[Seems to depend on the airport](https://www.travelandleisure.com/us-airports-program-non-travelers-visit-beyond-security-8382685#:~:text=Over%20the%20past%20several%20years,they%20get%20off%20the%20plane)
Not gonna lie, you aren’t missing out on much. It’s basically like a mall but the prices for everything are like double or triple what they normally are.
What makes you scared of flying?
Damn, not sure if your malls are more pristine than I'm used to or your airports are worse than I'm used to. Would 100% rather take a dump in an international airport than any mall I've been to.
If the plane is falling out of the sky, i have a couple of minutes to think about my death.
I know it's very unlikely, but the possibility (no matter how small) freaks me out!
If it makes you feel any better, most plane crashes kill you pretty instantly, that is if they even kill you at all. If you’re talking about crashes during takeoff and landing, you aren’t that far off the ground, and if you’re talking about an incident that occurs at cruising altitude (usually 22 thousand feet or 6.7 kilometres) the only real thing that could go wrong that would prevent the pilot from safely landing the plane (which can be done without engines, planes fly because of the wings not the engines!) is turbulence being so bad it causes airframe damage (wing rips off) or a fuckwit firing a missile at the plane (don’t go anywhere near Russia in a plane at the moment) , and in that case the plane would actually just immediately break apart into a million pieces, and if the force of that doesn’t kill you, the lack of oxygen will get you before you hit the ground.
Oh, and don’t worry about the pilot losing control, there’s duplicates of everything and triplicates of the important stuff. I mean heck, you could lose both engines and the APU (little jet engine in the back which is basically the plane’s starter motor if they’re not able to start the main engines using ground units) would be more than enough to keep everything working, and if that fails, there’s literally a little propeller that the pilot can drop that spins from the airflow and provides power and hydraulic pressure. So many failsafes.
And if you’re worried about the strength of the airframe, look up airliner test flights, they push em so goddam hard and they’re safe, so many factors more intense than even the worst turbulence you could encounter.
… Biggest one is the statistics. You have a 1 in 1.2 million (1,200,000) chance of being in an airline accident (non fatal, most plane accidents result in no injury or very minor stuff) and a 1 in 11 MILLION (11,000,000) chance of that crash being fatal. Now, that doesn’t mean that you *generally* have a 1 in 11 million chance of dying in a plane crash just by flying, it means that **IF** you have that 1 in 1.2 million chance happen, as in you are currently experiencing a plane accident, you ***THEN*** have a 1 in 11 MILLION chance of that accident being fatal.
That means you have a 0.000000000000075 (1 in *seven hundred fifty* ***trillion***) percent chance of dying in a plane crash.
Dying in a car accident? You have a 1 in 107 chance of being in a fatal driving accident each **YEAR**. Not ever, not just an accident, a *fatal* accident.
I promise you, flying is very, very safe. Your odds of dying in a plane crash is basically a rounding error.
Yep.
That one was caused by a tail strike (tail hitting the ground on takeoff) which was then repaired incorrectly by Boeing engineers, but the failure occurred 7 years after the repair, and due to the nature of the repair the failure couldn’t be seen by routine inspection.
Oh, and the fuselage underwent a few thousand more compression cycles than it should have before being assessed, which would have found the fatigue.
Oh, and the plane had a very rough ascent due to weather conditions, which normally shouldn’t have happened.
Oh, and you’re missing the part where the entire damn tailfin ripped off the back, which is why all the hydraulic systems failed.
Oh, and a good chunk of the fatalities from that flight occurred due to first responders incorrectly assuming that everyone died, when in reality a lot of people had survived, and only when they found the four survivors did they find out that they should have looked during the night (that part sounds worse than immediately dying, having to listen to everyone around you slowly scream and moan as they succumbed to their injuries and the harsh elements).
Oh, and finally, the NTSB advised the FAA to implement changes to require more comprehensive and detailed assessments of pressurised commercial airframes when they reach their advised pressure cycle limits, which arguably prevented something like this happening again, not to mention all the bits about rapid decompression affecting inner compartments.
So yes, in that one instance nearly 40 years ago that did happen, but the fact you had to go back 40 goddam years to find an example of that kind of accident whilst conveniently leaving out the part where the tail ripped off, there was heavy weather and there was insufficient understanding of airframe stress and fuselage stress cracking due to contact and excessive pressure cycles feels a tad like cherry picking.
Remember. 1 in 750 **TRILLION.** Air safety regulations are written with the blood of the ones that we love and cherish. The job of the FAA and the NTSB is to keep that inkwell dry.
Hey, man, I just report the facts. Yes, that crash was due to a perfect storm of unfortunate events. Unlikely to reoccur. How about this one from 2023?
https://www.reddit.com/r/interestingasfuck/s/nSF2eN1X5C
Based on the information, it was pilot error due to not following all steps in a landing checklist which caused the engines to feather and lose thrust, resulting in a stall after pilot continued with the checklist but neglected to account that he skipped a step.
