Major US Airport Officially Closes Popular Travel Store

You can start a packing list the week before a trip and lay out all your things early, but you're still likely to forget something. It happens to the best of us. Generally, when you get to the airport, there is a shop with travel essentials where you can pick up what you need, like a snack, a drink, and a book to read on the plane. However, at one major airport, a familiar essentials store is no longer serving travelers. Hudson News, a staple at almost 90 North American airports, with over 1,000 stores, has no presence anymore at Orlando International Airport (MCO) in Florida. If you've visited Walt Disney World, it's likely you've flown into what is one of the most affordable airports in the state. Sadly, the convenience of grabbing a Cosmopolitan magazine, some Lifesavers, and a pack of pain relievers from Hudson News is over. According to the Orlando Sentinel, all six Hudson News stores at the Orlando International Airport are closed as of February 2026. 

This comes after other store closures at another Florida travel hub. Recently, Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) permanently closed a number of stores and restaurants. The Hudson News store closures at Orlando International Airport may frustrate travelers who are used to seeing these ubiquitous storefronts and expect them when they fly. However, it's all part of a major revamp of the location. 

Orlando International Airport is going through a $6 billion renovation on Terminals A and B, following the opening of the new Terminal C in 2022. (There were no Hudson News locations in Terminal C.) This is Florida's busiest airport, and the loss of the six stores may be a surprise to people who are used to seeing them everywhere they travel. The Hudson News Company was founded by Isaac Cohen in 1918, and it soon evolved into a news empire. The first official Hudson News airport store opened in New York's LaGuardia Airport in 1987. 

Despite the loss of six Hudson News stores in the airport, the renovation is bringing in over 40 new restaurants and stores that will begin opening in late summer 2026 through late 2028, including SoDough Detroit Pizza, Orange Appeal, Southern Smokehouse, Writer's Block Bookstore, and Black Bean Deli. Unfortunately, the closure of the Hudson News stores means that over 40 employees are being laid off. Orlando International Airport has been upgrading other things as well, including adding a contactless corridor pilot program that uses facial recognition tech and AI to track travelers.