MELBOURNE, Fla. – Have you ever wanted a piece of airport carpet inside your home?
Well — here is your chance!
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Melbourne Orlando International Airport is hosting a giveaway where one can win a framed piece of its original 1986 “Birds of Paradise” carpet.
“From shoes, strollers to suitcases, this carpet has seen miles of memories,” a social media post by the airport reads.
You can enter by commenting on its social media post, weighing in on your take of the nearly 40-year-old carpet. The airport will email you if you win, and the giveaway closes on Wednesday, April 9.
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Melissa Naughton, a spokesperson for the airport, said the carpet in the ticketing area is being removed and replaced with terrazzo flooring to match the upgrades already made in the baggage claim area.
However, she said the carpet is not going away completely as she and her team are working on ways to honor its legacy.
“There’s always going to be a piece of that carpet in this airport. We have plans of having an opportunity to take a picture with your feet on the carpet and have a little display explaining the background of the carpeting and what it means and what it means to the public and what it means to us,” Naughton said.
In some cases, airport carpets around the country have found cult-like followings. For example, Orlando International Airport has cashed in on people’s fondness for the blue flooring by selling socks of its design.
There is even a dedicated Instagram page for the MCO carpet.
In Portland, Oregon, the airport also acknowledged how travelers love its 1988 carpet, and the period when it was removed and replaced is now remembered as “the Great PDX Carpet Replacement Tragedy of 2015.”
PDX brought the iconic carpet back and even provides a map on its website where travelers can find it.
“I don’t think any of us anticipated the response from the community,” Vince Granato, head of PDX Next Special Projects, said in a press conference.
Meanwhile, Naughton said airports across the country have carpets to help with sound, but it has since become a part of the airport’s personality, making each destination hub unique.
She said the Melbourne Orlando International Airport’s tropical-designed carpet could be popular for many reasons, such as it being the first sign of coming home or the start of a vacation. However, she wants travelers to know even if the carpet is being replaced, the airport will continue to offer that comforting experience.
“We just have that hometown feel, everyone says, ‘Hi,’ it’s great. We hear all kinds of great things on our social media and stuff about the experiences people have at this airport and we just feel like that carpet represents those experiences, what makes special and unique,” she said. “And so, yes, while we are replacing it because the time has come, we are not going to lose any of what makes us special. In fact, we’re working on more programs and more things to continue to give that hometown feel.”