This Secret Gate In Austin-Bergstrom Airport Lets You Print A Boarding Pass To An Imaginary Place

The city of Austin is rapidly expanding, and with that the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport is following suit. In recent years, the airport has announced plans for a new concourse, revamped food and beverage offerings, and additional parking structures. With travel demands continuously ramping up in Austin, the air hub has also added new flight routes and even a very unique gate that offers imaginary destinations that are truly out of this world.

This gate at Austin-Bergstrom, standing apart from the rest, is Janet Zweig's "Interimaginary Departures" art installation. It doesn't have a squabble of eager passengers waiting to board or an annoyed airline employee (but there is a gift shop and restaurant nearby). Here at "Gate ∞" is a portal where travelers can stop checking the time and let their imaginations run wild. This airport gate rivals some of the more bizarre airport attractions in the world as it transports travelers, if only for a moment, to a place they only dreamed of going.

This unique installation created by Janet Zweig, a Brooklyn-based artist, quietly opened in 2021 in place of where gate 13 at the airport sat. The piece was commissioned by the City of Austin's Art in Public Places project and acts as a portal to transport your mind to 120 different mythical destinations seen all across pop culture and media. Zweig's background in immersive sculpture and installations gave her the concept to create a public piece of art that appealed to a broad audience of travelers, which the best airports for public art do in creative ways. Zweig was also inspired by the novel "The City and the City" where two cities notably existed in the same place. Here at "Gate ∞" at Austin-Bergstrom, stressed-out travelers can stop for a moment to imagine being in two places at once.

@readysetjetset

This is the coolest thing I've ever seen at an airport! 📍Interimaginary Destinations at Austin Airport #austintexasthings #tiktoktravel #travel #atx

♬ Pure Imagination – Kathleen

The scroll of destinations to choose from at the "Interimaginary Departures" gate in Austin brings travelers a mixture of pleasure and nostalgia. Fans of DC Comics will likely choose Gotham City as their destination, home to stories of Batman and his allies and foes, while the Harry Potter lovers will flock to Hogwarts in an instant. Computer gamers can print out a boarding pass to SimCity, where travelers could be a part of the virtual cities they once created themselves. From Shangri-La to Neverland and Narnia, the list of unique locales is seemingly unending. If you have a few extra minutes before your next flight or during your layover in Austin, make time to see this unique airport installation that is surprisingly easy to locate.

Austin-Bergstrom International Airport is conveniently located about 15 minutes by car from Downtown Austin and the vibrant shopping destination that embodies the city, and the airport itself consists of the main Barbara Jordan Terminal and the South Terminal. The "Interimaginary Departures" installation is between gates 12 and 14 of the Barbara Jordan Terminal. Almost any gate for your flight out of Austin is within walking distance of this exhibit, and there's even a Hut's Hamburgers across the concourse to enjoy and reminisce over an Austin classic. Pro tip: For those flying out of Austin, head to the left of the drop-off area to the security checkpoint, which feeds you to gates just a short walk away from the "Interimaginary Departures" installation.

Travelers who stumble into this unique display might have some immediate confusion. The scroll of fictional destinations, the odd angling, and the idea of two worlds colliding into one are on full display, often stopping busy travelers in their tracks. As you select your destination, you are asked a few questions about your travels and sometimes offered words of warning based on where you go. After some flight instructions, you are given a virtual or printed boarding pass to honor the trip, and you can make your way toward the door with the bright white light cracking through for a great photo op. As one Redditor joked, the most imaginary aspect of the gate is that all of the flights are on time.