Love is in the Airport
November 20, 2024
Writer: Addie Siembieda
Editor: Carly Anderson
“If you look for it, I've got a sneaky feeling you'll find that love actually is all around.”
-Love, Actually (2003)
It’s often said that airports have seen more sincere kisses than wedding chapels — love is felt most when it’s leaving. Maybe that’s true, and maybe that’s why I hugged my mom tighter than I ever had when she dropped me off for my flight back to Michigan. While I’m sure the airport pick-up and drop-off curbs have seen a lot of teary goodbyes and hellos, there’s plenty of love to be found beyond the TSA checkpoint.
It’s no secret that modern air travel is stressful. Airports are overstimulating, overpriced, and overcrowded with strangers. Once you step into the terminal, you are at the mercy of the wind, weather, and the airline’s random cancellations.
My journey home from New Mexico to Michigan was my first experience with cross-country solo travel. When I got to my gate at the Albuquerque airport, I found a seat near an older man with his bag on the chair. I pulled out my laptop and started catching up on the work I’d neglected over break, barely paying attention to the man. A few minutes later, another man sat down next to him, holding two bottles of Coca-Cola.
“I figured you might want one for the flight,” the second man said, handing his friend the bottle.
“Oh, thank you!” The first man started pulling out his wallet. “How much do I–”
“Put that away. I got it,” the second man replied.
“Are you sure? You know how they jack up the prices here. Let me at least–”
“I said I got it. Don’t worry about it”
One flight later, as I navigated the Denver airport, I noticed a couple holding hands on the moving walkway, rolling their suitcases with their free hands. It struck me as the second act of love that day, and the harder I looked, the more acts of love I found.
I boarded my second flight and moved down the cramped aisle, trying to find an open seat. I walked past parents sitting in middle seats with preteen children next to them looking out the window, the aisle seat still empty. They had chosen to give up the more comfortable seat to sit next to their kids. An older woman a few people in front of me struggled to get her bag into the overhead compartment, and a younger man got out of his seat to lift it up. As I settled into my seat, I heard flight attendants joking with young kids.
Once we were in the air, the woman in front of me ordered a coffee with two creams, no sugar. The flight attendant replied,“Got it. No sugar because you’re already sweet enough.” The flight attendant used that line on everyone who ordered a coffee, yet every time, it made someone smile.
The captain on my Southwest flight from Denver to Detroit announced over the intercom, “Sit back and relax, or sit up and be tense. Either way, we’ve got two hours and 50 minutes of flight time to Detroit.” Every person on that flight had a reason for flying: someone or something they had to get to. All 143 of us, cramped together in these tiny rows, were landing at the same time.
The experience, though, becomes just a little bit sweeter when we love those around us, whether they’re our travel buddies or just fellow human beings. These little acts of love can be found anywhere if we just pay attention to them.
Image: Matilda Taylor
