With one of my jobs (yes... I have a third job), I travel every weekend during a chunk of the year. I work for Nexstar National Talent Competition, a dance competition that conducts a show in a different city every weekend from February to July. Growing up dancing, and dancing at this specific competition, it's a really cool experience working on the other side of the show and seeing it from a different point of view. Any way you put it, I love dance and this job allows me to work in and for that field every weekend for almost half a year, every weekend in a different city and I thoroughly enjoy getting to see and experience new places all the time. It's part of the fun!
But with traveling comes airports and people, LOTS of people, from every walk of life you can possibly imagine. When I'm in travel season, most weekends I spend more hours in the airport than I do in a bed. So, as you can imagine, I get to see lots of people and LOTS of things, some of which can be interesting or entertaining, some that are a tad bit aggravating.
So, as I kick this season off, I am going to compile a list of some airport pet peeves, things that rub me the wrong way, and things that just don't seem to benefit anyone or anything in an airport setting. Who knows...maybe this can help out a person or two? Or maybe it'll just put out there what myself and others have been thinking for quite some time. Traveling can be a fun process, but in airports when you're almost shoulder to shoulder with other humans at many points, things can get a little tricky.
Number 1: WHY do people start standing and clogging up the boarding area right when the boarding process begins? You have an assigned seat and a zone number for that matter to let you know when you're supposed to be boarding. It's the same process over and over again (unless you're in an unassigned seating situation, which in that case is pretty much every man for himself). So, in short, if you are zone 5, please remain seated or at least out of the way until it's your time....or remain sleeping/charging your phone like I do:)
Number 2: When it's time to hit up baggage claim, trust me, I get it, you want to get your luggage and get the hell out of there. However, I have never ever understood why it's a thing to stand right up on the conveyor belt. I don't get it. If everyone just stood back about a foot or two, then when your bag finally does arrive, you have the room to walk up and grab it easily and comfortably. Too many times has my bag come before everyone else's, and thanks to all of those hovering over the belt, I have to snake my way through and basically push through people with my luggage for them to understand to give me some room.
Number 3: When those random flights unload baggage either on the tarmac or in the jet bridge, surely there has to be a better process than having us stand there in rain, snow, or any other crazy weather condition. (Especially for this Florida girl.) One time, I was waiting for my bag in about a 20-person line in the jet bridge. In whatever city I was in, it was about 15 degrees outside and the jet bridge was freezing cold to the point that I walked away and left my bag. I had waited for about 10 minutes and couldn’t handle it any longer. I did eventually get my bag, keyword eventually…. but there’s got to be another way to do this!
Number 4: Just simply follow instructions. This can be applied at many points in the process. Security check is certainly one of them. Listen for and/or read instructions on what to do. There's always other fun scenarios that call for this as well, like how some flights operate smaller planes that don't have a place for carry-on luggage and you have to give them your carry-on so they can put it under the plane. It is what it is. When people starting arguing things like this, I just wonder. Everyone has a carry-on for some reason or another and everyone on the flight has to abide by this, whether they want to or not, and you do too.
That's all for now, but I can assure you that this list will probably grow as I get into the thick of season. When I see any of these things go down in my half-awake state, all I can do at that point is laugh. No need to stress because it can and will happen again. And again. And again.
Anyone else feel me on these? I can't be in this alone. What are some of your airport pet peeves?!