A Visit To An Airport

Today seems to be the day that everyone is complaining about the treatment that we receive at airports. I do know that it is no longer any fun to travel. It is not that I have gotten older; it is how the people who travel are treated. As with most people who have trouble remembering things as in where did the flashlight that I just had disappear. I do remember better times in travel. So here are just a couple of comments on this subject.
On one trip to Denver we purposely arrived at the airport early on our return trip just so we could watch how the hub concept worked. We saw one airline have several flights come in at the same time and then all leave about a half hour later, again all at the same time. It just made the airport congested at certain intervals. You could actually go to an airport just to watch the people and the different aircraft from around the world.
A friend of mine who lived in Fresno was actually given a birthday gift of aircraft watching. She was given a round trip to San Francisco just so that she could go up to SFO and watch all of the different types of aircraft and watch the people. The trip was just to the airport and return, without even going to Fishermen’s Wharf.
I had been known to go to LAX just to spend time going to the different terminals. You could spend hours just seeing all of the people rushing around and the variety of aircraft. No one said anything and the viewing area was convenient to see what was happening on the apron. That was before that area became the tarmac. People actually went to just have a drink and watch all of the movement.
Even earlier, I had the opportunity to visit the Fresno Air Terminal (FAT) during weird hours. I could see the place during the night when not many people were around. Even then it was a magic place were the only concern was getting people on to flights and no one took much notice if all you wanted to do was to watch. The biggest crowd I have ever seen was in the FAT terminal when John F. Kennedy used this as a transfer point to do a dedication of a dam. The terminal was packed and no one seemed unduly concerned. We all just watched him change aircraft and were happy to be at this very little part of history.
Today all of these activities are not possible because you cannot get to the area where you can watch without having a ticket. Of course you do get to the airport earlier then you had in the past because you spend all of the time concerned about security. You cannot count on the fact that you will have time to eat when you are waiting for your flight. So travel if you must, but trust me, it is not much fun any more.