It’s hard to even remember what that feeling was like when you entered an airport for the first time. For experienced travelers, navigating the evolving processes, delays, and cancellations is just part of the journey. But, for the first time traveler, entering the airport environment can feel like a maiden voyage to the moon.
Recently, I watched a couple who didn’t speak English roaming aimlessly in search of direction in the Port Columbus International Airport. They clearly could not make sense of the many signs, and by their baby steps, you could tell they were first timers. The pace of the crowd was causing them to slow to a standstill.
Before I could raise from my chair and make my way over to them, an older woman in an official CMH coat swooped in. I was now being introduced for the first time to an “Airport Ambassador” – a growing term across the country for volunteers stationed throughout the airports to improve the experience.
As Linda (an AA) later explained to me, their mission is to “help all people feel more comfortable”. They move throughout the airport to answer basic questions, seek out troubled travelers, and provide assistance for those in need. She said, “sometimes all people need is someone to take a moment and help them think through their situation.”
I wonder what impact all of us could have within the airport walls if we kept an even closer lookout for people in need along our path? Just think how the airport culture could be positively infected by the intentional compassion of many. Imagine what it would be like if, instead of just worrying about getting from Point A to Point B, each of us also saw ourselves as “Ambassadors”.
I don’t think a few moments of compassionate action would merely just change the culture of the airports, I think it would slowly begin to change our world.
Maybe Linda’s right, “It’s fun to help people.”
Jason Barger is author of Step Back from the Baggage Claim: Change the World, Start at the Airport.
Jason Barger spent seven straight days flying 6,458 miles to seven different cities – without leaving the airports the entire time. He studied 10,000 minutes of observations at all four corners of the U.S. and reflected on how our airport experiences can teach us about our lives TODAY. The funny and inspiring stories remind us how to change our daily world in our personal lives, businesses, schools, and faith communities! Join the movement. All four editions of Step Back from the Baggage Claim are motivational books perfect for anyone looking to impact change in their life and work.
