Ask the crew: how to entertain yourself at the airport
Arrived early and found yourself with free time in the terminal? Forget thumb twiddling. Here, pilots and cabin crew share the unexpected and genuinely useful ways to fill those before-the-flight periods and in-between moments – from secret quiet zones and productivity hacks to the airport game that will keep you amused for hours
21/07/2026
Interviews: Harriet Cooper
Kris Ricci, Lead Inflight Manager
Combine coffee with happy kids
“When I’m working and I know where the gate is for the next flight, if I’ve got time to myself, I like to find somewhere quiet. One of the best places in Heathrow Terminal 5 is by the short-haul gates A1, A2 and A3 at the north end of Level 2. There’s a Pret A Manger there, too, which is smaller than the one on the main concourse but has everything. It’s next to a Stay & Play area for kids so, if you’re travelling as a family, they can let off steam while you drink your coffee.”
Press pause
“If I’m going on holiday, I’ll sit with my husband and we’ll make plans. I like to use a guidebook, turning down the pages of the places we want to visit. When you’re in the departure lounge, you’re forced to pause. There’s nowhere else you need to be apart from at the right gate at the right time, so it’s your chance to be in the moment. We all lead such busy lives that the start of the journey is part of the actual travel experience. For me, that’s when the holiday begins.”
Play plane-watching bingo
“I like to find a seat overlooking the tarmac. I’ve been with British Airways for almost 40 years and I still find it fascinating to watch the planes pushing back. I mentally tick them all off, like you would on a bingo card.”
Have a coffee or play plane-watching bingo
James Boyce, Senior First Officer
Master a new skill
“I tend to use airports as a transition space to mentally reset. If I have 20 minutes, I’ll make sure I’m fully set for the next flight in terms of the preparations we have to complete. If I have longer, I’ll use the extra time for something productive. For example, when I was doing my Master of Business Administration with The Open University, the work was modular, so it was an opportunity to do assignments or additional reading. I’m currently learning Mandarin, so I’ll do Duolingo and there are some really good YouTube videos to help form the sentences.”
Stay ahead of the admin
“One thing I’ve learned is that people enjoy airports far more when they stop treating them as wasted time. For me, it’s a chance to catch up on emails without being interrupted, especially if people assume I’m uncontactable for the day. I love those windows of productivity. It gives you loads of satisfaction because you’ve used that time to cross off your to-do list. For me, I work best with the pressure of a deadline – if you give me an hour to write an email, I’ll spend an hour writing it. If it’s five minutes, I’m like, ‘I need to get that done.’”
Take a breather
“If I’m on a turnaround, I find it’s quite nice to stretch my legs by popping into the shops and seeing what’s on offer at Terminal 5. It gets you out and about. Or if we’ve had a long day and we arrive back at 5B or 5C, we’ll take the walkway to 5A instead of getting the transit train to get a bit of movement in. If you’re in the lifts going down to the shuttle, instead of getting out of Level -2, you go to Level-4.”
Get that admin done
Amy Millar, Senior First Officer
Hit the books
“I have the Libby app on my phone. It allows users to borrow ebooks and audiobooks from public libraries for free. When I drive into work, I can listen to an audiobook and then at the airport, if I have a few minutes, I’ll read a chapter of the book on my phone. It also syncs with my iPad so, whatever device I’m using, it will always go to the latest page. If the book isn’t available to borrow, you can place a hold and they’ll notify you when it’s available. If you’re not ready to read it, it’ll put you back in the queue.”
Get gate-savvy
“I find that a lot of people stay around the A gates in Terminal 5 but if you’re on a long-haul flight you’ll be going from B or C gates. So if you don’t need the bigger shops on the main concourse and you’re just wanting somewhere to sit, depending on where you’re travelling I’d get on the transit train to Terminal 5B or 5C. Although they have coffee shops, WHSmith and a mini duty free, they are quieter. At the airport, I tend not to sit down to keep the circulation flowing – and I always wear compression socks.”
Set aside ‘me’ time
“Although it’s a good opportunity to do admin, I am strict with myself and allocate periods of resting because otherwise it fills all my time, especially as a mum of young kids. It’s hard to find that balance because obviously your phone is off when you’re on the flight so, when you land, you can feel that you have to respond to messages immediately. I’ll now spend 20 minutes texting people back, updating the supermarket delivery and sending a couple of emails – and then I will get a bottle of water and read.”
Catch up on the news and stay hydrated
Aaron Beech, Lead Inflight Manager
Seek the peace
“Terminals are busy places and can be overwhelming. When I’m travelling as a customer I put AirPods in, sometimes with no music but in noise-cancellation mode. I scope out the quieter places. In Terminal 5 it’s normally the domestic gates, but in most airports around the world you’ll always have a few gates that aren’t being used. There is also a Rest & Relaxation area in the central part of Terminal 5 after security, located between gates A12 and A13, with reclining seats. There’s a similar spot at Terminal 5B, in between B35 and B36.”
Tune into current affairs
“This might sound really boring but I catch up on the news in between flights. If you travel across time zones all the time and you’re constantly on the move, you don’t really have the chance to do this that often. I’m in a terminal a lot, so for me it is my time to find out what’s going on outside the airport.”
Make a splash
“The first thing I’ll always do airside is fill my empty Owala water bottle. Most airports in the UK, if not around the world, have free water refill stations. It saves you from having to find a shop and spending money on plastic water bottles. I’ve been flying for 11 years now and I have got my packing down to a tee – everything’s in the exact same space with my water bottle, passport, headphones and power banks all at the top so, when I get to security, I don’t need to find them.”
