How To Fill The Time During An Unexpected Delay At The Airport
When traveling abroad, the worst part of this tends to be the time you have to spend waiting for your flight. At the end of the day, you just want to be enjoying your chosen destination, whether it’s relaxing on a warm beach in the Caribbean or soaking up some culture in an exciting and vibrant European capital. Whatever your chosen vacation involves, being forced to stay in the airport due to a delay can be infuriating, especially if you’re unsure of how to pass the time. To help you with this and to hopefully alleviate some of the stress, we’ve put together a list of possible activities to help you pass the time for a few hours and possibly make the wait feel less arduous.
Do Some Vacation Planning
Depending on how long you’re going on vacation, there will likely be some sacrifices you have to make during the trip, especially if you have a lot of things you want to do. Now would be the best time to get some planning done for your vacation. Consider making a detailed vacation itinerary on what you and your group intend to do, including checking the average walking and public transport timings to get to each place. Search for nearby amenities to where you’re staying as well, including grocery shops, pharmacies, bars, and restaurants. This will make things much more efficient once you’re there.
Grab Something To Eat And Drink
One of the great things about airports is the abundance of places to eat or grab a drink. Whether you’re looking for a coffee or something a bit stronger, or perhaps a full meal, you’ll likely be able to find something to suit your appetite. Having some food and drink before you fly can make the journey a bit easier, especially if you’re getting a bit hungry. The last thing you want is to be sat on the plane feeling uncomfortable and hungry.
Get Some Shopping Done
If you’re delayed in your return home or meeting friends and family on your vacation, you could search for a gift to bring them. You’ll find many different stores around airports, many of which have some great gift ideas. If you don’t need to get any gifts, you could grab some things that you might have forgotten to pack, especially items such as plug adapters, headphones, or even a travel pillow, to make the long journey more comfortable.
As well as watching TV shows and movies online, you could find some online games to play too.
Download Or Stream A Movie
Making use of the wifi services in the airport, you could get some movies downloaded on your favorite streaming services like Netflix or Amazon Prime. This will ensure that you have some movies to watch during your trip in which you might have limited or no connectivity. You can then spend some time watching a few movies while you’re waiting at the airport too. Find a comfortable seat in a coffee shop or nearby your gate and try to relax. There’s no sense in getting stressed during a delay as it won’t make things go faster.
Play Online Games
As well as watching TV shows and movies online, you could find some online games to play too. There are many different games you can find on your phone’s online app store, whether it’s an android phone or an Apple one. You could also find enjoyment from online slots too. You can find many different casino sites which offer different games to entertain you. Just be cautious when gambling, as this can put your funds at risk. Remember to stop once it’s no longer fun.
Enquire About An Upgrade
You’d be surprised at how often people get upgraded, although it is much rarer today than it used to be. If you’ve experienced a delay, however, your chances might be higher. You’ll have the time to ask about this, and while it isn’t guaranteed, as long as you’re polite and understanding, you might find that an upgrade is on the cards for you. Remember that there is no harm in asking and making it clear that if the airline is looking to upgrade passengers to make some room on a busy flight, you’d like to be considered for that upgrade.
The traveling portion of your vacation will be fairly tiring, and you want to be as rested as possible.
Get Some Rest
The traveling portion of your vacation will be fairly tiring, and you want to be as rested as possible. There’s a strong possibility that your flight is either very early in the morning or late at night. For a morning flight, you’ll have to get up earlier than usual and so getting some rest during your time at the airport might be the best option for you if you’re feeling somewhat exhausted. Of course, some people prefer to wait until the flight itself to make that part of the trip go quickly, so the choice is up to you. Either way, this is where a travel pillow comes in very handy.
Try Meditation
This might sound like a strange suggestion but bear with us. As you might already know, meditation doesn’t require you to sit down cross-legged on a yoga mat chanting mantras. Meditation is simply the act of relaxing and letting your mind quieten down. Travelling can be very stressful for many people, and meditating at the airport is perfectly feasible without anyone noticing. The same can be done during the flight as well and is great if you’re a bit of a nervous passenger.
Go For A Walk
Another way to pass the time is to simply take a walk around the airport. You need to remember that most flights are going to be longer than an hour or two, especially international flights, and you’re not going to have much room to maneuver. Stretching your legs and savoring the chance to move about easily will be well worth it and will help reduce the discomfort that could come from a long flight. The last thing you want to do is sit down for hours at the airport, only to get on a plane to sit down for even longer.
