranded, jet-lagged, and generally irate passengers.

Jamie Larounis is one of these men. Just a year ago he enrolled in Travelers Aid , a nonprofit group that lends a helping hand in airports across the U.S., Canada, and Australia. Based at Washington Dulles International, he’s one of more than 2,000 volunteers in 24 transportation centers who dons a blue vest and comes to the aid of the tired, the bewildered, the huddled masses who feel lost amid the chaos of a busy international airport.

"Tonight, I helped four passengers get home to South Africa ,” Larounis tells Condé Nast Traveler. “Their United flight from Chicago was delayed, so they missed their South African Airways flight, and the check-in counters were closed, leaving them stranded. I called United, booked them on a new flight through London—for free—and got them on their way. They were so grateful."

If this seems magical, know that Larounis, like many of his colleagues, is far from your average volunteer: He’s an airline expert who runs the site The Forward Cabin , a regular presenter at the New York Times Travel Show, and an organizer of the "Frequent Traveler University" travel conferences. He just so happens to have some free time and enjoys helping people who share his passion for travel. There are volunteers like him all around the country.

Traveler’s Aid volunteers come from all ages and walks of life: retired people, former pilots, travel geeks, young professionals, even high school students, all taking less-than-glamorous shifts at their local airport—because they want to. They help travelers with everything from finding the nearest Starbucks or navigating local ride sharing services to thinking "on the fly" to rescue travel plans gone awry. Ryan Ewing is another D.C.-area Travelers Aid volunteer, who enrolled with the group in seventh grade. Now in high school, he still helps passengers in his free time and manages the aviation news website AirlineGeeks.com .

"Recently, a carrier had overbooked a flight and an unaccompanied minor got bumped,” says Ewing. “Her parents were 30 minutes away and she was freaking out being stuck in the airport without anyone she knew. We had someone meet her at the gate and stay with her near the info desk until she could meet her parents.”

As airlines continue to disconnect from their customers, this army of blue vests has taken on an increasingly necessary role, helping millions of travelers each year, every day. So, next time you're jetting your way through the airport and see a volunteer with a blue Travelers Aid vest, take a minute say thank you. You never know when you’ll need their help, too.

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Mission statement.

The Travelers Aid International mission is to aid people in transit who are in distress, through our direct services and through services provided by our member organizations.

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Travelers Aid is a volunteer based program that seeks to assist airport passengers and provide knowledge and experience to enhance their traveling experience. Volunteers provide information and assistance with airport related questions, transportation options, attractions in the area and many more questions. The program is also able to make referrals to outside agencies and connect people with systems.

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When Dulles passengers call for help, Travelers Aid volunteers still answer — from home

Travelers Aid International has been helping passengers at Washington Dulles International Airport since 1962, a streak that is still going strong. Though the pandemic forced the organization to close its information desks for several months, it did not disrupt the group’s mission to assist travelers. Since mid-March, a corps of dedicated volunteers has been answering questions about airport dining, duty-free shopping and other travel issues from their kitchens, dining rooms and sun rooms.

“In a four-hour shift, you may only get three to five calls, but somewhere in there you’re going to make a difference in somebody’s day,” said Glover Epperson, a 75-year-old volunteer who has been answering calls from his home in Ashburn, Va. “We are not so much telling someone where the bathroom is like before but telling them when their loved ones are coming back.”

Travelers Aid, an international nonprofit organization that helps individuals in distress, closed 12 of its information desks at Dulles on March 13 and the remaining two on April 1. However, instead of suspending service as many of its other airports did, the Dulles division decided to redirect the phone calls from travelers to volunteers standing by — or more likely sitting comfortably — at home. Signs posted at the desks ask “Need help?” and list the Virginia phone number for off-site assistance.

How airport screenings have changed since the pandemic

“While helping travelers in person was becoming increasingly prohibitive, a great deal of people still needed assistance as more travel restrictions took shape and borders closed,” said Tina Mally, the assistant program manager of Travelers Aid-Dulles. “Our group of volunteers still wanted to lend a hand, so providing remote phone assistance was an outlet for many who were feeling the call to help while stuck at home.”

Before the pandemic, nearly 400 volunteers participated in the program, and about 50 volunteers worked the desks each day. Since the organization switched to remote, about 40 volunteers have remained active in the program, with three people answering calls daily from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. The volunteers receive fewer than 10 calls a day, but Mally said the volume often spikes when a new travel restriction is announced or an airline cancels its flights. In March, April and May, volunteers responded to 35,861 queries made from the main terminal and concourse desks and remotely. During the same period last year, they fielded more than 347,000 questions from the same locations.

