Going to the airport and not getting a flight is strange

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My in laws and bro in laws regularly go to the airport to watch planes take off and land. I rang them this morning to see if they had any plans that we could tag along with and this was the plan.
I have a friend who does the same but she has two 3 year olds who are obsessed with planes. I get that. I don't get two people in their fifties and two men in their twenties doing it on a sunny Saturday when the airport is 45 mins drive away. Last time they asked me I said 'I think I'd feel sad going there and not actually going on holiday.' This takes me to the strangest part, none of them have ever flown or would ever consider flying, or so they say.
Each to their own I guess.

How about Barra Airport not much air traffic though

Oh sod it! I mean that it is very odd etc. in my post above, not "off".

Wouldn't consider it at Edinburgh Airport. We paid £9.40 last week for just over half an hour's parking in short stay to pick up DS.

The streets round about the airport are full of cars and taxis waiting for messages to come in and pick people up to avoid the steep fees.

Slightly sad that you feel you have to introduce your inlaws to new things. Maybe they are perfectly happy as they are?

I have many happy memories of a day out at Heathrow in the 70's as a child. The Queens Building had a fab viewing area and best of all a playground (the smell of aviation fuel takes me right back to those Saturdays). We took a packed lunch and always had a choc ice as a treat. As soon as Concorde landed we packed up and left (by 4pm I think). We would always stop at a Berni on the home (half portion of gammon and pineapple was my choice). We went roughly every month/6 weeks as our dad was an avid plane spotter with Janes book of planes. We actually made friends with other kids and were delighted when it turned out to be their Airport Saturday too.

We live under the Heathrow flight path and a surprising number of people (in looking at you, DH, DB and FIL) love sitting in the garden looking up at the planes and trying to work out which airline they are from based on the tail

DH still gets excited when an a380 comes over

Some of my happiest childhood memories are of going to Heathrow with my grandparents to watch the planes in the summer holidays

I remember going on family trips to Gatwick to watch the planes take off and land. I bloody loved it! I've loved aviation ever since and would love to do it with my own children when they're older

This is my dad's hobby, he travels all over the world to see certain planes.

When it was Super Bowl in America he flew over there for 10 days and stayed in the airport hotel just so he could see all the international planes arrive.

He's done it since he was 14 and is now 57.

I don't think it's strange - I'd rather watch planes than Wimbledon

Someone was telling me about this place the other day... Afternoon tea on the runway anyone?

Oh we used to do this all time at Manchester Airport - when it was just Terminal 1. Mum and her friend would take all us kids for a day out and me and DH did the same with ours.

You used to be able to go right through and sit and watch the planes from the cafe but now it's all closed off and you can only go through to that side with boarding passes. We would sit for hours watching the planes with our faces pushed up to the big glass windows while our mums chatted over tea and cake.

The brick works was also great and you could get a free ringside seat on the hill really close to the runway.

Increased security means that neither of those two options are available anymore so we stopped going :-(

In the days before 24hour shopping and Sunday trading - WHSmith and Boots at the Airport were a godsend for out of hours stuff you needed to buy. Don't think you are allowed to do that now either.

Ohh, LordEmsworth, that's the airport that the Airbus Beluga uses! I would LOVE to watch one of those!

(Google it, it's a crazy looking aircraft.)

Oooh I know about the Beluga, that is the most exciting thing about it! I've seen it fly over but up close would be amazing...

It may be going off at a tangent from the original post about airports, but the recent post about a place in Flintshire reminded me of the wonderful video of fighter planes from RAF Valley training in Snowdonia. It's a must-see for all plane lovers There are many other videos on YouTube if you search "The Mach Loop"

Put your speakers on if you watch the video I posted above.

The viewing room at Birmingham has gone, but there is a viewing area in car park 5 with picnic benches.

I think it's really odd. Airports and everything about them make me mildly anxious/uncomfortable. I would get no pleasure out of repeatedly watching airplanes land!

I never knew this was A Thing but I'm pretty sure my kids would have loved it when smaller!

So I didn't make up the viewing room in Birmingham!!

Whenever I'm there now I do wonder if it'd all been in my head.

The only time we've ever done this, somebody called the cops on us. We were asked by Grampian's finest (as they then were) what exactly we were doing watching the North Sea helicopters landing and takeoff on a Friday evening.

They can come and sit in my back garden and watch the planes for free

They can come and sit in my back garden and watch the planes for free

I don't think it's strange either, me and DH used to go for a drive up to Leeds Bradford airport on a nice day and do this - not in the airport though, there's a lay-by at the end of the runway which is always packed, get an ice-cream from the van which is permanently parked there...
We take DD who's 3 sometimes now too.
I love watching planes take off and land (scared witless of flying though oddly enough!)

I can't see the appeal, and would be bored very quickly. Harmless though.

I regard this a much less strange hobby than watching fucking Eastenders - each to their own.