Sleeping in the Airport
It wasn’t all that many years ago that I might have considered sleeping at the airport a routine part of travel. But as financial circumstances change and age becomes a factor, I now consider “roughing it” to be sleeping in a 2-star hotel.
I remember the last time I slept in an airport, however. It was the Miami airport, 1989.
I was sleeping, or rather napping, at the airport after taking a red-eye flight across the country. I had several hours before making a connection, and I just wanted to grab a corner of airport for a little shut eye. I don’t remember where I found some space or quiet, but I do remember stretching out on some seats and falling asleep within minutes. It wasn’t the most restful experience, but it did the trick.
For those of you who make sleeping in airports a regular occurrence, check out Sleeping in Airports, a compendium of information and anecdotes about how to sleep in an airport in style. The site currently boasts over 5,147 listings, with airports rated as Hell (sleep, comfort and/or safety are not possible), Tolerable (not terrible, but not that great either), and Excellent, considering it’s an airport (sleep, comfort and/or safety are possible).
While I’m not planing an airport nap any time soon, this is info that could come in handy if your flight is canceled or you are stuck somewhere.
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3 opinions for Sleeping in the Airport
Rainfield
Oct 21, 2007 at 8:20 pm
i did it alot actually.
sometimes when i needed to shift my flight, i had to wait for hours with nowhere to go. taking a nap in the airport would be a good choice for me. without getting my wallet any lighter or missing the flight.
Mary Jo Manzanares
Oct 22, 2007 at 7:29 am
Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment, Rainfield.
Grabbing a little shut eye when there’s a flight change is great. Serious delays can be pretty exhausting.
I do think it’s inconsiderate, though, for someone to stretch out over several seats at a gate, strewing things around them on the floor, and leaving other passengers no place to sit. In many airports now, I’ve seen agents asking sleepers to contain themselves to one seat, giving everyone a place to sit.
A difficult balance between sleep and courtesy, I guess.
Mala Mukunda
Nov 13, 2007 at 9:33 am
I have slept in Chennai Airport in 1999 when construction was in full swing. I must say I slept like a log as I had flown for nearly 1o hrs. I think how well you sleep depends on how exhausted you are.
Mala Mukunda
http://www.traveling-stories-magazine.com/
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