Interimaginary Departures

Walking between gates 12 and 14 in the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, you might see a sign for gate infinity — and that’s when you’ll know you’ve reached the Interimaginary Departures. While the rest of this terminal services domestic flights, this lounge sends its passengers to Narnia, Hogwarts, Panem, Middle Earth, the Emerald City, the Hundred Acre Woods, and hundreds of other destinations from the universes of literature, film, and video games.

Your first clue that Interimaginary Departures isn’t a normal gate is the fantastical FIDS (Flight Information Display System) board. But look a little closer and you’ll see even more magic. There’s a bright white wall whose elegant molding is not only visibly incongruent from the rest of the concourse but physically too, slicing through the lounge’s chairs and furniture at a seven degree tilt. There are rabbits, a la Alice in Wonderland, woven into the carpet and carved into the machinery. And regardless of time or weather, the gate’s doors are cracked ajar with a stunning white light. (A brass sign warns you that this is a portal between dimensions and most certainly not an exit.)

Visitors to the lounge can use the interactive ticket machine to print their boarding passes for Interimaginary flights, though not without answering a few existential questions first. If you stick around long enough, you might even catch a couple announcements to prepare passengers for their upcoming trips.

The gate was designed by Janet Zweig in 2021, though a full list of credits can be found in the exhibit’s floating bookshelf that faces the rest of the terminal.