How To Have Fun When You’re Trapped In An Airport

So, your flight’s been delayed — or worse, cancelled. Maybe it was weather, maybe it’s a mechanical issue, or maybe the mythical pilot shortage is finally hitting you. One way or another, you’re trapped in the terminal, with no end to your impromptu stay in sight.

How To Survive A Long Airport Layover

But once the frustration wanes, your denial and anger giving way to acceptance, your opinion on the humble layover might start to change. In fact, if you approach your time at the airport right, you might even enjoy it. Here’s how to stop worrying, and love the delay.

Take A Lap

For the purposes of this exercise, we’re going to assume you’re confined to the terminal. Maybe you’re waiting on flight updates, or you’ve already checked a bag and don’t want to risk losing it — regardless, you’re not heading back out security to hang out. You’re stuck in the post-security world of the airport.

But that limitation, like any, should be explored. Wander the terminal, see what’s available to you. The restaurants, the seating areas, the vending machines. If you’ll be there late, even overnight, take notice of the things that will stay open — anything unstaffed, like those automated grab-and-go stores, is likely to be your late-night go-to.

Similarly, if you’re staying late, look for places to sleep. Those chairs right by the gate are never the most comfortable option, you’ll usually find better accommodations in wide-open spaces — atria, specifically, often have benches or couches.

Make Your Mental Lists

There are a few to consider. One is your ranked list of things to do — which restaurants look better than others, which seating areas are the most and least comfortable. You don’t need to remember every single one, but a few standout places to hit or avoid can help you fill your time in the airport. Plus, getting the rough location of a few waypoints will help you get your bearings. in this massive, unfamiliar building. If you’re stuck in the winding corridors of O’Hare, you’re going to need landmarks.

The other big list to make is the things you need. Human bodies generally require a good amount of care and maintenance, and you aren’t excused from those just because you’re in an airport. You still need to eat meals, you still need to brush your teeth, you may even want to shave — don’t worry about appearances while doing any of these. Airports are a liminal space, designed to be traveled through rather than to. Particularly if you’re alongside other stuck travelers, no one will judge you for rinsing your toothbrush in the bathroom sink.

Be Free

With that in mind, feel free to indulge yourself. You’ll never see any of these people again, you’re fully untethered from the norms of polite society. You can enjoy a space that you don’t need to maintain, that’s full of new and interesting people, and that doesn’t care how much you wander.

Make the most of it! People-watch, stand in stores for hours without buying anything, gawk at the fancy accessories you’ll never afford. Eat a pizza at 10 a.m., who cares? In the airport, you’re free. There’s just you, a new, unfamiliar space, and endless time. How often do you have that?