When I was in college, I had a weird fascination with airports. I was intrigued by the fact that they are one of the only places other than hospital ER rooms that literally never close. Twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, you can walk up to the doors of an airport and they will open. On some nights, it would be 2, 3, 4 o'clock in the morning (I've always been a night owl, but in college it was especially bad) and I'd suddenly want to go to the airport... just to see what was going on, what kinds of people were there, and where were they going or coming from? I was also intrigued by the idea that most people don't go to airports to go to an airport, people go to airports to go somewhere else. But then I realized that there are actually some people who do go to airports to be there because that's where they work. For reasons I don't know how to explain, I wanted to know who these people were. Unfortunately, I didn't get a car until senior year and until then, it was hard to get someone to give you a ride to the airport in the middle of the night when you didn't actually have a flight to catch. And then eventually I had been through enough security checks and delayed flight debacles that I didn't want to be anywhere near an airport unless I absolutely needed to.
Fast forward to yesterday night when T shares with me a cool interactive presentation by CNN that chronicles 24 hours in the life of Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. The wealth of information is staggering as they cover everything from runway inspections to bombsquads. They also profile the myriad of people that come together for a flight who, save for having a common destination, couldn't be any more different. And that's just a teeny tiny tip of the iceberg. Add to that stunning photos and a cleverly designed interactive webpage and I was afraid I'd give myself a stroke from the excitement. Seriously it's one of the coolest articles/webpage/projects/presentations I've run across to date. If you're a weirdo like me and have ever had any remote curiosity in how an airport works, this page is for you... or if you're looking for a way to further procrastinate on doing work, this page definitely has something for you too. Enjoy!
Great to find a fellow aviation geek. Thanks for making my day, Youn!
ReplyDeleteI don't know that I'd go as far as to call myself an aviation geek (as flattered as I am to hear you say it) but I do like airports and I like even more to brighten your day :) Oh, and can I say you've just made mine by leaving a comment? Thanks, Amrit! Hope to see you soon!
ReplyDeleteYoun, I also wondered what is going on at airports at 3am. Now I know where to look for one version of the story :)
ReplyDeleteYay, a kindred spirit!! Thanks for stopping by...and making me feel less like a weirdo!! :)
DeleteYoun, you continue to surprise me :D. What's funny is I've spent so much time in airports the last five years that I kind of think of them as a special hotel lobby I go to every couple weeks, and the airplane is the special room where you're held hostage for a while before being released into the other hotel lobby you came from the week before. I think my favorite experience was one time it was late at night and since I was the only passenger at the security checkpoint, the TSA agents and I were just shooting the breeze and enjoying each others' company.
ReplyDeleteAlbert! I LOVE how your imagination works. Imma remember your comment each time I fly now :) I can't even imagine a deserted security checkpoint... they're always a source of anxiety and frustration for me. So jealous!!
Delete