Avoid a High Rise Situation When You Visit the Airport
In the JG Ballard book High Rise, which is set to be released as a film from Ben Wheatley this March, the world is dominated by fearful multi-story buildings which tower over cityscapes. These buildings are inhabited by every aspect of society – and everyone is increasingly bored and incredibly hostile.
On the face of it, these high rises are nothing more than architectural carbuncles, and yet they’re praised by those who inhabit them.
It’s a dystopian vision of the future and not a place you’d want to go on holiday. Why, then, is it being covered in a travel article?
For one reason – High Rise isn’t so far removed from another pit of stress and despair, the airport.
The nightmare departure lounge
Before you venture into these flight hubs, with their devilish designs and long queues and watertight security measures, you have to steel yourself for the nightmare that lies ahead of you. In the quest to get from A to B, you face a modern dystopia that’s notorious for its stresses and strains. You only wanted a relaxing holiday.
Airports are regularly voted one of the more stressful experiences you can have, more aneurysm-inducing than the eight-hour working day or moving house. And the reasons for this are all too clear.
Let’s briefly discuss another film, A Fish Called Wanda. The ending, spoiler alert, involves John Cleese quickly hopping and jumping through security gates as he tries to chase after the woman he loves. If he were to nippily bound through security gates like that nowadays, he’d most likely end up on a flight headed straight for Guantanamo.
At least, that’s how it feels. With the relentless barrage of questions unleashed upon you by security personnel, you don’t feel as though you’re only trying to catch a flight – you feel like you’re hiding something.
The keys to relaxation
Some people, however, go out of their way to make the airport more relaxing and a bit less dystopian.
These people usually start by figuring out the airport parking situation. Car parks at airports are notoriously labyrinthine and seemingly designed to forewarn you of other stresses to come. That’s why other companies, Edinburgh Airport’s parking being a perfect example, have made their mark by offering more relaxing services.
Then it’s about the time of arrival. Arrive too late and you’ll be caught in masses of queues, too early and you’ll be sat for ages before the security gate opens. Try and find the right balance to avoid boredom.
The final way to stave off misery and stress is to book some time in a VIP departure lounge. This’ll usually set you back around £30 or so, but it’s well worth the cash.
Book all these mini-luxuries and your trip to the airport will be less dystopian and more relaxing.
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