Airport High

What do you call that peculiar sense of euphoria you feel at an airport? Airport rush? Airport buzz? Airport high? If you know, you know.

I always arrive absurdly early for my flights. Airports exist in a state of permanent, contained chaos: there is always somewhere to be, a gate to find and a departure being announced. Someone may be boarding a plane for the first time, while someone else may be travelling under difficult circumstances. Some people are thrilled simply to be there; others are already exhausted.

What fascinates me most is the thought that everyone sharing the same building will, within a matter of hours, be scattered across the world. Some are about to have the time of their lives; others are heading to yet another important business meeting. Perhaps that sense of possibility explains why airports always fill me with excitement.

Strangely, they also make me incredibly productive. I reply to emails, finish projects and deal with personal tasks I have been postponing, as though being surrounded by people in transit somehow puts my own mind into motion.

Maybe that is what airports do: they intensify everything—excitement, ambition, impatience and kindness. That is why they are also an excellent litmus test of character. Stress has a way of stripping away our social polish. When the queue is barely moving, the gate suddenly changes or the flight is delayed, how do you treat the people around you? Do you become impatient and rude, or remain considerate?

Perhaps the airport high comes not only from going somewhere, but from watching humanity in motion.

P.S. In a rather fitting twist, I’m actually writing this from an airport. Adios!