Airport

I have this complicated feeling toward aviation industry, especially commercial airlines. Seeing them closely, those livery though...

I took my parents to airport yesterday and i felt so giddy. Do you remember when you were a child, you'd be happy when your mom took you grocery shopping? I felt that kind of feeling. I was so happy to see so many aircraft from different airlines but I felt so wrong to be happy. That's not supposed to be a happy occasion because my parents were going to my aunt's funeral and airport is technically not an amusement park like Disney Land (which claimed to be the happiest place on earth) (and airport is not supposed to be that kind of 'happy' place). 'To entertain' is not on airport main function list, right? There are entertainment facilities for the passengers in airport, but those facilities are just complement. And of course, "to see and take photo of aircraft and tarmac" is (sadly) not on the (provided) entertainment list. And unfortunately, that's the only point on my airport entertainment list.

Airport is a gate of journey to new destination with different kind of people swarming there everyday. Those people have different business and feel different emotions. Workers, visitors, passengers. People hug and bid goodbyes with different feelings. One person can be so happy because he/she is going abroad for holiday, one person can be so frustrated because he/she is rushing for work in another city, one other can be so tired and can't wait to be at home, and one other person can be so sad because he/she is going to visit a very sick love one. All of them can board the same flight to same destination, piloted by same people, and served by same flight attendants. That kinda hit me when I was happily seeing aircraft taking off. That aircraft which you are happily looking at from far away actually have different state of people. That's one of the reasons why I like civil aviation industry (besides the multiple beauties of aircraft body, of course). The heart of airline industry is not just delivering people like cargo, but also providing service for them in their journey and wishing them the best things in the destination. That's also a happy-kind-of feeling, right? All of workers in airport (airport staffs and airlines staffs) work together to bring happiness to people whatever the situation is.

For some people airport is just a terminal that connect cities, for some other people airport is their work place, for some other people airport is their 2nd home because they used to go anywhere by plane, for some other people airport is a special place or maybe traumatic place, etc. We have different perspective and experience of everything in life. What's airport for you??

Well, it's an awesome place for me. There are people come and go from different side of the world by a steel bird and people who maintains safety of the steel bird's journey. Just few miles of runway can bring you everywhere, isn't that awesome?

In the end, the only thing we wish for is "have a safe flight, good day."