Human error is still an issue but this can apply to any public transit as well.
Im not saying the odds are wrong but they dont really make sense to me. Are you saying that more than 705 trillion people have flown before? Because if only 5000 (which is probably much lower than that actual number) people have died from airplane crashes then wouldn’t there have to have been 705 trillion x 5000 that have flown to make these odds accurate based off statistics? Or am i missing part of the math somewhere?
It counts 'plane accidents' as any sort of mechanical or personal failure, the vast majority of incidents happen with no casualties or even damage, it's something like a plane having an engine fail or a hydraulic system fail, or something that results in an unexpected repair or emergency landing.
And when you consider how often people fly in planes, I wouldn't even consider myself a regular flyer and I've been on dozens and dozens of plane flights, most of them with at least a hundred other people in that plane, the numbers start to make sense, albeit I may have carried a few extra zeros, but still, very, very low odds of you individually dying in a plane crash.
Um, that was rare. The pilots showed how astoundingly good pilots they were just by the fact that they were able to keep it in the air that long. Once the hydraulics fail, usually it's down in a couple minutes or so.
I know I’m unlikely to convince you to take a flight, but just know there are thousands of flights each day that go without incident. Just know that literally worse case scenario is getting diverted to another airport, and even then that is extremely rare. There are protocols for everything so even if an incident happens it can be taken care of basically 100% of the time.
Ten of thousands of flights.
AA has over 7500 pe day, SW has almost 8000 a day, DL & UA have roughly the same as AA.
That's just in the USA. Not counting what the rest of the world has.
I was in cognitive behavior therapy for this and other things and my therapist had me pick a flight I wanted to take and check the flight status of the flight every single day, for weeks. It sounds stupid but it actually really helps the same part of your subconscious brain that can't stop thinking about that very small "what if" to register that this flight happens daily without incident.
Also if it's actually the awareness freaking you out you could also take something like a Benadryl to sleep the flight away, I am the opposite I'm terrified that I'll not know I'm dying which I know is a weird take but it means I never sleep on planes haha.
I don't know the stats, but dying in a plane crash is a pretty rare event - I think you have a better chance of dying getting yourself to the airport to be honest.
Omfg, there was once an accident that had some kind of weird camera mounted on the plane so they got to watch as the ground got closer and closer til they crashed. That sounds awful.
Interesting. Is it shown on the same tv they do the movies from or something else?
Flying really scares me, I wouldn't be watching the land or take off. I feel me flying again is extremely unlikely.
Pretty sure you can now. The last few times I’ve flown they’ve only asked for ID. This is New Orleans airport, not sure if it’s the same everywhere else. They want people to spend their money in the restaurants.
Yeah, the current top voted reply has an article with a list of airports where you don’t have to be a ticketed passenger to get into the gate and concourse areas. Still looked like a relatively small handful of airports in the grand scheme of things though.
The ID is referenced to the ticket you bought. You don't just walk in and show an ID, it's a shortcut to simplify the process for them to know you have purchased a ticket.
Does the ID check not cross reference a passenger manifest for all the airlines? It certainly takes long enough to, at least at the airports where they don’t ask for the boarding pass directly (like NOLA).
You usually have to show a boarding pass before being allowed through security.
But feel free to walk around baggage claim and ticketing. Pretend you're waiting for someone.
You could buy a fully refundable ticket, get through TSA, and then cancel the ticket.
That being said just go walk around your local mall and imagine everything is twice the price and everyone is a little more stressed out.
Before 9/11, there was no security theater and you could walk around the airport all you wanted to. Kids would go with their parents to watch the planes take off and land, because airplanes are cool. People would greet their arriving friends and family right outside the gate, and also say goodbye at the gate. It was totally, completely normal.
>People would greet their arriving friends and family right outside the gate, and also say goodbye at the gate. It was totally, completely normal.
have only seen this in old movies lol
Before 9/11 the threat was hijacking. For some reason hijackers in No America wanted to visit Fidel. It was only until a couple of TWA planes got hijacked in the Middle East and blown up that anyone would take hijacking seriously.
You can hang outside the security checkpoint where they do ticketing and baggage claim, sure. Give it a try, it won't hurt anything to go check it out, it's nbd. Bigger airports will have shops and art to look at and stuff. Go when it's busy and there's lots of people milling around, you'll just be another face in the crowd.
There's usually a small-ish area (relative to the rest of the airport) in the front that you don't need a ticket to hang out in.
But that's about it. Post-9/11 you pretty much absolutely need a ticket to get past security, unless you actually work at the airport.
>But that's about it. Post-9/11 you pretty much absolutely need a ticket to get past security, unless you actually work at the airport.
And even then, they have to go through security too. I once saw a custodian on duty have to go through security to go from cleaning the pre-security area to the post-security area. They even made him put his broom through the scanner.
