Airport Anecdotes! ~ The MIB and the Mom with Dementia

Welcome to our next installment of Airport Anecdotes!

Rob and I kicked off 2026 with our first “Volunteer Information People” shift of the year last night. While we won’t always be working parallel shifts, I sort of like the idea of a Sunday Evening Date Night at PDX when there isn’t football keeping us glued to our couch. Rob was downstairs in Baggage Claim most of the evening. I tried out a new position upstairs post-security at a Mobile Information Booth (MIB).

The Mobile Information Booth (MIB)

While I was training with Jim, we spent a few minutes with a volunteer who was doing an MIB. She was stationed behind a well-signed roller cart with a tall chair, greeting passengers as they passed through a central point between Concourses D/E and the TSA folks. It looked fun, with a different set of commonly asked questions. Like, “Where can I see some of the original carpet?”

Photo snagged from a training document.

Eager to try this final Information Person position (unless I want to greet International Arrivals, which requires additional training and credentials), I signed up to be all by myself on the other side of the airport. I was a little nervous but mostly excited to see how solo I could really fly.

Mindy and Bri (the volunteer coordinators) did a great job preparing me, confident I was totally ready to handle the MIB.

I was told to expect mostly questions about how to exit the airport – from folks fresh off aircraft. And questions about various concession options – from folks arriving early with time to kill before their flights. Among the questions I was asked last night:

“Where can I get Dramamine for a very sick husband?”

“Where is some good shopping?” (Caliope on Concourse E is my favorite.)

“Are the llamas here?” (Asked three times.)

“Where can I get a beer?” (He didn’t need any more, trust me.)

“Do I have time to eat a pizza before I get my suitcase from Baggage Claim?”

But then there was another category of questions. Questions I hadn’t been warned about. Questions asked in a panic or frustration. Many of them were prompted by a particularly inexpensive but nickel-and-dimey airline cancelling its one flight to Los Angeles. The next LAX-bound flight wasn’t until four days later. Yep, cheap often comes with a cost.

“My flight was cancelled! How do I rent a car without leaving security?!”

“My flight was cancelled! How can I find the cheapest flight to Southern California?!”

“My flight was cancelled! What is happening in LA?!?”

“My flight was cancelled! Where do I pick up the bags I checked through?!”

“My flight has a 3-hour delay and I was given a voucher for food but I don’t know how to use Google Pay!”

“I just got off a flight and I left my purse on the airplane! How do I get it back?!”

In these situations, I realized my job was to be a calm, comforting extra brain that could help them think through the searing heat of panic. I smiled as reassuringly as I could, I told them they weren’t alone, and I gave them clear suggestions.

I introduced one young woman to the wonders of Kayak (a flight search engine). I told the woman with the forgotten purse to return to the gate and talk to the gate agents. I suggested a family could stay at a nearby hotel with a shuttle instead of renting a car and driving in a city they were unfamiliar with. All suggestions they likely would have conjured on their own were they not completely stressed out of their minds.

There were also a few instances where it was clear the passenger just needed someone to talk to. Like the nervous young man who had never been to Portland before. Or the team of college athletes who were bored during a long layover. Or the woman who was so frustrated by the cancellation and needed someone to simply listen and agree it sucked. Although I didn’t solve any of her problems, she later thanked me for being so helpful. Listening can be magical.

Last night might have been an anomaly, with the cancelled flight and other delays. But I really enjoyed the unanticipated job of being calm, steady, and reassuring. And yes, you can totally get that pizza. Just ask for your bag at the Customer Service Desk in Baggage Claim because they will probably pull it off the carousel and store it for you.

So far, the MIB is my favorite.

 

The Mom with Dementia

Just as I was getting ready to move my MIB to its cubby and call it a night, a frantic woman about my age ran up to the cart. I later learned her name is Cassie.

“Hi. I’m trying really hard not to have a panic attack. I’ve lost my mom. And she has dementia.”

It took a bit of effort to piece together the story – with gaps filled in by Rob later.

The gist was that Mom (Katie) had been put on a plane by Daughter 1 in Phoenix. Katie lives near Portland with Daughter 2 (Cassie), who was picking her up. But Katie’s flight arrived early and Cassie wasn’t at the gate to meet Katie in time. Somehow the flight attendants had never gotten word that Katie has dementia and needed an escort off the plane and into the safe hands of Cassie.

This meant that Katie – a woman with dementia who could not be paged because she would not know to respond – was now wandering the airport without any real understanding of her circumstances.

With a mostly-recent photo of Katie snagged from Cassie’s cell phone, and a description from Daughter 1 of what Katie was wearing, the PDX Team launched into action.

The Hunt for Katie took about 45 minutes, 2 concourses, several laps around Baggage Claim, 3 miles of walking, 2 phone calls between me and Rob, 4 updating texts between me and Cassie, the Port Police, and many silent prayers.

I was near Gate B5 when Cassie texted, “We found her!” with a crying emoji.

I hustled down to Baggage Claim and was grateful to find Cassie and Katie reunited. I smiled warmly at Katie and told her it was so nice to meet her. And I hugged Cassie, reminded her she could start breathing now, and waved good-bye as I went in search of Rob so we could head home.