On June 1, Travelers Aid reopened two physical desks run by four volunteers and a mobile position “to address the growing yet sporadic nature of passenger traffic,” Mally said. A few days later, it added another mobile unit. Mally does not know when the remaining counters will return, but even when fully operational, the organization may continue the new calling option.

“We hope to retain remote service capabilities for the future,” she said, “especially considering that many of our volunteers experience health or mobility issues.”

The volunteers at home and the few at Dulles log all of their calls and assists. We were curious about what travelers were asking during these tumultuous times and how the volunteers were lending a hand — and an ear, too. Here is a snapshot from the past several weeks.

May 21 : Epperson receives a call from a traveler who is looking for food before his 9:15 p.m. flight, which boards at 8:30. Concessions at concourses D, C and A close at 7:45. The passenger has 45 minutes to race over to Wendy’s in B and return to his gate in D. Epperson’s shift is over, so he calls him back on his cellphone in case the traveler needs help navigating the airport. At 8, the passenger starts walking from D to C to catch the train to A. Epperson is not sure the shuttle is running, so he texts him closer food options available at newsstands. At 8:10, the traveler calls to say he is in A and walking to B. He orders his dinner — a bag of burgers — and is back at his gate a few minutes after 8:30. “This is the most excitement I’ve had in months,” Epperson quips.

May 26 : Bill Babash, a 55-year-old in Reston, takes a call from a woman seeking the pickup location of an unaccompanied dog who is flying into Dulles from Atlanta via Austin on American Airlines. Babash reaches out to the airline to determine whether the animal will arrive as checked baggage or cargo. The airline employee passes along the phone number for the cargo department, which Babash gives to the caller. During the exchange, he realizes that the Austin leg is not typical routing for American Airlines but is common on Southwest. He advises the woman to confirm the flight details, to make sure she has the correct carrier. She checks her documents and discovers that the dog is connecting through the Dallas-Fort Worth airport — on American.

May 28 : Kathleen Kelmelis, a 68-year-old resident of Vienna, assists a passenger arriving from Albany, N.Y., who requires help with his bags. She tells him that some porters and Skycaps are available, as well as Smarte Cartes. Then he asks for directions to the Air India counter, where he needs to check in for his next flight. She describes the route to the elevator.

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May 31 : Keith Weber, 75, of Sterling, Va., speaks with a passenger who wants to know whether duty-free stores are open in Concourse C. He tells him they are closed. The caller also asks about long-term parking. Weber informs him that the economy lots are closed but he can park in Garage 1 and the terminal lots for the economy lot rate of $10 a day. The traveler says he will be away for a month. Weber assures him that his car will be safe as long as he does not exceed the 45-day limit.

June 1 : Christine Moore, 75, of Oak Hill, Va., handles a query from an individual whose relatives are flying in from Iran and carrying a rug and a significant amount of cash. The person wants to know the customs regulations for these items. Moore reaches out to Customs and Border Protection. An officer gives her a number for the caller and tells Moore that the person must provide specific information about the cash, such as the amount, and the rug, such as its place of origin and intended use and whether it is hand-knotted or machine made.

June 2 : Marilyn Dickman, 65, of Gainesville, Va., answers a call from an employee with the Defense Department’s Defense Logistics Agency, who says the office has a large shipment for the German Armed Forces Command but is unable to reach anyone from there. Dickman tracks down a number for the Reston base, plus a contact for Lufthansa cargo.

June 3 : Jennifer Shen, 33, of Great Falls, Va., is positioned post-security at Concourse B when a woman who does not speak English approaches. The traveler needs help finding her gate and has only 20 minutes before boarding starts. She is carrying a Brazilian passport, so Shen pulls up Google Translate and says in Portuguese that she will take her there. On the way, she sets up WiFi on the traveler’s phone. The Brazilian traveler makes her flight in the nick of time.

June 4 : Chris Temple, 68, of Reston, assists a passenger arriving at night from Miami. She is looking for transportation to Dupont Circle in Washington and is concerned about the protests and curfew. Temple tells her the buses and Metro are not running and suggests a taxi.

June 4 : Carter Myers, 68, of McGaheysville, Va., is stationed at the information desk on the baggage claim level. During his shift, he reunites a woman with her lost purse and helps a person locate a package that was shipped on Ethiopian Airlines but was sitting in the cargo building. “I was glad to be of service in those ways,” he says, “despite the very small number of travelers.”

