Stress-busting airport amenities

Reflection areas and yoga rooms offer travellers respite from the hectic pace of airport security ― without the cost of premier access or a lounge pass.

Airport
relaxation rooms might seem like frivolous amenities. But for harried travellers,
quiet spaces offer a chance to unwind between flights, meetings and
appointments – without needing premier access or a lounge pass.

In fact,
relaxation spaces can make air travel more enjoyable in a time when some people
feel the hassles outweigh the benefits. “Relaxation and comfortable travel
shouldn’t be an elite privilege,” said Tara Russell, a life and sabbatical
coach at Three Month Visa, who leads clients
through the process of taking time off to pursue long-term travel. “Relaxation
spaces civilise travel in a time when security measures have made the
experience more time-consuming, and for some travellers, more stressful. Airports
are starting to understand that relaxed travellers are happy travellers.”

Russell’s
home airport of San
Francisco International is home to some of the nation’s first
stress-busting amenities, including the international terminal’s Berman
Reflection Room. The hushed, chapel-like lounge offers world-weary travellers
a soothing spot away from the hectic hubbub of security checkpoints and chaotic
arrivals hall (though sleeping is forbidden, lest fellow travellers cringe at
the sound of snoring). Polite signage keeps visitors from chatting or letting
rambunctious kids play. The sanctuary even offers an impressive view of
takeoffs and landings, making it a not-so-secret favourite among aviation geeks
and plane spotters.

Restful
airport hideaways are nothing new, but the recent spread of reflection rooms
and relaxation lounges around the world shows that demand is higher than ever. For
example, Boston
Logan International opened the non-denominational Our Lady of the Airways
chapel in 1951, but today there are hundreds of interfaith airport chapels and
prayer rooms in terminals around the world, and more than 100 chaplains tasked
with offering comfort and guidance to the peripatetic masses. There are even
subtle cultural differences at various airports around the globe. In Doha International Airport, prayer
rooms are divided by gender to cater to the high percentage of Muslim travellers
passing through Qatar.

San
Francisco pioneered another airport wellness amenity last year when it unveiled
the country’s first airport yoga room in Terminal 2. Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport  soon followed suit with a yoga-specific space
in its Terminal D. And don’t stress about extra hand luggage: in each facility yoga
mats are on loan, so even non-yogis are welcome to try out the free Zen
amenity.

For those still seeking a premium or paid option, a host of
independent options are offering an alternative to airline-specific lounges. Munich’s
Napcabs are 4sqm capsules suited for work
as well as sleep, and there are similar schemes around the globe. In Dubai,
they’re endearingly known as Snooze Pods;
in Delhi, the hourly pods are called Sam’s Snooze at
My Place; and Russia’s Sheremetyevo Airport has a wooden cubicle simply
known as Sleepbox. Minute Suites are perhaps the most recognised
in the US, offering hourly rates for tiny work- or sleep-ready suites in Philadelphia,
Atlanta and Dallas-Fort Worth airports, with plans to open pods in
Minneapolis-St Paul within the year.

Russell is
quick to add that even if a sleeper suite or lounge pass isn’t in your travel
budget, relaxing airport amenities are good for everyone’s health and wellbeing:
“even if you don’t use a relaxation lounge, you get a second tier benefit by
being around more contented travellers.”