Airport Scavenger Hunt – 60 Finds, Gate to Touchdown

Q: What if the gate has no window?

Pick Around the terminal or Signs and screens in the menu: all 24 of their finds are indoors, and none needs a view of the runway.

How it works

A long wait at the gate goes faster with a list. This airport scavenger hunt holds 60 finds for any airport, scored 1 to 3 points, and a last list for the flight itself.

Read the full guide

One list for each part of the trip

Start with Out the big window or Signs and screens while you wait, keep At the gate for boarding and In the air for the flight. Choose one in the menu beside the main button, then press Print this list, or tick finds off on the phone.

The rules on the sheet

The hunt pauses in the security line and starts again on the other side. Nobody photographs a checkpoint, nothing is bought, and every find is scored by looking, from beside your own adult.

Tips

Print before you leave home: screens run low at airports, and paper works on the plane.

Questions and answers

What can you find at an airport?

A plane taking off, a line of baggage carts pulled like a train, a worker waving two orange wands, a moving walkway and a city on the board you have never heard of. Every airport has most of them.

What if the gate has no window?

Pick Around the terminal or Signs and screens in the menu: all 24 of their finds are indoors, and none needs a view of the runway.

How do you score it?

Each line carries 1, 2 or 3 points at the start of its note. A find counts once the whole family has seen it; add up at boarding, then play In the air for the rest.

All 60 finds

Out the big window 12

A helicopter over the airfield 3 points. Seen or heard from the terminal.
A line of baggage carts pulled like a train 1 point. Count the carts.
A little truck pushing a plane backward 2 points. Watch which end it pushes.
A plane landing 1 point. The wheels have to touch while you watch.
A plane tail with a picture on it instead of only letters 1 point. An animal, a flower or a pattern counts.
A plane taking off 1 point. Watch until its wheels leave the ground.
A plane with four engines 3 points. Two on each wing.
A plane with propellers 2 points. Count the propellers on one wing.
A walkway joined to the side of a plane 1 point. The covered bridge from the gate to the door.
A worker waving two orange wands 2 points. Watch where the plane goes next.
The control tower 2 points. The tallest thing on the airfield counts only if it has windows all round the top.
Wing tips that bend upward 2 points. Look at the very end of the wing.

Show all 60 finds (48 more)

Signs and screens 12

A city on the board that starts with the first letter of your name 1 point. Say it out loud.
A city on the board you have never heard of 2 points. Guess which country it is in.
A clock showing the time somewhere else in the world 3 points. Name the city if the clock says.
A flight marked as boarding 2 points. Say where that plane is going.
A gate number with a letter in front of it 1 point. Say which letter your own gate has.
A map of the terminal with a you-are-here mark 1 point. Find your gate on it.
A screen showing the weather at your destination 2 points. Say whether you packed right.
A sign for a quiet room or a chapel 3 points. Scored by reading it, not going in.
A sign with a picture of a suitcase 1 point. Say what the sign is pointing you to.
A welcome sign in three or more languages 2 points. Count the languages.
An arrow pointing to baggage claim 1 point. Follow it with your eyes, not your feet.
The big screen of departing flights 1 point. Find your own flight on it first.

Around the terminal 12

A cleaning cart rolling by 2 points. Count its wheels.
A floor with a pattern or a map on it 3 points. Say what the pattern shows.
A moving walkway 1 point. Walk on it, standing to one side.
A neck pillow for sale 1 point. Spot it; nothing is bought.
A piano, a band or live music 3 points. Seen or heard.
A plant taller than anyone in your family 2 points. Real or not, it counts.
A play area 1 point. Scored by spotting it.
A rocking chair or a lounge chair facing the runway 2 points. Sit for ten seconds if one is free.
A station for filling water bottles 1 point. Fill yours if you have one.
A window as wide as a room 1 point. Stand in the middle of it.
An escalator right next to stairs 1 point. Everyone guesses which is faster.
Art hanging from the ceiling 2 points. Say what it looks like to you.

At the gate 12

A catering truck lifting up to a plane door 3 points. The whole back of the truck rises.
A fuel truck beside a plane 3 points. Watch from inside only.
A line forming before boarding starts 1 point. Stay seated until your own group is called.
A plane that just landed coming to its gate 2 points. Watch it stop.
A tag on a stroller or a car seat 2 points. Spotted at the door of the plane.
A window seat view of the wing 1 point. Scored once you are on board.
The desk where the gate agents stand 1 point. Scored by spotting it, not visiting it.
The first boarding call 1 point. Listen for the word boarding.
Luggage being loaded under the plane 2 points. Watch from the window by the gate.
The plane you will fly on 2 points. Count its windows from nose to wing.
Someone in a bright safety vest on the ramp 1 point. Count how many you see at once.
Your own boarding group or zone 1 point. Find it on your pass.

In the air 12

A cloud you fly right through 1 point. Out the window the view turns white.
A lake, a coast or the sea from above 2 points. Guess its name before the map shows it.
A river seen from above 2 points. Follow it with your finger on the window, without touching it.
Another plane in the sky 3 points. Only while you are in the air.
Clouds below the plane 1 point. Say what shape they make.
Mountains or hills from above 3 points. Snow on top counts too.
Roads laid out in a grid 2 points. A town that looks like a map.
The runway rushing up as you land 2 points. Everyone whispers touchdown.
The safety card 1 point. Find the picture of the life vest.
The seat-belt sign switching off 1 point. Listen for the chime.
The snack or drink cart 1 point. Say what you will ask for.
The wing flaps moving 3 points. Look at the back edge of the wing near landing.

How this list was compiled: Written for this site by its editors in September 2026: 60 original finds for a wait at an airport and the flight after it. Nothing was copied from another list, and no airport, airline or brand is named, so the list fits any airport. No outside page was read for it: the notes are judging rules, not facts. Every find is scored by looking: the hunt pauses in the security line, nobody photographs a checkpoint, nothing is bought, nobody outside the family is approached, and players stay with their adult. Points and levels are the editors' judgment. Licence: own work