June 5 : Pearl DiPasquale, 64, of Reston, offers advice to a man whose wife flew in from France and missed her connection to Boston because of the customs and immigration process. United had put her on a flight departing the following day, but she wanted to fly out earlier. DiPasquale checks the other airlines and finds an evening flight on American. The wife does not want to exit the secured area, so DiPasquale gives the husband directions to the airline’s ticket counter at Concourse B. She does not hear back from the husband and assumes the wife successfully booked the ticket.

June 6 : A young man approaches Eve Wallin, 71, of Reston, at the desk on the baggage claim level. He has just arrived from Atlanta and is flying to Ethiopia the next day. He is looking for a hotel that is part of his reservation. Wallin doesn’t recognize the property’s name and goes online to check his reservation number on Ethiopian Air. She discovers that the reservation only includes flights and calls around for a local hotel with reasonable rates. Unfortunately, many are closed because of the pandemic. She finally reaches a hotel in Sterling that is offering a discounted rate and a bagged breakfast. She reminds the man to tell the hotel staff that he will need a ride to the airport three hours before his morning flight. She then walks him to a Washington Flyer taxi. “He was most appreciative of the effort,” she says.

June 8 : At the desk on the departures level, a woman asks Derrick Thompson, 59, of Leesburg, for help finding the TSA checkpoint. He notices that she is visibly upset and escorts her to security. As they walk, she tells him that she is returning to Texas because of a spat with her son. She and her husband had driven a moving van from Texas to Virginia to deliver her son’s personal belongings. Along the way, his TV was damaged, and the son blamed the couple. The mother felt that her son was ungrateful, so she decided to cut the visit short and fly home. “She calmed down,” Thompson says, “and seemed to feel better after our conversation.”

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Travelers Aid Chicago – O’Hare International Airport

Volunteer Position Description:

Individuals or pairs are needed at O’Hare Airport to provide information and support for travelers at airport information desks.

Travelers Aid Chicago provides crisis intervention, information, and social services to travelers and visitors at Chicago ‘s O’Hare International Airport. The Travelers Aid office is located inside security in Terminal 2 with 6 satellite locations in Terminals 1, 2, 3, and 5.  

Travelers Aid is a program of Heartland Human Care Services.

Information desk volunteers are positioned at one of 9 information desks throughout O’Hare Airport, where they offer help to passengers in need of information or assistance. Volunteers also may occasionally leave the desk to provide protective travel services to vulnerable or at-risk passengers who need guidance, support, or advocacy as they move through the airport. Each volunteer must complete a background check to obtain an O’Hare badge to pass through security checkpoints.   

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Volunteers help travelers in serious situations at Tampa International Airport

TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa International Airport is highly ranked, with a solid reputation among travelers. Some of that is thanks to the hundreds of volunteers who help the airport run.

What You Need To Know

 tampa interational airport currently has 454 volunteers   volunteers are split between uso center, welcome ambassadors and travelers aid   want to get involved volunteer with tpa  or travelers aid.

According to the airport’s Manager of Communications, Beau Zimmer, the airport has 454 volunteers as of mid-April. Those volunteers spend their time as a welcome ambassador, at the airport’s USO Center assisting military members, or in Travelers Aid.

Travelers Aid, which is currently run by the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay, has a long history both at Tampa International and a network of airports across the country. Travelers Aid is one of the nation’s oldest social welfare movements that dates back to the mid 1800s and was formed to provide protection for women who traveled alone, usually in train stations.

Today it’s morphed into a network of volunteers who are ready to help in any situation, from easy fixes to crisis.

Ellen McCormick decided to begin volunteering with Travelers Aid roughly eight years ago after she retired from her job as a scientist with a pharmaceutical company. She says she missed the routine working provided and wanted to do something impactful with her time, beyond what typical hobbies could offer.

“I think it’s the diversity of what we do here that really draws me in,” she says.

On a typical day, Ellen does everything from answering traveler’s questions, provide emergency supplies like diapers or band-aids, or help problem solve and get solutions for stranded travelers. Other days, the situations are far more serious.

Ellen says she’s worked with travelers who were scammed while buying a plane ticket or arrive at the airport with no resources.

“Sometimes there’s no money, there’s no phone, there’s no friends, so they’re really in a pickle,” she explained.

Through the partnership with the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay, the Travelers Aid volunteers then call a shelter, find them a place to go, and give the person a bus pass and toiletries.

“It’s really sad. But sometimes it happens and at least there’s someone here to help,” Ellen said.

Travelers Aid is staffed by volunteers from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. 7 days a week. Roughly 50 volunteers rotate to keep the location fully staffed. 

Ellen says the loves the community the airport has become for her and recommends that other new retirees consider volunteering for a cause they are passionate about.

