‘Airport Theory’ Is Going Viral on TikTok & It’s Causing People to Miss Their Flights
There are two kinds of people in this world–those who show up to the airport three hours early to check their bags, get through security, and walk through every store in the terminal, and those who roll up to their gate just minutes before their flight is about to board (and somehow always make it onto their flight, too). Clearly, there’s no consensus on when you should actually leave to make your flight, but now the internet is in debate. On TikTok, thousands are testing out ‘Airport Theory’–the idea that you need to arrive only 15 minutes before your boarding time–and it’s causing a stir.
For those of us in the arrive-3-hours-early camp, arriving only 15 minutes before boarding sounds like a total nightmare. But for followers of ‘Airport Theory,’ it’s clear that having only a quarter of an hour to get through to their gate doesn’t freak them out. In a photo series that has over 700,000 views, Audrey Atienza documented her journey to the airport, taking multiple trains from Grand Central Station to arrive at JFK airport six minutes before her boarding time. After going through security, she’s on her flight just twelve minutes later. “As an anxious person I’m shocked this doesn’t give me anxiety,” she tells a worried person in the comments.
In another viral video, Michael DiCostanzo vlogged his experience getting through the Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport, one of the busiest in the world. “If ‘Airport Theory’ works here, I think it’ll work anywhere,” he says in the beginning of the clip. He proceeds to go through security and take a tram to his concourse, arriving at his gate right on time. “We have officially made it to the gate just under 15 minutes,” he says. “That’s a huge win for ‘Airport Theory.'”
Other people who took part in the trend weren’t so lucky. “For those of you thinking about testing out the ‘Airport Theory,’ Don’t do it. Missed my flight,” reads the caption from Jenny Hurtz’s TikTok. Commenters weren’t so empathetic. “I don’t even feel bad,” one person replied, with someone else adding, “I don’t understand how people miss flights. That’s hundreds of dollars gone because you cannot wait at your gate. I’d wait 1 to 2 hours minimum at my gate because I’m so scared to miss my flight.”
One thing’s for sure–’Airport Theory’ isn’t fail-proof. I mean, people are literally missing flights because of it. But maybe, there’s a little bit of truth to it. Most of the time, it won’t take three hours to get to the gate, so you probably don’t need to be showing up to the airport that early. (But then again, who’s to tell you how to live your life?)