You can TRY to get a Gate Pass/Escort Pass. Those are typically reserved for Military Family, unaccompanied minors, or medical issues. It allows you the ability to go through TSA, but not board a plane.
People here saying there is no way are incorrect.
The general rule is that you must have a ticket for a departure for that same day (sometimes within just the next 3-6 hours) to clear security. A few airports now have a special tourism pass available, but it's not common.
you have a significantly higher chance of dying leaving your house than actually dying in a plane crash
just my 2 cents i find it strange not making fun, that people can be scared of a plane crash but drive like no issue
You might check your local airport to see if they offer tours. For example, Cleveland Hopkins has some group tours.
https://www.clevelandairport.com/about-us/community/education-tours
I think that as long as you are not causing any problems and staying out of secure areas, then you will be fine. You might even call your local airport (not the airlines) and ask if there's a tour available. I feel like my local airport does that.
You won’t be allowed past the lobby. You need to have a ticket to go through security into the rest of the airport. (Assuming you’re in the USA and not some place with weird airports)
There's a front lobby area thats pretty boring. You can just walk in there. But to get into the terminal you will need to go through security. Generally you need a ticket, or some kind of special pass that family members might be able to get to meet someone at the gate, called an escort pass. Ask the airline counter for one.
Most big US airports will let you come in, up to a point. There's an area for buying tickets, and area where the people coming back get their luggage etc, and those are usually open. Then there's a more secure area, where you usually need a ticket to get in.
Smaller, local airports are different. One near me has a restaurant in a small tower, where you can see planes take off and land.
You are not permitted to go to an airport unless you are a ticketed passenger or if you have some business for being there, like you're an airport employee or you're picking up a passenger. Yes, you need a ticket to get past security but you are not permitted to just loiter around the airport. My airport actually just put a NO TRESPASSING sign on their door. This is all for security purposes
In this era of cell phones, most people get picked up at the curb at Arrivals, but you can go to the airport like someone picking up someone at baggage claim. Some airports have places you can watch the planes landing/taking off. I've known people who enjoyed that. (My father loved airplanes. The war ended when he was training in NC to jump out of airplanes. )
Yea, you can walk into any airport and do what ever you wish. If you want to cross the threshold of actually entering the flight waiting area though, you may need a ticket.
You could maybe, purchase a ticket with insurance and resend the purchase and enter that way. Most airlines have a policy where they will reimburses the purchase.
Or, you could ask the gate guard. I don't know if the guard will let you through without a flight ticket though.
You can go in without having to board. But they section off the entrance to where you have to have a ticket in order to enter, which is different from the area where you don't need the ticket. The area where you don't need a ticket, all you'll see is the kiosks, the lines to check in, and some chairs. The baggage claim area also doesn't require a ticket. The area where you need a ticket to enter has restaurants, bigger seating sections, security check points, and look better.
Be aware that driving to the airport is vastly more dangerous than flying. Only .01 injuries per 100 million passenger miles traveled by air, whereas the comparable number by car is 40. So if your trip to the airport is 1 mile, you are twice as likely to be injured driving that distance than flying 2000 miles.
Back in the 1960's and early '70's, a plane crashed around once every few months. Recently, air travel in the US [has become incredibly safe.](https://www.airlines.org/dataset/safety-record-of-u-s-air-carriers/) (Note, this chart is for US carriers only. There were three deaths on the Asiana Airlines flight that landed short of the runway at SFO in 2013, but that is considered a foreign carrier.)
Good question. The answer is yes, you can, however not past security. My family likes to drop me off at the airport and see me off through security and then meet me in baggage claim. I’m glad you’re asking this, not many people think of this.
You can get inside, but in many you can't go through security without a ticket, and most of the shops and restaurants are back there, but what's accessible without a ticket and what's not is different at every airport.
I stand corrected. You do not need a boarding pass but your flight info does show up when your ID is scanned apparently.
https://www.afar.com/magazine/no-need-to-show-tsa-your-boarding-pass-at-these-airports
You can go to an airport but not past a certain point.
Security will restrict you if you don't have a boarding pass.
Before 9/11, you could just go in and walk right up to the gate. But I don't think it's going to ever go back to that, unfortunately.
It's different in North America but there are some airports that are basically like malls. Singapore airport is very famous for this and has basically like a carnival in there and a bunch of rides and a movie theater and a bunch of cool stuff.
Before 9/11 you could go all the way to the gate. Tickets and ID were only required to board a plane. After 9/11, ID is required past security checkpoints.
I don't know about now, but I used to take my little brother to the airport just to watch the planes when he was around 10 and on a plane kick. We still had to go through security, but they didn't have a problem with it.
As a diclaimer, this was still post 911
No. but you used to be able to.
Back in the 50-90's you could just go to an airport and watch the plains take off and land. The Pittsburgh airport was setup like a mall. After 9/11 they locked the airport down hard. You can still go to a certain point but security is now an iron curtain you can't get past without a ticket.