“I think if anything I’ve learned is at the core of us, we all want the same thing. We’re all very much the same and every once in a while, we need a helping hand,” she said.

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Become A Volunteer. You Can Make a Difference.

Volunteers are at the heart of the Travelers Aid network, which is located across the country in airports, bus, and train stations. Last year, more than 2,100 Travelers Aid volunteers assisted over 9.1 million people. Our volunteers at Newark Liberty International Airport assisted more than 146,300 passengers.

With a warm welcome, our volunteers assist passengers in navigating the airport by providing flight information, lodging suggestions, transportation options, or guidance on making connecting flights.

You are sure to have a rewarding experience as you assist others with their travel needs!

To learn more about volunteering with Travelers Aid, send an email to [email protected] or call (973) 623-5052.

The “Travelers Aid” logo is a registered trademark of Travelers Aid International, Inc. 2024. All rights reserved.

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Volunteer to improve access and inclusion

When you volunteer with Travellers Aid you help people with a disability or older travellers get where they need to go.  

If you value access and inclusion for all, you’ll love being part of our volunteer workforce.

Want to improve access and inclusion in Victoria?

We need your help.

Moving between train platforms and nearby transport zones is not easy for everyone.

Travellers Aid’s service hubs at Flinders Street and Southern Cross Stations in Melbourne and Seymour and Ballarat Stations in regional Victoria offer a friendly helping hand to people with disability, older patrons or those with ill-health or an injury.  

Contact us at volunteers@travellersaid.org.au or apply here .

Help make Melbourne’s big events more inclusive

Join our team of dedicated event volunteers. Recruiting now!

Travellers Aid’s dedicated event volunteers help people with mobility impairments make the most of their event experiences. Find out more about event volunteering with Travellers Aid and join Melbourne’s inclusive events team today.

Help improve access and inclusion in your community

Volunteers, just like you, make Travellers Aid’s free and low-cost support services possible.

Our service hubs in Melbourne, Seymour and Ballarat help people connect with public transport, navigate transport disruptions, get to their appointments and outings and enjoy Melbourne’s special events .

Our dedicated volunteers assist people with a physical disability, older travellers, people with ill-health or injury and those with less visible disabilities such as sensory processing differences, autism and anxiety more than 225,000 times every year.

Choose from a variety of volunteer opportunities

From transporting people between station platforms, accompanying them to appointments or helping them get into and around Melbourne’s big events, you’re sure to find a volunteer role for you.

As well as our variety of volunteering opportunities, we also provide excellent on-the-job training and support in a close-knit, busy and friendly environment.

Call or email us to find out how you can start making a difference as a Travellers Aid volunteer.

Who can volunteer?

If you are friendly, respectful, patient and enjoy interacting with people from all walks of life then volunteering with Travellers Aid could be the role for you. You’ll be assisting seniors, regional Victorians and people living with disabilities as well as the general travelling public.

To volunteer you must be over 18 years of age. All volunteers must undergo a Victoria Police Check and a Working with Children Check. Training, uniform and  assistance with  myki fares is provided.

Opportunities exist in Melbourne, Ballarat and Seymour. If you would like to find out more about our upcoming volunteer opportunities, please email us at volunteers@travellersaid.org.au

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Puzzling out Moscow for visitors under 30

Navigation games on the streets and conversation clubs in hostels are all part of the fun of figuring out Moscow when you’re young at heart. Source: Press Photo.

Hugging strangers, reciting poetry and looking for bird-shaped graffiti is not usually part of a city tour—but Moscow Game Tour is no ordinary company.

Nikita Bogdanov, 25, founder of the company, says: “It’s not a regular tour, it’s a quest. You interact with Russian people, and you gain more experience.”

Moscow Game Tour is one of a new breed of innovative tours run by and for young people. They are either low-cost or free, and prioritise interacting with locals over traditional sightseeing.

Mr Bogdanov started Moscow Game Tour in 2009 to encourage visitors to explore areas outside the city centre. In the tour, which costs 700 roubles (about $22), participants are “players” and complete challenges that lead them to clues in the shape of a matryoshka doll.

Discovering fairy-tale Moscow

Strolling around the Kremlin

Discovering a glorious corner of paradise

Many tasks involve asking passers-by for directions or trying a Russian phrase. Along the way, players discover interesting features such as a monastery canteen, or a Socialist Realist statue.

Some clues are easier to locate than others. “There was one spot that we absolutely could not find,” says Vera Baranova, 25, who took part in a quest at Tsaritsyno Park in south-east Moscow. “When we asked someone, it turned out that we were actually right on top of it.”

