How to Kill Time in an Airport

Travelling is a lot of fun – you get to see new and exciting places, experience different cultures and learn from the environments and people you encounter. The problem with travelling often comes in the travelling part – the getting to and from your required destination. Sometimes, the worst part of travelling is that you end up spending hours of dead time waiting around in an airport. Now, it is often recommended to arrive at the airport three hours before an international flight in case of issues checking in or long lines in the security or passport control sections. But what if you don’t end up spending too long in these lines or your flight gets delayed? Now you are stuck waiting in an airport until you can get on your way – and sometimes this waiting period can be incredibly dull and hard to pass. Don’t worry though, because as dull as sitting around in an airport can seem; there are actually lots of ways to pass the time, despite the limitations on what you have around you. Here are a few ways that you can kill time in an airport if you find yourself bored with waiting for your flight. I hope you enjoy it!

Gift shopping in Duty-Free

This is a better idea for when you are coming back from a trip, but you can do it on your way somewhere too. There are always little gifts that you’d like to get for someone or even for yourself, and sometimes it just so happens that you forget right up until a few hours before you fly home. Now, what are you meant to do? Well, that is why there is a beautiful thing known as duty-free shopping. Almost every airport has a duty free shop where they sell the widest variety of items and what is excellent about these shops is that you can get things generally at a lower price, and there are always specials available. It is the perfect place to get a lot of gifts or just fun items at a relatively low price, so if you are looking for something to do and have gifts to buy (or you just like shopping), then I’d recommend checking out the duty-free shop.

Do some reading

If you’re sitting around doing nothing in an airport, then why not sit around and do something that is entertaining and can keep your mind occupied? If you enjoy reading, this is the perfect opportunity for you to get some reading time in. No one will be bugging you, and all you need is your book or your tablet (or whatever other items/device you are reading from), and there you have it. It’s the perfect way to spend the time because you get to pass the time while doing something you enjoy. Between you and me, this is how I usually spend my waiting time in airports because there is always a book that I want to read.

Catch up on work

If you have any work that needs completing after your trip or just work that needs to be done in general, why would you want to waste three hours of your holiday doing it? You can get that same amount of work done when you are just waiting around in an airport. Most airports have sections with desks and chargers, so take advantage of that – go and use the dead hours getting some arbitrary work done. That way, you are not only getting the work done, but you are also killing your time and getting your work done without wasting your holiday hours. In my head, it is the perfect way to kill two birds with one stone (in a non-violent, non-bird-harming way).

Do a tech clean up

Sometimes we all forget to clean out our email inboxes, delete random photos or just clear any arbitrary, unneeded junk from our devices. It’s because this kind of thing usually takes time, and time is something we often don’t get enough of. Now though, you have all the time you need if you are looking at this blog trying to think of ways to pass that time. Instead of twiddling your thumbs waiting for your boarding call, find a chair and go through your phone and clear out anything you don’t need or want anymore. It might not be much more exciting than just sitting around doing nothing, but it is an important thing to do, it is passing the time, and you’ll be thankful for it when you need the space for the new photos you’ll be taking on your holiday. It may be a bit tedious, but it’s still better than doing nothing right?

Have a nice, slow meal

There are usually, at the very least, a small variety of restaurants in an airport, so why not treat yourself to a nice quiet meal. Personally, aside from reading a book, there isn’t a better way to pass the time than enjoying something nice to eat. Pick a restaurant that tickles your fancy, and grab a bite to eat because the food will most probably be better than whatever meal you will get on the aeroplane. This is also an excellent way to spend the time if you are travelling with a group of people because it gives you all a relaxed place to sit, eat and chat without trying to find a group of seats together in the middle of the terminal. Either way, trust me when I say that you’ll be thankful you had a lovely meal (with good food of your choosing) when you are cruising at 30 000 feet, and they offer you a very suspicious looking tin tray of plane food.

Window shopping

This is perfect for anyone who enjoys shopping, or just for people who like to see what kind of things are on sale in different stores. Airports can have a surprisingly versatile number of shops – from fancy brands to just simple news stores or bookstores. You don’t necessarily have to buy things (because things may be slightly cheaper than in other stores, but that doesn’t stop them from being expensive in general), but it is definitely a fun way to pass the time. You can see what your next fragrance could be in one of the vast perfume sections, admire the luxurious purses or fancy jewellery items, or simply browse the book section. No matter what your tastes or shopping interests are, you will most likely be able to find a store to window shop in the airport.

Test something free

As with all places that have numerous stores, there are usually several opportunities to take advantage of free things. Sometimes there are massage chair demonstrations where you can test out the chairs for a few minutes for free (which is a great idea considering the amount of time you are going to spend sitting in an averagely comfortable chair on the flight). Otherwise, you can wander through the different stores and try out any free samples (from foods to perfumes to makeup). I know that this isn’t something you can do the whole time you are waiting, but it is a fun idea if you are curious to browse the shops and see if you can taste test chocolate that is on special. It’s not for everyone, but for some, it is the best way to kill the wasted time at the airport.

Just get comfy and relax

This one might seem stupid because surely relaxing is the same thing as sitting around doing nothing while waiting? To that, I say not quite. There is a difference between sitting and doing nothing and finding somewhere comfortable to sit and allowing yourself to relax. Relaxing could mean listening to music, watching a movie or series, reading a book or even just dozing, and you can do all of that in numerous places (i.e. the many rows of chairs that are always around in airport terminals). Sometimes it can be quite hard to get comfortable and relax on flights, so you might as well take advantage of it if you can get some peaceful moments in before the flight. Even if it is just to take a breather before the long trip, sometimes it can be a great way to spend five minutes (or two hours – it depends on how you are feeling and how you like to relax).

I know that sometimes spending hours and hours in airports can be frustrating because it feels like it is just a waste of time, but hopefully, this blog post will help you in the future if you face that predicament. Even if you like one of these ideas, I hope that you all enjoyed this blog post and found it helpful for whatever situation you find yourself desperate to kill time in. I only have one question for you guys today:

• How do you spend your time in airports when you have to wait for your flight?

Thank you all so much for reading my blog. I hope that you find the posts in general helpful and enjoyable and that you are enjoying the blog itself. Please don’t forget to like this post if you haven’t already and subscribe so that you don’t miss out on future posts (and, if you want, share this post with your friends!). As always, you guys are incredible, and I always appreciate it that you take the time out of your days to read my blog. Thanks again, and have a fantastic weekend!

Lots of Love

Blondey on a Mission xxx