Oblivious people in airports.

[Pollydonia]

....usually men.
I was in the UK for a family emergency, travelled back to Spain ( where I live) yesterday.
God almighty, the amount of men adults who are seemingly unaware that other people are around them was beyond a joke.
Person 1 stops in the revolving door to check something in his bag, stopping the door and trapping us with him. He took his sweet time, apparently unconcerned that he had stopped 12 plus people from going through the door.
Person 2 was travelling with his female partner and young kids. Going through security his partner read the signs, sorted the things that needed to be taken out of bags / pockets for herself and 3 kids. He ignored the signs and tried to walk through still carrying his bag. Was most affronted when stopped and told to put his belongings into the container to go through the Xray. Had to be told 3 times to take his shoes off.
Number 3 walked into me as I was ordering a coffee, on his phone, no apology or acknowledgment of my existence.
Number 4 ,well she ignored the flight staff who told her to board at the back and tried to walk the full lengh of the plane whilst other people were boarding correctly, then tried to get up to go to the toilet during takeoff.
I must also say that the many children and babies on the flight were no trouble at all 😀.
Is there something about airports that makes some people completely oblivious to what is happening around them ?

Oh I hear you. My dh, normally competent and efficient, turns into such a ditherer in airports. Actually any mode of transport. Travelling through the Tube last year with him was a nightmare. I used to travel to London a lot for work and can use the underground without stopping to look at the map every 30 seconds. Sometimes on escalators. I'd be practically dragging him to the correct platform and he'd be "Wait, need to check".

Anyway...

Dh starts displaying the lack of awareness as soon as we get to check in. I've lost count of the number of times the agent on the desk has started to visibly panic due to the radio silence that ensues when he's asked "Have you packed this bag yourself and are you carrying anything for anyone else".

And then there's his hand luggage. He keeps the documentation in a special wallet that goes in a specific pocket. It's always the furthest from his body and he has to stop to place it carefully like so. Does he go to one side and let people pass? Does he heck.

Lastly, he always forgets to put something in the trays at security.

If you're ever in an airport and a balding, middle-aged bloke stops in front of you to rearrange the special pocket in his bag, or you wait longer than necessary to check in because said bloke can't answer a question, that'll be us .

We used to have a mantra- we’ve got them for nine hours, someone else has to live with them!

I saw a Woman have to throw away probably £150 of toiletries at Manchester airport, her cabin bag was full of full size bottles of very expensive stuff. If I was staff I’d have been tempted to get it all out of the bin.
I don’t understand why you have to take off a paper thin cardi or scarf though.
Security staff can be vile too, I’m afraid I got very arsey with one, he asked me if I had a phone in my bag and I said yes, he snarled - ‘ it needs to go in the tray’ so I had quite the rant, nowhere on the signs or on the airport website does it say phones need to go in trays , it specifies only LARGE electronics like tablets and cameras. If they can’t follow their own rules it’s unsurprising that passengers don’t.

@BorgQueen you had a rant at someone who’s job it is to protect the public? Classy, very classy.

He had a shocking attitude and if phones are not specifically mentioned on official information, how the hell are people meant to know?
I had been very thorough, had no liquids of any description, which he didn’t believe, my tablet was in the tray, as was my semi-sheer cardi.

If the official advice doesn’t mention phones, why should I have to comply?

Couldn’t give a fuck if that’s ‘classy’ or not thank you.

I followed official rules to the letter and for him to stand there and insist I was in the wrong really got my back up.

People at the back of the aircraft who stand up the moment the plane is on the stand.

Wish me luck folks...I'm heading to JFK shortly for a flight home and I'll be keeping my eye out for anyone who fits the CF examples above (not those who genuinely have a valid reason for not being like Usain Bolt at the airport) and I will be very aware that if I can't see anyone fitting the criteria, then it's most likely that I am the CF passenger! 😆😆😆

A little bit of empathy goes a long way. DH and DS are both autistic and find airports sensory hell. They absolutely appear spaced out. They are trying not to meltdown. It's taking everything they've got. People with ADHD will find it tough to follow "simple directions". Older people can have the beginnings of dementia. People are flying for bereavements. People are flying who haven't flown in 3 years. People are flying who are jet lagged and been on 3 international business trips in 3 weeks. No one is having a good time at the airport.

That's a really good point to be fair plinkypots

@BorgQueen

If the official advice doesn’t mention phones, why should I have to comply?

Depends how much you want to actually go flying - back to that in a moment.

The reason you might have been asked is perhaps the duty security manager at that airport may have said "We're having phones out today".

Another reason, unlikely, is perhaps Transec (the bit of HMG responsible for transport security) changed national rules/advice overnight and you don't actually know the rules...

It happens, I travelled the very day the liquids ban came in, oh that was fun, I saw lots of arguments that funnily enough security/police always won.

Whatever the reason security staff can't insist you comply with the rules but they can stop you going airside

My take on this over the years has been unless security staff are asking for you to do something utterly outrageous such as strip off completely in full view of the public probably the best thing to do sometimes is take a deep breath and go with the request.

I have emerged from my recent visits to airports reasonably unscathed. I was considerate of others in the airport, I wasn't in anyone's way and I always moved to one side if I was putting anything back in my bag after being in a shop for example. The issue of the travellator/escalator didn't happen for me.

What annoys me in airports is how people charge towards the baggage carousel ages before the luggage appears on it and they check every suitcase as it travels along just in case their one has changed shape/colour/size/whatever, they just check every single label on them and then don't move away straight after getting their own luggage back. They annoy me a lot!

There are oblivious people everywhere. Supermarket today, blocking the aisle, stopping people loading their goods onto the conveyor belt etc.