working at the airport
APR 09, 2026
inkhaven
I used to arrive very early for my flights (I'm talking "at the gate two hours before boarding" early), which means that I've spend a lot of time working at the airport.
I actually enjoy working at the airport. I think it's because whenever you're at the airport, you are always ambiently Traveling at the same time. In my head, this means that any work I do is doubly-effective, since I am both Traveling and Working.1 And if I don't do anything, I feel like I've wasted my free Traveling bonus for no reason.
I also tend to get a lot of things done at the airport, probably because of the endemic sense of urgency. There is an unending supply of Suit Guys and People Trying to Get Places, as well as flight attendants who are clearly Dressed Up and Working. At every table, some people tap-tap-tap away at their laptops while others take business calls on their AirPods. I don't know exactly what they're doing, but I guess they're Busy Doing Work and I should be Busy Doing Work, too.
(Obviously, not everyone at the airport is Busy Doing Work. Lots of people are putting in the effort to time travel as quickly as possible by doomscrolling or gaming. Or sleeping. Usually, this would be distracting, but I secretly like feeling like the kind of person who works instead of watching videos at the airport.)
Of course, doing work at the airport is vaguely uncomfortable. You technically have everything you need—a seat, a power outlet, maybe a drink of your choice (mine is a Blended Strawberry Lemonade from Starbucks)—but you still want to get this over with ASAP. But this too is conducive to doing work, somehow. It's easier to put in more effort, as if working harder will make the plane come faster.
But anyway. The sense of urgency isn't just about the Suit Guys or vague discomfort. There's also the unique-to-airports experience of knowing that in the very near future, you will not have access to the Internet. Pulling a sleight-of-hand trick on my brain, I say, "Brain, you see this here task that requires access to the Internet? Well, we are about to be someplace where we do NOT have access the Internet. So if you don't do it now, you will be FORCED not to do it." For some reason, my brain absolutely hates this idea, and will work extremely hard to get the task done before the Wi-Fi is gone.
(I guess that technically, most flights these days do have on-board Wi-Fi. But I still think of planes as Places That Have No Internet,2 so my brain is happy to believe me. Besides, I wasn't going to pay for the Internet anyway.)
I don't arrive at the airport so early anymore, courtesy of TSA PreCheck. But I still do look forward to doing a little bit of work while I'm there.