Comments on: How To See Airports (And Other Bad Places)

By: Richard P

Richard P — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 17:16:08 +0000

I realise that I just described what I think a GOOD airport is…. so a bad one would be the opposite of the above.

By: Richard P

Richard P — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 17:15:20 +0000

Thats a tricky one….

I mean, I guess it hinges on what you are expecting the airport to DO for you…

on the one hand, we want an airport to be efficient… so, an airport which is easy to navigate, which quickly takes you through all the steps you need to complete on your journey, is a good airport.

If you’re expecting something BEYOND that, then I guess it comes down to things like the architecture and amenities. A spacious, airy, cool airport with a good range of places to eat, relax and pass away the time is what you need. Combining the two of these together is something they rarely get right…

By: Mikeachim

Mikeachim — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 02:20:31 +0000

Well, if you’re confessing, you’re in the right place. We’re listening.

So, airports as escapism? The attraction being the sheer un-normality of the situation (eg. bloody great pieces of metal flying through the air, village-sized warrens of corridors filled with people but where nobody lives, etc.). Seen like this, airports are surreal places. Or even “not-places”.

So they inspire a different reaction in everyone. In your case (and mine too), they’re excitingly weird and colourful. Other people see that as a bit threatening and hostile – especially when they start getting packed with people and there’s a sense of frustrated sweaty desperation added to the mix, which is always hard to fight.

Should airports try to cash in on this outer-worldly feel by trying to attract people who want to get away from it all, sit and read a book, chill out, write letters, watch the planes? This is what happens in most cases, but airports don’t actually *promote* it (as far as I’ve seen), it’s what people do when they’re waiting for something else.

But airports (easily accessible ones) being marketed as the equivalent of municipal parks and libraries, ie. public space where you can hang out without feeling like you should be on the way somewhere? Is that a way to make them more neutral, less “bad”?

By: Mikeachim

Mikeachim — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 01:54:46 +0000

For anyone still popping in to read this thread, I have a question.

And it’s this:

What makes a bad airport?

(And yes, that’s very vague. Intentionally.)

By: Mikeachim

Mikeachim — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 01:52:36 +0000

Very good point. Adding attractions is sugaring the pill, still regarding it as bad by acknowledging that people need to be bribed to go there…

So what’s the way to heighten the charm of the functions that airports are already there for? Other than the usual functionalist ways (shorter queues, more staff, more seats etc.).

I reckon the architecture is a biggie. When you’re spending hours in one room, you want that room to be pleasant to occupy *and* be a delight for the senses and the mind (while not resorting to distracting ‘sugar-coating’ tricks, of course)….

By: Claire

Claire — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 17:37:24 +0000

I love airports. Especially in the very wee hours, in between flights, when it’s quiet and there is no rush yet to board. I like that the people I see, in that instant, have more in common with me than at any other time in my everyday life. No one at an airport is home; everyone is on the way to someplace else (unless of course they work there). A psychologist’s term would be “liminality” – a feeling of hovering in-between places or experiences, and it’s common amongst third culture kids.

By: Mikeachim

Mikeachim — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 18:41:04 +0000

Thanks for popping by, Adam!

I agree (as do most folk, it seems) – but the question is how. How can we teach ourselves to slow down and really see airports if we keep using them as they’re supposed to be used? What needs to change? What things do we need to do to our schedules?

And yes, that’s an open question.

By: Mikeachim

Mikeachim — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 18:33:06 +0000

Orange airport roofs are evidently hot this season.

That’s a biggie for amateur airport-watching: always, always look upwards. There’s a lot of Stuff up there.

By: Mikeachim

Mikeachim — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 18:21:33 +0000

Beyond the age of…something smaller than 0 but more than -9 months….I’ve never been further east than Cyprus, so that’s something I’d like to work on. And Dubai’s high on the list. Mainly because I know it would horrify me.

(What was your opinion of it? Noticing the word “vulgarly” there as a hint…)

So you also have a – let’s see, something less than terror and more than comfort – a disconcertion with flying? Wish I could shake mine off (I’ve got lots of travelling to do) but it insists on lingering – at least it’s not getting any worse, but I hate how it takes over my hands and turns them into seat-clutching claws when we take off or hit turbulence….

When (when) I come visit – fancy doing a tour of Fiumicino?

No, really. I want to write a post about specifically appreciating airports.

(A joint post?)

By: Richard P

Richard P — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 02:06:36 +0000

I’ve spent a lot of time over the past few years in Korea’s Incheon International Airport (twice winner of the airline industry’s ‘Best Airport Award’). The place is simply amazing in terms of design, customer service and facilities. I have actually turned up there to pick people up several hours in advance just so I could have the pleasure of hanging around. However, spending any amount of time in Heathrow is a pure abomination.
I think to a certain extent what you say is true, we do arrive in these places with an expectation… but the design of the place, and the experience IN the place do a lot to change that expectation. When I fly out of or into Incheon I’m fairly relaxed about the whole thing, because I know that the space I’m going to be occupying is nice. When I fly out of or into Heathrow, I’m in rather a less pleasant frame of mind as I know the space I’m going to be occupying is very much NOT nice!