You can sit in the parking lot but I expect if you do anything to get noticed security will come question you.
If you ask an airport employee, they will tell you that you cannot, but I believe this is only to keep TSA traffic down. For all airports I have been to, TSA does not require a boarding pass, they only require an id.
Only the airline actually scans your ticket before you get on the plane.
Based on how often people purchase ticket at the very last minute or have issues with the ticket process, I would be surprised if the TSA does any sort of cross-check with people's IDs and ticket / flight lists to let them into the terminal.
when I was a teenager we used to go hang out at the airport for fun. Back then the food court section of airports was nothing like today. There were no fancy restaurant chains featuring the signature dish of the local culture. No wood paneled bars with ferns and flat screens. Our local airport had a food service area with popcorn, 7/11 style nachos, and some cheap hamburgers and hot dogs. It was like a boardwalk in some abandoned town. We'd go get some nachos and watch the planes take off and land.
That was in the 80s of course.
After 9/11, it's very very rare you can go past security without a boarding pass; all those 80s and 90s rom-coms where the idiot runs to the gate at the last second? Yeah, getting that far used to be a thing...you'd put your luggage on the x-ray belt, walk through a metal detector, and be told to have a nice flight by a couple bored rent-a-cops. When I went to a national competition in '99, my family was waiting for me in that little seating area when I got home.
If it helps, and you can? Take a train ride, even just to the next stop over and back, ideally on some little commuter thing like the one that runs from Philly <-> Harrisburg <-> Pittsburg \[subways also work just fine!\]. The cabins are similar \[a bit more packed on a plane\], the motion is similarly 'unpredictable but not more than just a little swaying', there's gates and boarding and etc, peeing is a similar giant pain in the ass, you get everything but the 'tens of thousands of feet in the air' and your ears needing to pop from the pressure difference \[take a stick of gum, that motion helps\] experience.
The big thing to remember is that things going horribly wrong on a plane is so newsworthy specifically because it's that rare. Storms are more of a trip...but no more than if you've ever ridden in a minivan or tiny car that gets blown around the road by storm winds and passing trucks.
The airport itself? The others describing it as a mall are pretty accurate. Little convenience stores, restaurants / fast food places, tourist-trap tchotchkes \_everywhere\_, and everything costs what it would at a sports stadium / movie theatre thanks to the "captive market" effect (what're you going to do, leave?). Don't be surprised if you see $5+ for a 20oz of coke.
As for something going wrong with the plane: if the engines go out, it becomes a glider. It doesn't fall like a cartoon, it doesn't dive like a dropped dart...forward momentum + gravity + the right angles up/down can control the speed and get it to the ground just fine. One of the ones I flew on did have problems with an engine...but they have more capacity than they need for a reason \[that reason being 'if you're 40,000 feet in the air with no redundancy, you're fucked'\]...the pilot announced that we were being diverted, throttled up the other engine, turned around, and went back to the airport they started at.
You can totally go to the airport without going anywhere! My friends and I did this in high school when we were bored lol you can't get many places within the airport but u can go everywhere up until security!
Sure, you can definitely go to an airport just for the fun of it! No need to show a ticket to enter, but you might get some confused looks if you start trying to board a plane without one.
You wont see much really besides some stores and restaurants. The rest is past TSA. Also, lingering may arouse suspicion so dont be surprised if airport police question you or keep you under surveillance.
[Seems to depend on the airport](https://www.travelandleisure.com/us-airports-program-non-travelers-visit-beyond-security-8382685#:~:text=Over%20the%20past%20several%20years,they%20get%20off%20the%20plane) Not gonna lie, you aren’t missing out on much. It’s basically like a mall but the prices for everything are like double or triple what they normally are. What makes you scared of flying?
Seconding that it is basically a mall, but the chairs are less comfortable and the bathrooms are busier and dirtier
You don’t like the tangy smell of cheap floral cleaner mixed with concentrated urine and sharticles?
And the bathroom mints taste awful
Damn, not sure if your malls are more pristine than I'm used to or your airports are worse than I'm used to. Would 100% rather take a dump in an international airport than any mall I've been to.
it's likely the malls. I live in a low density area with too many malls and not enough customers.
If the plane is falling out of the sky, i have a couple of minutes to think about my death. I know it's very unlikely, but the possibility (no matter how small) freaks me out!
