Airport have always intrigued and excited me. Born and raised in Switzerland, I have used them to go visit England, Scotland, Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Czechoslovakia, America, or Canada. I have always remembered it being a pleasant experience, as long as I arrived in plenty of time to go through check-in and security.
To me airports are incredible because you never know who you will meet. It is the nest of all cultures and backgrounds in perpetual mouvement. Of course with the Pandemic this aspect changed radically. Instead of wanting to interact, people avoid each other, with fear or disgust. It is complicated to imagine how only one year ago it didn't exist.
I went to the airport back in June, it was like visiting a ghost town. Everything was closed besides one restaurant which ended up having a 2hours queue...
Travelling from the UK to Switzerland in December it was as if the world had started turning once again. Shops and restaurants were open, however I could feel the tension. It was not as joyful to travel, it was a risk. A permanent risk which everyone had accepted coming to airport.
London Heathrow
But the Pandemic is not the only thing that changed, The UK came out of Europe, and by doing so, International students held their breath not knowing if they could get back into the country.
It brings up another aspect of airports. Visas. Paper. Permissions.
The Art of Identification
Everywhere you go you have to identify yourself using a document, a good thing to avoid any danger, but also intriguing. How many faces do flight attendants, border controls and salesmen see in a minutes?