Some airports, such as San Francisco International (SFO) and Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport, are fans of the “Silent Airport” movement that aims to reduce passenger stress and noise pollution by severely limiting the number of announcements passengers hear in and around the terminals.
Elsewhere, airports run pre-recorded messages created by professional voice actors such as Bernie Wagenblast, who is currently the voice of the AirTrain at Newark Liberty International Airport (ERW). “I also do the announcements telling drivers they can’t park in front of the terminal,” said Wagenblast.
Travelers who pass through the whopping 85% of domestic US airports that use the announcement library offered by AtlasIED (formerly IED) — along with subscribing transit services at train stations, ferries and bus terminals — are also likely familiar with the voice of Carolyn Hopkins. She has been the company’s primary female English voice and although now retired, she’s still under exclusive contract to AtlasIED “on an ‘as needed’ basis, to update the voice library based on new requirements or customer requests,” according to a company spokesperson.
And, increasingly, airports are using automated technology that generates safety announcements, directional messages, boarding notices and other instructions for airport (and airline) customers.
But there are still a good number of airports that try to make their in-terminal announcements stand out by enlisting celebrities, local dignitaries and others to voice the messages.
In Texas, Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) Mayor Kirk Watson welcomes travelers in true Texas style, “with a big “Howdy” in his fantastic southern accent,” according to an AUS spokesperson.
In late 2023, Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL) welcomed a well-known local radio host, Ryan Cameron, as “the voice of ATL.”
At Denver International Airport (DEN, the voices passengers hear on the trains running between the main terminal and the concourses belong to current Mayor Mike Johnston and a variety of local sports celebrities. The message recorded by local sports announcer Alan Roach — “You are delaying the departure of this train” — is so popular that it’s been available as a downloadable audio file that can be used as a ringtone.
Celebrities such as Brittany Spears, Carrot Top, Wayne Newton and others have lent their voices to the welcome and safety announcements at Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) in Las Vegas.
And Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) mixes messages recorded by professional voice artists with those recorded by airport staff, noted local musicians and sports celebrities.
But Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) deals with airport announcements a bit differently.
Each November, for the past five years, the Metropolitan Airports Commission, which owns and operates MSP airport, has been inviting its own employees to audition for the chance to record some of the airport’s public safety and travel announcements as part of the Voices of MSP program.
The airport puts together a local judging committee to listen to all the auditions and then select which employees will be chosen to make the announcements, which are recorded at professional on-site audio studio.
This year more than 120 airport employees auditioned, and nine voices were picked to record the public address announcements that went live in mid-February and will be heard in terminal lobbies and concourses, automated exits, airport trams, baggage carousels, moving walkways and parking ramps for the next year.
“Our employees are the driving force behind our success at MSP, making them the ideal voices to guide our travelers,” said Phil Burke, assistant director of customer experience for the Metropolitan Airports Commission, in a statement.
“Every year, it’s exciting to announce a new group of employees who are providing another level of service by contributing their voices to our daily announcements.”
This year’s batch of Voices of MSP is a diverse group that features a Delta Air Lines flight attendant, a Lufthansa operations supervisor, an Endeavor Air talent director, a Transportation Security Administration officer, a PrimeFlight baggage handling system supervisor, a MAC project manager, an MSP Airport firefighter and Ebony Coles, a workforce management specialist with Sun Country Airlines.
“It feels so surreal to be chosen for something like Voices of MSP,” Coles said in an MSP media release. “It’s a huge opportunity,” she said, “and amazing to discover my voice has its own unique quality.”
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All images credited to courtesy of Metropolitan Arts Commission (MAC)