Airports would definitely not be on my recommended list of a “good place to sleep” but sometimes necessity requires it. And I certainly have slept in my share of airports (or at least tried to catch a few winks). Thankfully none of these were caused by delays, but usually due to awkward layovers between flights. It just doesn’t make sense to leave the airport during a short 6 hour layover to try to find a hotel for just a few short hours of rest. So here are some of my experiences while sleeping in airports:
Denver, CO: I’ve arrived too early before for a few red eye flights. I’ve learned that the airport is generally pretty quiet in the off hours. If you are in B terminal, head to the upper level and you can find some comfy chairs to sit in. Looking for a nice dark place to rest? If you go to the very end of a terminal, there will be a gap between the “walls” that separate each gate, and the final wall of windows. Just be aware this can be a dirty place to rest as it looks hard to clean.
Atlanta, GA: This is an awful place to try to sleep a night, mainly because of the noise level. Throughout my stay cleaning crews and those vehicles they drive employees or guests around zoomed back and forth on what seemed like 6 minute intervals. The annoying part is that these machines had an infernal beeping noise to alert travelers to get out of the way. I appreciate the safety feature, but at 3AM when no one is walking around it was like a blazing alarm waking you up from your brief nap.
Charlotte, NC: If you are lucky to be in terminal D (well it doesn’t seem lucky when you have to walk all the way from A to D) it is a quiet place to rest. And at the very end they usually have rocking chairs facing out to watch the airplanes take off. This is a perfect place to rest and watch the sun rise. But be warned that there aren’t many food and drink vendors in terminal D, that they close down at night, and it can seem like ages before they open up.
Kansas City International: This is the worst airport experience I ever had. With other airports, you can safely stay within the terminal. At MCI, each gate is its own separate security area and is not connected to any of the other secure areas. We were shocked when we touched down at midnight and were informed the airport was closing, and were then promptly kicked out of the airport. We called around and found all nearby hotels were booked up. With no place to go we found the small waiting area where you can pickup your rental car was still opened, but not staffed. It was a cold February night, and we had just come from the warm USVI and so didn’t have winter clothing with us. Halfway through the night I remembered I had my hammock with me and strung it up between some chairs. It sagged pretty much to the ground, but at least made some semblance of a bed and was better than sleeping on the floor.
Some Tips if you choose to sleep in an airport:
- Check and make sure it’s a safe and secure airport. Don’t sleep if you have any worries or warning signs.
- Research what other travelers are saying about the airport: http://www.sleepinginairports.net/
- Make sure to sleep on top of your bags as it possible for an opportunist to pick pocket or steal from your bags while you are asleep.
- Keep out of the way of cleaning crews.
- Set an alarm, you don’t want to oversleep and miss your flight.
- Eye masks and ear plugs work wonders but is best used when you have a travel buddy that you can take turns to keep watch.
- Be aware some airports do not allow sleeping and may kick you out.
- Look into the airport to see if they have any place you can rent, as it’s becoming more common to see “pods” or small hotels within the airport.
- If you need a little rest during the day check and see if there is a member’s lounge for that particular airline. Some airlines will let you buy a day pass for between $50 and $100. And these lounges usually have other amenities as well.
- Another option during the day is getting a massage. It’s nice and relaxing and I’ve known some people to nap right on through it.
Leave a Reply