Cleveland Hopkins International Airport provides gateway refilling stations for water bottles.
(Thomas Ondrey, The Plain Dealer) Cleveland Hopkins International Airport CLEVELAND, Ohio – Passengers at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, blocked by regulations from carrying full water bottles through checkpoints, can now get free filtered water at bottle refilling stations once they’ve cleared security.
The glorified water fountains are intended to provide customers with a free alternative to buying bottled water, while at the same time reducing the number of plastic bottles used by consumers, the airport said.
Three others will be in place by the end of May, said airport spokeswoman Michele Dynia.
The additional filling stations will be located near Gate C8 across from the new Bar Symon and in each restroom in the Food Court.
Bottle-filing stations have been popping up at airports around the country as an answer to ratcheted up security put in place over time since Sept. 11, 2001, Dynia said.
Among airports that already have filling stations in place are Atlanta, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Once through the checkpoint, they can fill the bottle for free rather than having to buy bottled water.
"It’s just another amenity we can offer," Dynia said.
At that pace, the four units planned for Hopkins could save the equivalent of 150,000 bottles per year, the airport noted in a news release.