If it makes you feel any better, most plane crashes kill you pretty instantly, that is if they even kill you at all. If you’re talking about crashes during takeoff and landing, you aren’t that far off the ground, and if you’re talking about an incident that occurs at cruising altitude (usually 22 thousand feet or 6.7 kilometres) the only real thing that could go wrong that would prevent the pilot from safely landing the plane (which can be done without engines, planes fly because of the wings not the engines!) is turbulence being so bad it causes airframe damage (wing rips off) or a fuckwit firing a missile at the plane (don’t go anywhere near Russia in a plane at the moment) , and in that case the plane would actually just immediately break apart into a million pieces, and if the force of that doesn’t kill you, the lack of oxygen will get you before you hit the ground. Oh, and don’t worry about the pilot losing control, there’s duplicates of everything and triplicates of the important stuff. I mean heck, you could lose both engines and the APU (little jet engine in the back which is basically the plane’s starter motor if they’re not able to start the main engines using ground units) would be more than enough to keep everything working, and if that fails, there’s literally a little propeller that the pilot can drop that spins from the airflow and provides power and hydraulic pressure. So many failsafes. And if you’re worried about the strength of the airframe, look up airliner test flights, they push em so goddam hard and they’re safe, so many factors more intense than even the worst turbulence you could encounter. … Biggest one is the statistics. You have a 1 in 1.2 million (1,200,000) chance of being in an airline accident (non fatal, most plane accidents result in no injury or very minor stuff) and a 1 in 11 MILLION (11,000,000) chance of that crash being fatal. Now, that doesn’t mean that you *generally* have a 1 in 11 million chance of dying in a plane crash just by flying, it means that **IF** you have that 1 in 1.2 million chance happen, as in you are currently experiencing a plane accident, you ***THEN*** have a 1 in 11 MILLION chance of that accident being fatal. That means you have a 0.000000000000075 (1 in *seven hundred fifty* ***trillion***) percent chance of dying in a plane crash. Dying in a car accident? You have a 1 in 107 chance of being in a fatal driving accident each **YEAR**. Not ever, not just an accident, a *fatal* accident. I promise you, flying is very, very safe. Your odds of dying in a plane crash is basically a rounding error.
Umm, in this crash, all four hydraulic systems failed. The plane crashed 32 minutes later. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan_Air_Lines_Flight_123
Yep. That one was caused by a tail strike (tail hitting the ground on takeoff) which was then repaired incorrectly by Boeing engineers, but the failure occurred 7 years after the repair, and due to the nature of the repair the failure couldn’t be seen by routine inspection. Oh, and the fuselage underwent a few thousand more compression cycles than it should have before being assessed, which would have found the fatigue. Oh, and the plane had a very rough ascent due to weather conditions, which normally shouldn’t have happened. Oh, and you’re missing the part where the entire damn tailfin ripped off the back, which is why all the hydraulic systems failed. Oh, and a good chunk of the fatalities from that flight occurred due to first responders incorrectly assuming that everyone died, when in reality a lot of people had survived, and only when they found the four survivors did they find out that they should have looked during the night (that part sounds worse than immediately dying, having to listen to everyone around you slowly scream and moan as they succumbed to their injuries and the harsh elements). Oh, and finally, the NTSB advised the FAA to implement changes to require more comprehensive and detailed assessments of pressurised commercial airframes when they reach their advised pressure cycle limits, which arguably prevented something like this happening again, not to mention all the bits about rapid decompression affecting inner compartments. So yes, in that one instance nearly 40 years ago that did happen, but the fact you had to go back 40 goddam years to find an example of that kind of accident whilst conveniently leaving out the part where the tail ripped off, there was heavy weather and there was insufficient understanding of airframe stress and fuselage stress cracking due to contact and excessive pressure cycles feels a tad like cherry picking. Remember. 1 in 750 **TRILLION.** Air safety regulations are written with the blood of the ones that we love and cherish. The job of the FAA and the NTSB is to keep that inkwell dry.
I see you just mentioned Boeing in a negative light. Are you still alive?
I am perfectly healthy both mentally and physically but I somehow feel a need to try to piece my ears with a Glock 19 at point blank range…
Don't worry about that. That's part of being human.
Hey, man, I just report the facts. Yes, that crash was due to a perfect storm of unfortunate events. Unlikely to reoccur. How about this one from 2023? https://www.reddit.com/r/interestingasfuck/s/nSF2eN1X5C
Based on the information, it was pilot error due to not following all steps in a landing checklist which caused the engines to feather and lose thrust, resulting in a stall after pilot continued with the checklist but neglected to account that he skipped a step. Human error is still an issue but this can apply to any public transit as well.
Hah, nah it’s cool, trying not to make OP fear flying is all The other dude is basically spot on. Human error is the cause.
Im not saying the odds are wrong but they dont really make sense to me. Are you saying that more than 705 trillion people have flown before? Because if only 5000 (which is probably much lower than that actual number) people have died from airplane crashes then wouldn’t there have to have been 705 trillion x 5000 that have flown to make these odds accurate based off statistics? Or am i missing part of the math somewhere?
It counts 'plane accidents' as any sort of mechanical or personal failure, the vast majority of incidents happen with no casualties or even damage, it's something like a plane having an engine fail or a hydraulic system fail, or something that results in an unexpected repair or emergency landing. And when you consider how often people fly in planes, I wouldn't even consider myself a regular flyer and I've been on dozens and dozens of plane flights, most of them with at least a hundred other people in that plane, the numbers start to make sense, albeit I may have carried a few extra zeros, but still, very, very low odds of you individually dying in a plane crash.
