April 2025
Volunteers to be Celebrated with Appreciation Week
Phoenix Sky Harbor has many opportunities for people to give their time and talents to America’s Friendliest Airport®. Now the airport is giving them a week of festivities to recognize their contributions and value to us.
Volunteer Appreciation Week runs from May 1-7 with festivities to celebrate the volunteer Navigators, Navigator Buddies, Teen Navigators and Navigator Chaplains.
Most Navigator volunteers are retirees looking to help people. Known for offering passengers a hand with directions in the terminals, Navigators also assist with tours, as support guides and with community outreach. Active volunteers fill some of 21 shifts weekly.
Other volunteers at Phoenix Sky Harbor include the Teen Navigator Volunteer Program, which accepts high school students 14 years and older to work alongside an experienced Navigator during the summer.
One of the more popular volunteer programs is the Navigator Buddies, a therapy dog program aimed at give travelers a chance to pet an accredited therapy dog while traveling and help passengers relieve their stress.
People seeking religious comfort can seek out a Navigator Chaplain, who offer solace and spiritual guidance.
Volunteer Appreciation Week festivities will feature decorated information counters in the terminals, flight information displays changed to purple (the color of the volunteers), and VIPs shadowing alongside a Navigator.
Volunteers will also get special snacks and gifts for during the weeklong festivities, which will be themed “Kentucky Derby – Tournament of Roses.”
Volunteers are always sought. In fact, an open house for our Teen Navigator program will be held May 13, from 5:30-6:30 p.m. at the Aviation Department, 2485 E. Buckeye Road. The Teen Navigator program runs for eight weeks starting in June. Check out the flyer and register for the open house.
To learn more about the Phoenix Sky Harbor Navigator and volunteer programs or to start volunteering as yourself, visit skyharbor.com/volunteer.