Review: A week at the airport - A Heathrow Diary

Author: Alain de Botton

Genre: Travel literature

A Week at the Airport captivates readers with the fantasy of living in the most charming place in the world as perceiving it as the start of a new journey. Exceedingly eager to get on a plane, meeting with long parting friends and families, no more enduring loneliness throughout the longest public health measurements in the lives of most of us. This 2009 work by Alain De Botton shared the observations which he spent a week at the busiest hub, Terminal 5, situated between the two London's runways exclusively used by British Airways and Iberia. Terminal 5 was opened in 2008, reasonably new at the time to invite for a writer-in-residence, Alain, to offer us a glimpse of the ecological system in one of the busiest airport terminals.

The detailed epitome of the departure level daily had witnessed and analysed by Alain. Specific as the passenger’s bags type and his plane destination, helpless look of him was informed that his plane would sit at the terminal for a further twenty minutes without his rush to get on the plane ultimately. Even the scream of the unreachability compelled him to accept and arranging following events resignedly stand vividly revealed on the paper.

‘The cancellation of a day of meetings in Tokyo, all these pushed the man to bang his fists on the counter and let out a scream so powerful that it could be heard as far away as the WH Smith outlet at the western end of the terminal.’

The commercial comments on the interrelationship of airline counters and the locations of the nearest toilets are wry. It seems like the known secret of society having corporations adorned with messages of friendliness and thoughtfulness and shielding from existential issues. Only Wi-Fi passwords and toilets seem the most significant question through the terminal.

‘Yes, but what might they be feeling lost about?’

‘Oh,’ said the Reverend With a sigh, ‘they are almost always looking for the toilets.’

This book is definitely recommended for those who enjoy small side stories. It was a good read that stories of minor characters from shoe-shiner to the runway cleaner or the considerable figure that’s the CEO of British Airways. Not sure if it’s the poetic photographs or the author had truly brought the hidden parts of the airport to our imagery. The lack of depth or high expectancy between the lines that I can’t tell had made it ends disappointing and frankly weirdly. Although he indicates the assembly line of flight meals visit, perhaps I’m unappreciative, I expected more emotional or alien stories. For instance, the documentary series of daily activity in London Heathrow, Heathrow: Britain's Busiest Airport, has dig up the work interview that rarely would seen namely finding missing passengers, dealing with questionable luggage and wild animals. Note that this series came out in 2015—no blame for more extensive scale and comprehensive analyses and stories being told.

All in all, airport is a micro-city abounding in stories of travellers’ life, if you asked me. Alain’s A week at the airport has revealed a brief but excellent myth of a terminal's humdrum hectic life, which made it a book for all readers, especially airport lovers. 

Catch you on the flip side.