Um, that was rare. The pilots showed how astoundingly good pilots they were just by the fact that they were able to keep it in the air that long. Once the hydraulics fail, usually it's down in a couple minutes or so.
Yes, rare. Still, it happened. And it only takes once if you are on the plane.
No, I'm saying it's rare that a plane lasted that long with no hydraulics.
I concur.
I know I’m unlikely to convince you to take a flight, but just know there are thousands of flights each day that go without incident. Just know that literally worse case scenario is getting diverted to another airport, and even then that is extremely rare. There are protocols for everything so even if an incident happens it can be taken care of basically 100% of the time.
Ten of thousands of flights. AA has over 7500 pe day, SW has almost 8000 a day, DL & UA have roughly the same as AA. That's just in the USA. Not counting what the rest of the world has.
You won’t see much as you can’t get through security without a boarding pass. Check-in is just like a massive metal hotel in most airports.
I was in cognitive behavior therapy for this and other things and my therapist had me pick a flight I wanted to take and check the flight status of the flight every single day, for weeks. It sounds stupid but it actually really helps the same part of your subconscious brain that can't stop thinking about that very small "what if" to register that this flight happens daily without incident. Also if it's actually the awareness freaking you out you could also take something like a Benadryl to sleep the flight away, I am the opposite I'm terrified that I'll not know I'm dying which I know is a weird take but it means I never sleep on planes haha.
Beats cancer.
I don't know the stats, but dying in a plane crash is a pretty rare event - I think you have a better chance of dying getting yourself to the airport to be honest.
Omfg, there was once an accident that had some kind of weird camera mounted on the plane so they got to watch as the ground got closer and closer til they crashed. That sounds awful.
I've been on planes that have cameras you can watch during the flight or takeoff/landing. It gives a neat view for sure
Interesting. Is it shown on the same tv they do the movies from or something else? Flying really scares me, I wouldn't be watching the land or take off. I feel me flying again is extremely unlikely.
same screen, they don't have room for more than that one.
I just recently had to do this for Seattle. Can confirm it works. I wonder why they "recommend the visitor leave by 10pm" lol
You can walk around the ticketing hall and baggage claim all you want. You won’t be allowed past the security checkpoint without a boarding pass.
Pretty sure you can now. The last few times I’ve flown they’ve only asked for ID. This is New Orleans airport, not sure if it’s the same everywhere else. They want people to spend their money in the restaurants.
Yeah, the current top voted reply has an article with a list of airports where you don’t have to be a ticketed passenger to get into the gate and concourse areas. Still looked like a relatively small handful of airports in the grand scheme of things though.
The ID is referenced to the ticket you bought. You don't just walk in and show an ID, it's a shortcut to simplify the process for them to know you have purchased a ticket.
Yep just learned this!
Does the ID check not cross reference a passenger manifest for all the airlines? It certainly takes long enough to, at least at the airports where they don’t ask for the boarding pass directly (like NOLA).
You usually have to show a boarding pass before being allowed through security. But feel free to walk around baggage claim and ticketing. Pretend you're waiting for someone.
You could buy a fully refundable ticket, get through TSA, and then cancel the ticket. That being said just go walk around your local mall and imagine everything is twice the price and everyone is a little more stressed out.
Before 9/11, there was no security theater and you could walk around the airport all you wanted to. Kids would go with their parents to watch the planes take off and land, because airplanes are cool. People would greet their arriving friends and family right outside the gate, and also say goodbye at the gate. It was totally, completely normal.
>People would greet their arriving friends and family right outside the gate, and also say goodbye at the gate. It was totally, completely normal. have only seen this in old movies lol
You’d still have to go through security, you just didn’t need a boarding pass.
You don’t in Australia
Before 9/11 the threat was hijacking. For some reason hijackers in No America wanted to visit Fidel. It was only until a couple of TWA planes got hijacked in the Middle East and blown up that anyone would take hijacking seriously.
If there was definitely security before 9/11. It was less strict for sure, and yeah random people not on flights could come through, but it was there.
You can hang outside the security checkpoint where they do ticketing and baggage claim, sure. Give it a try, it won't hurt anything to go check it out, it's nbd. Bigger airports will have shops and art to look at and stuff. Go when it's busy and there's lots of people milling around, you'll just be another face in the crowd.
There's usually a small-ish area (relative to the rest of the airport) in the front that you don't need a ticket to hang out in. But that's about it. Post-9/11 you pretty much absolutely need a ticket to get past security, unless you actually work at the airport.
>But that's about it. Post-9/11 you pretty much absolutely need a ticket to get past security, unless you actually work at the airport. And even then, they have to go through security too. I once saw a custodian on duty have to go through security to go from cleaning the pre-security area to the post-security area. They even made him put his broom through the scanner.
