At These Airport Wellness Centers, Travelers Can Get a Flu Shot, Schedule a Workout, or Take a Shower

See a doctor, get a flu shot, or order a wellness service like a vitamin injection or hydrating IV infusion—all at the airport terminal on your layover.

After pivoting to health services like COVID testing at the onset of the pandemic, airport spa brand XpresSpa now has an expanding list of medical and wellness centers called Treat. First launched in December 2021 in Terminal 4 of New York’s JFK airport, Treat now has three wellness centers in the U.S., with a location that opened at Phoenix Sky Harbor airport (Terminal 4) in April, and most recently, a location in Salt Lake City airport (Concourse B) that opened earlier in October.

The XpresSpa brand has been rapidly expanding in recent years, opening several new spa centers for a total of 26 locations in 13 airports worldwide. And during the height of the pandemic, the company launched a new arm called XpresCheck, which offered COVID tests to travelers and is now in eight major airports across the country. Now, executives say Treat is a combination of the relaxing offerings of the XpresSpa and the medical services of XpresCheck. Treat is “the first fully integrated in-airport spa and wellness concept, providing medical services, state-of-the-art testing, and a holistic approach to physical and mental well-being,” Scott Milford, XWell’s CEO said in a statement earlier this week.

In addition to getting flu shots ($50) and vitamin injections ($50), travelers can also access medical services that include everything from an appointment with a doctor ($175), a COVID PCR test ($250), or IV infusions for hydration, energy, immunity, or to merely “detox” ($250). 

Also on offer are private room rentals for yoga, fitness, or meditation, guided by digital content—although most people use the space to stretch or nap, according to an XWell spokesperson. Room rates are a dollar per minute, starting at $35 for 35 minutes. Customers disembarking from long flights can also book refreshing showers ($35 for 30 minutes, which is discounted to $20 when booked after a workout). Treat's locations also have storefronts where wellness products like supplements and beauty products like sheet masks are sold in the terminal.

XpresSpa’s centers for treatments like massages or manicures are expanding, too: Two new locations opened earlier this year in Istanbul's airport, and a refreshed location just reopened in JFK Terminal 4.

A growing number of U.S. airports are adding more health and wellness services to their terminals. Earlier this year, American Express launched a wellness area inside its upscale Centurion Lounge at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental airport, where members can cultivate a moment of tranquility with cushy lounge chairs, calming teas, neck warmers, and free access to guided meditation through the Calm app. Airport construction projects are also incorporating spaces where travelers can escape the hubbub into their facility plans, like Kansas City's new terminal project, set to open in 2023 with a sensory room, meditation space, and airplane simulator where nervous fliers can practice boarding.

The medical aspect of Treat will likely be a boon to travelers this winter, as experts are predicting both a severe flu season and a resurgence of COVID cases. To avoid getting sick while traveling, the CDC recommends most travelers get a flu shot in October or November, as well as the latest COVID booster, which is engineered to combat new variants of the virus circulating this fall.