Waiting around an airport is the worst part of flying (with sardine can–size economy seats a close second). If you’re like me, you head straight for the bar to kill time with a dose of liquid courage. But several airports around the world give flyers more entertaining—and certainly healthier—ways to amuse themselves, like playing video games, enjoying a round of golf, and even getting married. Who knew frequent flying could be fun?
Putt Around in Salt Lake City
Utah is all about golf. The state boasts no fewer than one hundred courses, according to the Salt Lake City International Airport Web site, including “world famous” alpine courses in the Wasatch Mountains. There are twenty-four golf courses in Salt Lake County alone, one of which, the Wingpointe Golf Course, featuring eighteen holes of natural terrain, abuts the airport. Wingpointe is open from sunup to sundown during the season, so it’s time to start measuring layovers by holes, rather than hours.
Get Hitched in Holland
Maybe fear of a plane crash leads to a desire for life-affirming acts, or maybe all the booze flowing in airport bars lowers inhibitions. Whatever the reason, airport weddings are a growing trend in Europe, reports Harriet Baskas, a travel writer for USA Today. In Amsterdam, the Schiphol Airport’s very own wedding planner works to accommodate an average of fifty couples each year who want to tie the knot there. In addition, five hundred couples exchanged vows at the Stockholm-Arlanda Airport in 2007, and England’s Manchester Airport even allows brides and grooms to get hitched inside a parked Concorde airplane.
Just Breathe in Tokyo
All that recirculated air in planes leaves flyers longing for fresh air. In Tokyo, they can get something even better: flavored oxygen. Tokyo Narita Airport features the Juko Oxygen Lounge, a minimalist space where guests serve themselves from tanks that pump exotic flavors of oxygen—eucalyptus-menthol and cinnamon are both popular—into their lungs. Customers can choose between a ten-minute session for 600 yen (US$6) and a twenty-minute session for 1,200 yen (US$12.50). Fans of flavored oxygen argue that it eases headaches, increases alertness, and reduces the effects of jet lag.
Say “Ah” in São Paulo
One of the worst things about long flights is the amount of time you waste shuffling around airports and sitting in airplane cabins. In São Paulo–Guarulhos International Airport, however, you can multitask and cross that dental appointment off your to-do list while you wait to board your plane. Adrien Glover of Travel + Leisure writes that a small team of licensed dental professionals performs a range of services, from basic tooth cleaning and checkups to whitening, inside a “spotless” office and for a “fraction of the cost in the U.S.”