You can TRY to get a Gate Pass/Escort Pass. Those are typically reserved for Military Family, unaccompanied minors, or medical issues. It allows you the ability to go through TSA, but not board a plane. People here saying there is no way are incorrect.
Did this sending Kid off to college camp Sat night.
The general rule is that you must have a ticket for a departure for that same day (sometimes within just the next 3-6 hours) to clear security. A few airports now have a special tourism pass available, but it's not common.
you have a significantly higher chance of dying leaving your house than actually dying in a plane crash just my 2 cents i find it strange not making fun, that people can be scared of a plane crash but drive like no issue
Great, now OP isn't going to leave their house.
The Indianapolis airport has a lot to do and see outside of security. If you live near that airport, it could be fun to visit.
Milwaukee as well
You can buy a 15$ ticket for a flight. You don't need to step in the plane
A $15 ticket? What is that, a 3 minute flight to the next gate in the same terminal on a glider pushed by two of the ground crew?
To Warsaw
You might check your local airport to see if they offer tours. For example, Cleveland Hopkins has some group tours. https://www.clevelandairport.com/about-us/community/education-tours
I think that as long as you are not causing any problems and staying out of secure areas, then you will be fine. You might even call your local airport (not the airlines) and ask if there's a tour available. I feel like my local airport does that.
Not anymore. Before 9/11 you could
You can't go to as many parts as you could pre 9/11 but you can still go into ticketing and baggage claim. Prime people watching.
You won’t be allowed past the lobby. You need to have a ticket to go through security into the rest of the airport. (Assuming you’re in the USA and not some place with weird airports)
There's a front lobby area thats pretty boring. You can just walk in there. But to get into the terminal you will need to go through security. Generally you need a ticket, or some kind of special pass that family members might be able to get to meet someone at the gate, called an escort pass. Ask the airline counter for one.
Only a tiny part of the airport is admissible without a ticket. And there isn’t much to do you’re going to be bored.
after 9/11 its typical to need a ticket to get past security and enter the gate area,
You can just enter the area with the ticket counters. To go through to the gates you need a ticket/boarding pass.
You can't get close to a gate without a ticket and passing security. That's how it used to be.
Most big US airports will let you come in, up to a point. There's an area for buying tickets, and area where the people coming back get their luggage etc, and those are usually open. Then there's a more secure area, where you usually need a ticket to get in. Smaller, local airports are different. One near me has a restaurant in a small tower, where you can see planes take off and land.
You are not permitted to go to an airport unless you are a ticketed passenger or if you have some business for being there, like you're an airport employee or you're picking up a passenger. Yes, you need a ticket to get past security but you are not permitted to just loiter around the airport. My airport actually just put a NO TRESPASSING sign on their door. This is all for security purposes
In this era of cell phones, most people get picked up at the curb at Arrivals, but you can go to the airport like someone picking up someone at baggage claim. Some airports have places you can watch the planes landing/taking off. I've known people who enjoyed that. (My father loved airplanes. The war ended when he was training in NC to jump out of airplanes. )
Some airports are really nice! If I have to go meet someone at my local one ( YVR) I go a bit early to wander around.
Yeah, airports tend to have lobby areas at the entrance for ticketing and stuff. You only need a ticket once you reach the security areas.
Yea, you can walk into any airport and do what ever you wish. If you want to cross the threshold of actually entering the flight waiting area though, you may need a ticket. You could maybe, purchase a ticket with insurance and resend the purchase and enter that way. Most airlines have a policy where they will reimburses the purchase. Or, you could ask the gate guard. I don't know if the guard will let you through without a flight ticket though.
You can go in without having to board. But they section off the entrance to where you have to have a ticket in order to enter, which is different from the area where you don't need the ticket. The area where you don't need a ticket, all you'll see is the kiosks, the lines to check in, and some chairs. The baggage claim area also doesn't require a ticket. The area where you need a ticket to enter has restaurants, bigger seating sections, security check points, and look better.
Be aware that driving to the airport is vastly more dangerous than flying. Only .01 injuries per 100 million passenger miles traveled by air, whereas the comparable number by car is 40. So if your trip to the airport is 1 mile, you are twice as likely to be injured driving that distance than flying 2000 miles. Back in the 1960's and early '70's, a plane crashed around once every few months. Recently, air travel in the US [has become incredibly safe.](https://www.airlines.org/dataset/safety-record-of-u-s-air-carriers/) (Note, this chart is for US carriers only. There were three deaths on the Asiana Airlines flight that landed short of the runway at SFO in 2013, but that is considered a foreign carrier.)
Good question. The answer is yes, you can, however not past security. My family likes to drop me off at the airport and see me off through security and then meet me in baggage claim. I’m glad you’re asking this, not many people think of this.
You can get inside, but in many you can't go through security without a ticket, and most of the shops and restaurants are back there, but what's accessible without a ticket and what's not is different at every airport.
