How You Can Turn Airport Delays Into the Best Moments of Your Life

By Justin Irabor

09 August 2015

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There is a law somewhere that says you are more likely to be the victim of a delayed flight on the day you absolutely need your flight to depart on schedule.

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We’ll admit it: airports are only exciting during your first few flights ever. As soon as the initial excitement and buzz of getting on a plane wears off, almost everyone begins to realize just how terrible airports are. Add to this the penchant for flights to be delayed and it’s easy to understand why there are tonnes of YouTube videos of irate people throwing funny temper tantrums at airports.

If your flight ever gets delayed, here are some great ways to pass the time. Who knows? If you do this right, the delay may turn out to be some of the best moments of your life!

MAKE ALL THE IMPORTANT PHONE CALLS

Was the reason for your flight a meet-up, business or casual? Whatever it is, making a call to the people awaiting your arrival on the other side of the map can help to defuse some of the frustration. As soon as they know your calendar has been disrupted, you can both plan accordingly with the new schedule. There is no reason to go into radio silence. It would only make your more tense and the other people unnecessarily anxious.

DON’T DRINK AND DRIVE; DRINK AND FLY.

Are you feeling a bit high-strung and upset about the flight delay? You may need to calm those frayed nerves by having your poison of choice. Aren’t you just glad you don’t have to fly the plane yourself, eh? This works both as a calming mechanism and as a great way to kill time: a quick visit to a nice bar close to the airport can have you fixed up with a nice drink to make everything fine again.

APPS TO THE RESCUE

It goes without saying that you should usually be travelling with a full battery. With a full smartphone comes portable entertainment! Whip out your device and play some music, read a good book, challenge your Facebook friends to a game, or finally commit yourself to beating that extra-difficult level on Candy Crush!

When travelling, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, iBooks, my Music Player app and a game of Candy Crush have been fantastic lifesavers! You should try them too. If you know better applications to make time fly while waiting for your plane, suggest them in the comments section!

IF YOU’RE TRAVELLING WITH A PARTNER, HERE ARE A FEW GAMES TO PLAY

If you are flying with a partner, take a nice little stroll around airport security and play a little bit of Sherlock Holmes: look at the people walking about with their luggage and challenge your partner to make up stories and assumptions about the lives about the people based on their individual quirks. It is fun; you should totally try it!

(Also – you can go have a drink with them as we suggested above!)

Nothing knocks a good conversation anyway, and the flight delay might just be a brilliant opportunity go get to know the other person better. Go on. Take a leap.

DO THAT THING YOU’VE BEEN MEANING TO DO

You know how you’ve always been complaining about being stressed out and about needing to go to the spa/massage parlor or to go have a pedicure/manicure? Well?! This is the time!

If you are in an airport that has these things – manicurists, a spa, etc – this is your golden chance; shoot your shot. The thing is that these things are generally not in every airport so if you happen to be stuck in one that has these facilities, it is a sign! Also – if you are on vacation, all the better – it simply means you are starting the ‘vacationing’ way earlier than you planned.

GO SHOPPING

Because nothing calms the nerves than paying for stuff. And you don’t necessarily have to be female to enjoy the thrill of shopping.

There is a lot more to the art of shopping during an airport delay than meets the eye: you remember those little things you forgot to pack? The toothpaste, a fresh pair of underwear? Use the imposed gap in your schedule to stock up on these and also to get yourself something nice…a box of chocolates, a bottle of wine. Also – you should consider getting gifts for the people you will be visiting, if any.

There you have it. The guide to surviving those pesky airport delays. If your flight has been delayed for a ridiculously long period of time, then you might want to consider booking a nice, affordable hotel room on www.hotels.ng and count your losses.

We have a theory that if you are single and walk around long enough at an airport, any airport, you are likely to meet the love of your life. It’s a mathematical probability we have considered with all seriousness.

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