Many of us saw unusual and even antisocial behavior at an airport or flight. These may range from benign actions such as sleeping on the floor or yoga in front of the flight information system to flight information Serious incidents As early in the morning drunk arguments Or even trying to open the doors of the plane in the middle of the flight.
These most threatening problems seem to have deteriorated in recent years, with the increase in incidents of rage and diversion of flights. These incidents have led to calls to reduce or even ban alcohol from airports and airports. Ryanair, for example, has called For a two -beverage limit at an airport bar to stop drunk incidents on airplanes.
But what are the airports that make us behave differently? Let’s take a look at psychology.
Many holidaymakers feel that the adventure begins at the airport, placing them in a different context of mind in normal. They are willing to start one or two weeks of loose hedonism with a flourishing.
Others, however, are anxious for the flight, which can make them act out of character or resort to alcohol. The noise and crowds of airports do not help either. As a field of environmental psychology It has proven that human beings are very sensitive to our immediate environment and can easily be “overloaded” by stressors such as crowds and noise.
Stress and stress produce irritability, both on a temporary and on a continuous basis. People who are generally anxious are more prone to anger. And a temporary restless mood often causes angry bursts.
In my opinion, we should also consider the airport from a psychogeographical point of view. Psychogeography studies the effect of positions on people’s emotions and behavior, especially urban environments.
In Celtic cultures, there is a concept of special “thin places” – often sacred olive groves or forests – where the veil between the material and the spiritual world is thin. In thin partsWe are between two fields, neither fully in one place nor else.
In the modern technological world, airports can also be regarded as “thin parts”. They are liminal zones where the boundaries fade. On a literal level, national borders are dissolved. Once we get through Security, we enter a man’s land between countries. The concept of place becomes cloudy.
Similarly, time becomes a cloudy concept at airports. On a plane, we are in a liminal space between two time zones, to jump forward in time, or even to return to the past. Some flights to the US – such as Atlanta to Alabama – land earlier than departure time as they cross the time zones. Be able to manage our time gives us a sense of control over our lives. Loss of this can be another source of anxiety.
In another sense, airports are a zone of absence, where the present moment is unwanted. Everyone’s attention is focused on the future, their flights and adventures in front of them when they reach their destination. This intense future focus often brings frustration, especially if flights are delayed.
Personal boundaries also become fluid. In addition to antisocial behavior, airports can accommodate pre-social behavior, where foreigners share their trips and holiday plans, speaking with unusual intimacy. In no land of man, normal social suspensions apply. And alcohol can further lubricate this social cohesion.
Chase
Due to the pregnancy of time and place, the airports create a sense of disorientation. We define ourselves in terms of time and place. We know who we are in relation to our daily habits and our well -known environments. We also define ourselves in terms of nationality. Without such indicators, we may feel Adrift. Either caused by psychological or environmental factors, even if it is only temporary, Disorientation may have harmful effects.
Liberating results
On the SYN side, all of this may have a liberating effect for some of us. As I point out in my book Time expansion experiencesWe usually see time as an enemy who steals the moments of our lives and oppresses us with deadlines. So, to get out of time sometimes feels like leaving out of prison.
The same is true of identity. A sense of identity It is important for our psychological healthBut it can be restrictive. Like the actors who have stuck playing the same character in a week of soap after a week, we enjoy the safety of our roles, but long to try and stretch ourselves with new challenges. So, in order to get out of our normal routines and environments it feels refreshing. Ideally, the freedom that begins at the airport continues in all our foreign adventures.
After all, if we feel anxious or liberated, we may end up acting out of character.
According to the theories of psychologist Sigmund Freud, this could be interpreted as a shift from our normal civilized ego to the primitive, instinctive part of the soul, which Freud called identity. According to FreudIdentity is the place of our desires and guides, our emotion and aggression, and requires immediate satisfaction. The ID is usually kept under control by the ego, but it is always likely to break, especially when our suspensions relax from alcohol or drugs.
In addition to normal restrictions, some holidaymakers allow their identity to express themselves as soon as they go through security. And once they become drunk, the ID is completely dominant and can cause chaos.
The ban on alcohol from airports may sound Draconian. But since there are so many factors that encourage antisocial behavior, it is difficult to think of any other solution. In a situation when the boundaries collapse, leading to possible chaos, a legal limit can be the only hope.
