In the past couple of months, I’ve spent more time in airports than I have since before the pandemic. Family events (happy and sad) and work trips necessitated flying more, which put me in the position of noticing upgraded features of airports that made my time there more (or less) easy on my body, my mood, and my needs for decent food and a place to land while waiting.
Interestingly, the Washingon Post has also been thinking about airports, and they recently published a piece on the 50 best US airports. I’ve been to 16 of them. Lots of them are smaller regional airports, like Richmond, VA, or Portland, ME. Others are alternatives to the big airports in big cities, like Love Field in Dallas. What’s so great about airports when they do things right?
For me, one of the most soothing things about great airports is what they lack– noise. At the Portland, OR airport, I found a soothing lack of muzak and blaring pop music emanating from the stores. Even the passengers seemed muted as they rushed to their gates. Yes, there were the usual baby grand pianos in the public spaces, but even the folks playing them chose low-key tunes. And no one was playing “Piano Man” by Billy Joel, which (in my opinion) the FAA should ban from all airport spaces. Fight me…
Music and quiet are all well and good, but one thing we really need while traveling is a place to sit, collect ourselves and our belongings, and prepare for the on-board segment of our journeys. Both the Charlotte, NC and the Columbia, SC airports have white slatted rocking chairs all over the place for our comfort. Yes, they get snagged by savvy travelers, but turnover is constant, so a little vigilance will definitely pay off.
I love it when an airport has stores or food venues that are local to the area. In Portland, OR, there was a airport version of Powell’s books, at which I perused many interesting titles and bought one (even though I had a fully loaded Kindle and a book already in my backpack). There’s something luxurious-feeling about picking out a book on the fly (yes, pun intended). FYI, I bought The Fox Wife, sort of a historical fantasy mystery novel– definitely outside of my usual genre choices, but eminently suitable for a long plane ride.
By the way, The Milwaukee, Wi airport has a used bookstore (why aren’t there more of these in airports??) and also a local coffee and breakfast burrito cart. Oh, and a ping-pong table, fully stocked with paddles and balls. I think they might also enlist volunteers willing to play with solo travelers, as I was on my own that day.
Speaking of entertainment, that’s another thing great airports offers. The Portland, OR airport (which ranked #1 in that Washington Post article) had an actual movie theatre, playing short films for passengers looking for a little respite from the light and the gates. Here it is:
And that brings me to the most replenishing thing about good airports: their art! I love me some large-scale (or any-scale, really) airport art. Airport art takes you out of your rushing, tired mindset and offers an alternative perspective, if only for a few moments. But those few moments really refresh me every time. My favorite all-time art installation is in Atlanta, called Flight Paths. Here’s what it looks like:
Charlotte, NC airport also uses abstraction and nature to catch passengers’ attention and imagination.
I find airport art, both grand and modest, a welcome shift from my head-down-gotta-get-there state of mind. Good and thoughtful airport planners know this, and they provide.
Readers, what are some of your most favorite features of airports? I’d love to hear from you.
