The First Questions You Ask (Yourself and Others) In An Airport

“Maybe I live in the gates that lead to outbound international flights. Maybe that is home.
And do I feel more comfortable at the departures or at the arrivals?” 
― Michal Coret, Becoming What I Might Be

I arrived in O.R. Tambo International Airport at 12:20 midday, after an 11 hour flight from Hong-Kong, China. I usually hate long flights, but this was different. I was extremely exhausted from my trip to Korea. I was juggling a lot of guilt and emotions, and I just wanted to get home.

The flight was extremely comfortable. Before flying Asiana, Emirates was in for me. The service at Asiana was brilliant!

I had trouble finding my flight. Incheon Airport in huge! I was expecting to fly via South African Airlines, and was directed to the Asiana desk by the airport staff.

The guy at the check in quickly noted that my connections in HongKong and SA were extremely short, and checked my luggage in as priority. I have always hoped for such help from Emirates, something I have not gotten before. I always lose my luggage when I fly Emirates, so you can understand my anxiety when it comes to flying to Asia. I was thrilled to see him as concerned as I was; and assured me that my luggage would arrive safely in Malawi.

I arrived in HongKong around 9. I didn’t really have a good grip of the time, and I was just doing my best to not miss my connection. We were welcomed by an Asiana staff that had been waiting for us, and rushed us through the check in desks to the next boarding gate (Thank God!) I found out that South Korea is an hour ahead of china (something that had somehow escaped me) and my layover was not as short as I had expected it to be. I had an extra hour that I spent on the floor next to a socket, charging my phone.

We boarded the next flight to SA. I spent a good chunk of the flight sleeping. It had been a hectic few days. The guy next to me (who was quite friendly too) was also about his sleep. We only woke each other up for food. I remember him chatting to me about that he had spent a few months in China as a teacher, and was currently moving back to South Africa. He sounded so elated to be going back home!

We arrived in Johannesburg around midday. My gadgets had all been dead for a while, and the first thing on my mind was to get to somewhere I could charge my gadgets. Normally, the first thing on your mind in an airport would be:

1. How much time do I have in here?

Before I even jump off any flight, I will spend a few minutes computing how much time I have in an airport. This becomes an even bigger sport if you are dealing with time differences. I have spent at times 25 hours inside an airport and it is simply excrutiating.

Being away of the time you are spending in an airport helps you plan your activities in the airport. Do I need to just rush to the next gate so I do not miss my next connecting flight? Do I have enough time to wash my face and buy a coffee? Can I check out the duty-free shops? Or should I book a room, cause darling anything more than 12 hours is the worst and you might need to lay down, if you can afford it.

2. Where can I refresh?

Now this is supposing that you did not already refresh before getting off the plane – something I always make sure to do. I have noted that the first thing most people do after getting off a long flight is rush to the nearest bathroom. It is almost rush hour in there. The warm and kind faces, some untrusting ones holding on close to everything they own.

Before you do anything else – it makes sense to make sure you have already sorted yourself, you do not smell despicable (esp if you had anything longer than a 5hr flight), and that you can easily focus on other things.

3. Where can I get some food?

You already know your girl is a foodie, so of course I will find the best and cheapest restaurant I can locate. I usually opt for snacks and darling if the menu is anything more than $10 for food and $5 for snacks, I will be well on my way to find the next restaurant that may have some sense.

4. Where can I find some sockets?

I love to work as I travel. If I have more than an hour in an airport and know that I am flying using planes that do not have sockets on board _ I will rush to the nearest charging ports I can find. Most airports have sockets in them, but in case they don’t – you can always count on the cafes to have at least one. Whether it is to charge your phone or just get on your drained laptop real quick – airport sockets are lifesavers.

5. Where are the cheap and affordable shops?

I am a committed duty-free shopper. If you ask me – I don’t usually find duty-free shops actually cheaper than normal shops, but there are usually things I find in duty-free shops that I don’t seem to find anywhere else. I also like shopping for antiques and little things to remind me of different countries – so whenever I get the chance, I will rush to the nearest shop.

6. Terminal What? Gate What?

Now when you realise that your time is up, you almost instantly start questioning if you are at all in the right terminal. This is okay if you are in a small airport – but if you are working with aiports like Dubai – it is a near life and death decision. This is the very reason why this should be one of the first questions you ask yourself in an airport: “Am I at the correct Terminal? Do I know where my boarding gate is (and pay attention to any possible changes)?

Those are some of my questions when I am passing through airports. What are yours?

All my love,

Ntha x