Passengers travelling abroad must report at Muscat International Airport four hours early... and this is official. The regulation has come into force from this week.
Travellers are of different types.
Officially there are three types of travellers - business travellers, leisure travellers and special interest travellers. I think we should add in special categories families and vacationers.
The early birds have plenty of time if things go wrong like forgetting the passport until they remember half way to the airport, then there are travellers who have forgotten where they have kept their passports until they find them after getting to the house. Now through out the holiday you can think about all the organising one has to do upon returning.
We have got few more days of summer vacation where we can squeeze in a few more days of holiday trips. There are few people who are constantly on the move because their work demands it. Now they have to think about what to do with the extra time on hand.
So what are the fun things to do at an airport. First of all, hopefully your baggage is not overweight. If you have, then of course you have enough time to rearrange. The fact is that organised people have stress free life to a great extent. In this case they probably would have weighed their suitcases at least three times so they are not left wondering where to drop off the extra stuff they had managed to squeeze into their baggage or delving into their purse to pay for the extra kilos. Imagine all that money you could have used while holidaying?
In other words being prepared matters a lot.
So what can you do with the extra time. Of course the current trend is to have the experience than shop because eventually it becomes part of the clutter, unless you are shopping for a gift, where as a good experience becomes a memorable one. What people look out for and could enjoy would be wellness. Lounges are indeed popular but how about a shoulder massage, a haircut, a pedicure or a facial on the go?
A game area would be ideal or a small library. Would you need that when you own a smart phone? Of course yes, because you are looking for an experience.
Wouldn't it be nice if there is an art corner where you could try your hand at some new hobby?
How about an art exhibition or a small museum? This would give an great opportunity for selfie enthusiasts and a post to share on social media.
The food court is a necessity and then why not a fitness centre? Obviously we can walk around as much as possible but we must get back to the designated gate on time.
For most people it is a quiet place to sleep that matters. Then there are of course special lounges.
Getting ready to travel can be anxiety packed venture on its own so many would just prefer to chill out silently before the flight departure.
However, going back to the 4-hour check-in time, it is a lesson that could be part of time management. There have been many people who have missed their flights just because they miscalculated the duration on road traffic could have an impact on their journey to airport.
Have you ever reached airport and the staff told you the plane is on the runway? There could be thousands of incidents and everyone could have their own genuine reasons, but there has to be a cut off period and so the new rule says 40 minutes before instead of 20.
While travelling, time is part of the cost... and gone are the days when people came to see you off at the airport or to receive. Time sets in our priorities. Travelling has become part of the lifestyle.
Along with time, while travelling energy is important. So many of us working till the last minute on the day of travel and gate crash at the airport completely exhausted. If we look to most of our trips we realise how important preparedness is and besides it feeds the anticipation.
So now when in Oman, flying means reaching the airport four hours ahead of departure.
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