answer:Depending on the airport – maybe. I know some airports in the US where you would not be able to do this, as they simply don’t have the retail outlets there, but that’s going to be the rule for the smaller regional airports. Since I’ve never shopped for a phone at an airport, I’m trying to think back on any of my recent travels through JFK and Newark, and maybe just imagining that “you probably could”. However, if you befriend someone on the plane (possibly even one of the cabin attendants), they might allow you to use their phone to make the call. —— But if that’s all you need it for, the simpler and far cheaper solution is for them to track your flight on planefinder.net (or even enter the flight number into a google search box on the day) and they can track your flight in real time. (All you would have to do is agree to contact them if you didn’t make the flight for some reason.) EDIT: Even if you did manage to buy a phone at an airport, I don’t know what kind of luck you’d have with purchasing a throwaway / prepaid type that doesn’t come with a contract. Those may not be so easily found at airports.