Why Flying Feels Harder Than It Used to
Airports should be launching pads to exhilarating adventures, visiting relatives, and vacations you’ve been planning forever. Instead, they’re becoming roadblocks. It used to be that once you arrived at the airport, you’d breeze from curb to cabin. Nowadays there’s more frustration, confusion and even gratuitous eye rolling than should be necessary, even if you’re doing everything right. So today we present 20 ways airports make travel worse than it needs to be.
1. Lines at Security Screening Take Forever
You arrive early because you’re responsible like that. You’re still crawling along at a snail’s pace. The rules change by airport, day, and personality of the security line you randomly selected. You’ve tested your patience before you’ve even boarded the plane.
2. Security Rules Are Constantly Changing
At one airport you remove your laptop from your bag, at the next airport you don’t need to take out any liquids. Another airport arbitrarily changes the rules halfway through security. The process that should be simple is made unnecessarily complicated.
3. Expensive Food With Subpar Results
Once you’ve conquered security, your bank account is assaulted at every turn. You spend an exorbitant amount of money on food that tastes like they threw it together at the last second. Nobody wants to eat food that tastes overpriced.
4. Gate Routes Are Never Short
Some terminals are massive these days. You could get lost in the sea of shops, confusing signage, and moving walkways. By the time you reach your gate you’ve practically built up a sweat just walking.
5. Last Minute Gate Changes
You finally sit down after navigating through the terminal only to hear an announcement that your gate has changed. At the complete opposite end of the terminal. Suddenly you need to gather your things and run.
6. Random Boarding Groups
Airlines want you to think boarding will be fair and efficient. That you’ll wait in your seat until it’s your group’s turn to board. We all know groups will be called out of order and half the plane will still stand while you’re boarding. When you finally get on the plane you’ll be stuck by the gate with nowhere to sit.
7. Seats and Legroom Continue to Shrink
Planes these days are high tech. But every year it feels like your seat and the legroom continue to get smaller. Your knees brush against the seat in front of you like you’re sitting on a kindergarten chair.
8. Navigation at Airports is Confusing
You’d think after traveling to multiple airports around the world you’d get used to the layouts. But every airport seems to confuse you with their directional signs. You double and triple-check you’re going the right way every time.
9. Too Many Stores and Not Enough Seats
Airports love adding new stores. Even when you just want to sit down and relax before your flight. Why is it nearly impossible to find an open seat at your gate nowadays? Random shops taking up seating space makes no sense to me.
10. Announcements are Louder and More Muffled
Safety announcements, flight delays, gate changes. You hear them all through tiny airport speakers. You can never hear your flight number or gate announced because someone else is talking too loud.
11. Free Airport Wi-Fi is Horrible
Who doesn’t love free Wi-Fi, right? Until you try to use the airport Wi-Fi. Slow loading pages, the YouTube video you’re watching keeps buffering. There are times you don’t even try to use the airport Wi-Fi because you know it’ll drive you crazy.
12. Airport Power Outlets Are Complicated
Your phone’s about to run out of power, but every outlet at the gate is taken. You find one, but it’s behind you so you have to sit sideways to charge your phone. Or the outlet won’t reach because it’s charging two rows of seats behind you.
13. Lines for Everything Else Are Too Long
Security lines aren’t the only long lines at airports. You’ll find long lines at the bathroom, coffee shop, or customer service desk. Even the smallest tasks take ten minutes.
14. Flight Delays Without Explanation
Whether it’s weather or another issue your flight may be delayed. What sucks is when there isn’t a clear explanation of what’s going on. You’ll find yourself constantly refreshing the flight status app waiting for new information.
15. TSA PreCheck Inconsistencies
TSA PreCheck should make security faster. But at some airports you’ll breeze right through. Other airports you’ll feel like they’re slowing you down anyways. It’s hit or miss sometimes.
16. Crowded Waiting Areas at Gates
Walking up to your gate it can almost feel overcrowded. Especially during peak travel times. You’ll see kids sitting on the floor. Adults hogging multiple seats. You’ll find people camping out by the power outlets.
17. Baggage Claim Takes Too Long
You finally land, all you want to do is de-plane and head home. Instead, you’re forced to watch your bag orbit the airport on the belt for what seems like hours.
18. Hidden Fees
Who knew airlines could find so many hidden fees? You think you’ve paid for your flight, only to find out they charge you for checking a bag. You pay for your seat only to find out you have to pay for your selection. Budgeting for a flight should be easy.
19. Early Boarding Isn’t Really Early
Airlines try to entice you with early boarding passes. What they don’t tell you is that you just stand in line to board longer. You wait on the jet bridge for everyone else to board. Then you have to wait again to finish boarding the plane.
20. Everyone Makes You Feel Rushed
Whether you’re at the curb or at your gate. Airport companies are always trying to rush you through your travels. Why is there never enough time to relax, even before your flight?