Mr Bogdanov also operates the Moscow Free Tour, which provides an overview of major sites between Kitai Gorod and the Kremlin free of charge. In peak season, this more traditional outing attracts between a dozen and 40 people every day; the Game Tour runs only once or twice a week and usually attracts between five and 10 participants. Convincing visitors to sign up for an unconventional tour can be a challenge. “The Free Tour is more popular because it’s more easily understandable,” Mr Bogdanov says. “For the Game Tour, you need to explain to people what it is.”

Business has picked up as Mr Bogdanov has formed relationships with hotels, major tour agencies including TUI and companies such as Google. This year, he also began receiving support from Moscow’s Committee for Tourism and the Hotel Industry, which has launched a programme called “Moscow Fresh” to support creative tourism.

Moscow Game Tour is one of a new breed of innovative tours run by and for young people. Source: Press Photo.

In addition to the Free Tour and Game Tour, Mr Bogdanov’s company offers daily paid-for tours with a variety of themes. The retro Communist Tour visits central Soviet landmarks, including the Lubyanka (former headquarters of the KGB); the Gulag Museum; a Soviet-style canteen and Eliseevsky, a regal shop on Tverskaya Street considered the grandest store in the Soviet Union (which these days sells imported French yoghurt and other modern luxuries).

Visitors can also venture below ground on the Metro Tour.  The latter stops at some of the most ornate stations in Moscow’s beloved Stalinist metro system, such as the mosaic-adorned Komsomolskaya. In an attempt to supply visitors with information beyond the average pocket guide, the tour recounts little-known facts about the metro, such as how many babies have been born on it.

Alexei Sotskov, 30, was inspired to start Moscow Greeter , a local franchise of the international Greeter network, after giving informal tours to friends. “I have a lot of friends in foreign countries, and when they come to Moscow I show them interesting places. So I thought it would be a great idea to start running a tourist service,” he says.

The greeters are mostly students learning English who take visitors to lesser-known sights, such as the former royal estate Kolomenskoye, as well as exhibitions and sporting events. The greeters not only show the tourists around but they also chat to them. “Greeters talk about their lives, their parents, where they’re from in Moscow, and where they study,” says Mr Sotskov. 

“Traditional guides just give people information they read in a book.”

Valentina Lebedeva, a second-year linguistics student, has been a greeter for two months. “When most people come to Moscow, they visit the Kremlin and everything, but they go back and they still don’t really get how people really live here,” she says.

“Greeters offers tourists a good way to get a real impression of Russia, so that you don’t just visit the usual tourist sights.”

Another unconventional tour company, Lovely Russia , also strives to provide a more engaging experience for tourists. “A lot of the tours I saw being run by tour providers were really boring, just buses with large crowds of 60 year-olds,” says the company’s co-founder Anna Shegurova, 25. “There was not a lot for a younger crowd, a more off-the-beaten-path kind of thing.” Lovely Russia offers a variety of $22 tours in English. Locations include metro stations, Constructivist landmarks and a “Moscow as it is” outing that winds through the city’s side streets. At the end of the tour, guides suggest places where participants can enjoy a beer.

Ms Shegurova says the guides try to show visitors “a different side of Russia”.

“It’s a great city with a really long and interesting history… but you wouldn’t really know unless you have someone with you who’s able to share this history and make it interesting,” she says.

For visitors without a guide, getting around Moscow can still be a challenge. Over the past year,  some English-language signs indicating the locations of historical sights have been put up, but metro and street signs remain in Cyrillic.

Mila, volunteer for 'wow local'

“Coming here, it’s very hard to get orientated,” says Irina Tripapina, 25, the organiser of WowLocal . “We decided to compensate for the lack of information in English by establishing a community of volunteers who are willing to help visitors find their way.” After passing language and navigation tests, WowLocal volunteers are given T-shirts and badges emblazoned with the phrase “Ask Me, I’m Local.” 

“Tourists can meet WowLocal at any part of the city and at any time – even at night in Butovo,” says Ms Tripapina, referring to the suburb south of Moscow.

Since the project started in July, Ms Tripapina says it has recruited about 400 volunteers. She wears her badge every day on her way to work, and says she’s frequently stopped by foreigners asking for directions (as well as Russians looking for the metro).

Occasionally, she fields some more unusual requests: “Once, a guy from Britain asked me where to get a bowl of pelmeni,” she says.

WowLocal also brings together local people and tourists through city navigation games and conversation clubs at hostels. “We bring volunteers together with the travellers, so that they can share with each other,” explains Ms Tripapina.

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