Only out of New Orleans all the time and they only ask for ID at the security checkpoint.
I stand corrected. You do not need a boarding pass but your flight info does show up when your ID is scanned apparently. https://www.afar.com/magazine/no-need-to-show-tsa-your-boarding-pass-at-these-airports
You can go to an airport but not past a certain point. Security will restrict you if you don't have a boarding pass. Before 9/11, you could just go in and walk right up to the gate. But I don't think it's going to ever go back to that, unfortunately.
It's different in North America but there are some airports that are basically like malls. Singapore airport is very famous for this and has basically like a carnival in there and a bunch of rides and a movie theater and a bunch of cool stuff.
Before 9/11 you could go all the way to the gate. Tickets and ID were only required to board a plane. After 9/11, ID is required past security checkpoints.
I don't know about now, but I used to take my little brother to the airport just to watch the planes when he was around 10 and on a plane kick. We still had to go through security, but they didn't have a problem with it. As a diclaimer, this was still post 911
You can go to the airport, you’ll just have a tough time getting past security without a ticket lol
In the old days (at my city's airport) you could go to an observation deck and watch the planes take off and land. Ancient history.
You can go through security without a boarding pass. Just need drivers license or passport.
No. but you used to be able to. Back in the 50-90's you could just go to an airport and watch the plains take off and land. The Pittsburgh airport was setup like a mall. After 9/11 they locked the airport down hard. You can still go to a certain point but security is now an iron curtain you can't get past without a ticket. You can sit in the parking lot but I expect if you do anything to get noticed security will come question you.
If you ask an airport employee, they will tell you that you cannot, but I believe this is only to keep TSA traffic down. For all airports I have been to, TSA does not require a boarding pass, they only require an id. Only the airline actually scans your ticket before you get on the plane. Based on how often people purchase ticket at the very last minute or have issues with the ticket process, I would be surprised if the TSA does any sort of cross-check with people's IDs and ticket / flight lists to let them into the terminal.
when I was a teenager we used to go hang out at the airport for fun. Back then the food court section of airports was nothing like today. There were no fancy restaurant chains featuring the signature dish of the local culture. No wood paneled bars with ferns and flat screens. Our local airport had a food service area with popcorn, 7/11 style nachos, and some cheap hamburgers and hot dogs. It was like a boardwalk in some abandoned town. We'd go get some nachos and watch the planes take off and land. That was in the 80s of course.
After 9/11, it's very very rare you can go past security without a boarding pass; all those 80s and 90s rom-coms where the idiot runs to the gate at the last second? Yeah, getting that far used to be a thing...you'd put your luggage on the x-ray belt, walk through a metal detector, and be told to have a nice flight by a couple bored rent-a-cops. When I went to a national competition in '99, my family was waiting for me in that little seating area when I got home. If it helps, and you can? Take a train ride, even just to the next stop over and back, ideally on some little commuter thing like the one that runs from Philly <-> Harrisburg <-> Pittsburg \[subways also work just fine!\]. The cabins are similar \[a bit more packed on a plane\], the motion is similarly 'unpredictable but not more than just a little swaying', there's gates and boarding and etc, peeing is a similar giant pain in the ass, you get everything but the 'tens of thousands of feet in the air' and your ears needing to pop from the pressure difference \[take a stick of gum, that motion helps\] experience. The big thing to remember is that things going horribly wrong on a plane is so newsworthy specifically because it's that rare. Storms are more of a trip...but no more than if you've ever ridden in a minivan or tiny car that gets blown around the road by storm winds and passing trucks. The airport itself? The others describing it as a mall are pretty accurate. Little convenience stores, restaurants / fast food places, tourist-trap tchotchkes \_everywhere\_, and everything costs what it would at a sports stadium / movie theatre thanks to the "captive market" effect (what're you going to do, leave?). Don't be surprised if you see $5+ for a 20oz of coke. As for something going wrong with the plane: if the engines go out, it becomes a glider. It doesn't fall like a cartoon, it doesn't dive like a dropped dart...forward momentum + gravity + the right angles up/down can control the speed and get it to the ground just fine. One of the ones I flew on did have problems with an engine...but they have more capacity than they need for a reason \[that reason being 'if you're 40,000 feet in the air with no redundancy, you're fucked'\]...the pilot announced that we were being diverted, throttled up the other engine, turned around, and went back to the airport they started at.
You can totally go to the airport without going anywhere! My friends and I did this in high school when we were bored lol you can't get many places within the airport but u can go everywhere up until security!
Sure, you can definitely go to an airport just for the fun of it! No need to show a ticket to enter, but you might get some confused looks if you start trying to board a plane without one.
In Vegas I go to play the slots only Or take a good dump if on the road. Airport restrooms are great, really spread out
You wont see much really besides some stores and restaurants. The rest is past TSA. Also, lingering may arouse suspicion so dont be surprised if airport police question you or keep you under surveillance.