In addition to the infrastructural challenges of American airports, there are problems associated with the prevailing hub-and-spoke model, in which passengers from smaller airports reach their final destination via hubs such as Atlanta, Chicago or Denver. Bad weather then spreads throughout the system causing hundreds or thousands of delayed or canceled flights. Although this model emerged after airlines were deregulated in 1978, it has evolved successfully in the years since September 11, Safdie said.
“The worst part is being at an American airport when bad weather delays flights,” he said. Almost a quarter of flights in the US were delayed this summer.
There are ways to avoid the worst of the flight system, like signing up for TSA PreCheck, a trusted Transportation Security Administration program that speeds up the airport security process. The PreCheck website sums up its value: Trustworthy travelers “Experience a smoother screening process – no need to take off shoes, belts, 3-1-1 fluids, laptops or light jackets. “ In March 2020 PreCheck had 10 million members. Other programs include Sentri (for the US-Mexico border), Global Entry (for international passengers), NEXUS (for the US-Canada border), and Clear (a non-government option). For those who combine their trusted traveler status with membership in airport lounges and business or first class seats, the flight experience can be very different. Sometimes even pleasant.
Membership has its privileges, as the saying goes, but it also requires money and a willingness for governments to intervene in your personal life. For the lucky ones, the flight experience can sometimes look like it used to be. For most, however, it’s a drudgery, something to endure. Some travelers have it worse because of their religious beliefs or the color of their skin. Security and customs controls, or checks by flight attendants, can be stressfulTravel while Muslim” or “fly while brown”- Profiling based on skin color or religion.
It can be hard to remember, but at one point flying was seen as part of a vacation, not just a means of getting there. Emily Thomas, professor of philosophy at Durham University in England and author of The Meaning of Travel: Philosophers Abroad, remembered sitting in the cockpit of airplanes while they were flying as a child in the late 1980s. “It felt pretty magical; this dark cabin full of lights, “she said, remembering the” inner thrill of standing in a cockpit and seeing clouds below you and thinking, my God, there is a person here who makes sure that this metal can does not get through the clouds are falling ”.“ That is impossible today.
