This Coveted Airport Perk Isn't As Luxurious As It Sounds

It's hardly a secret that dealing with the airport can be really stressful. It's loud and confusing. You have to deal with the TSA security checkpoint and its rules about liquids, jackets, shoes, and electronics. Half the time you can't hear the announcement for your flight over the din of fellow travelers. It can raise your stress level and make travel seem less appealing. For many fliers, the way to escape this is to hit the airport lounge. If you've never been in one, they're places that offer you a quieter spot to relax, charge your devices, and possibly shower while you enjoy free snacks and drinks until your flight. However, this coveted airport perk isn't as great as it may appear on the surface. 

The price of entry is one of the big reasons an airport lounge may not be worth it for you. If you happen to be flying business or first class, have elite status with an airline (meaning you're paying for quite a few flights), or if you have a military ID, you may have access to these lounges for free. If you're not paying extra, that's one thing. However, getting a day pass (which you can't do with every lounge) can sometimes be over $60, and annual memberships might run you between $500 and $750. If you're traveling a lot, or taking a long haul flight, that may be worth it to you. However, if you're just heading home to visit your family, it might not be a great deal when compared to simply grabbing a few drinks and snacks in the airport proper.

Some people also get into airport lounges with travel credit cards, and if you already have one for other reasons, your yearly fee might not seem like a big price to pay, despite many of them being upwards of $500. However, for what you're getting, the lounge itself might not be enough of a draw. In fact, some lounges don't even allow credit card Priority Pass holders access at times. Imagine paying the annual fee before your big trip overseas, only to get to the airport lounge and find out that you can't get in anyway.

If you're someone who really likes to get their drink on before a flight (we're not judging if you behave on the plane), a day fee might be worth it to you, especially if you also need those snacks to provide a base for your alcohol. However, some of the perks that a lounge offers aren't really much of a benefit. Free Wi-Fi was once a draw, but that's in most airports now anyway. Plus, unless you're using a VPN to protect your data, airport Wi-Fi might not be a great idea. Once, lounges had the benefit of more free charging stations, but you should rethink that anyway, as the FBI recently released an unsettling warning about charging your phones at the airport. Plus, lounges can be very crowded, meaning you're losing out on the one exclusive thing airport lounges had going for them, which was being a quiet place to relax. 

With food and drinks accessible elsewhere in the airport and the issues with getting into a lounge in the first place, the real draw is a spot to unwind. However, many airports have other options for some relative peace and quiet. One growing airport trend is to have yoga rooms. While you don't have to actually do any stretching while you're in there, they're places that often have lower lighting and less noise so you can breathe for a bit and meditate, or simply get a break from the clatter outside. You might also want to look into prayer rooms. Many major airports have them, with some being a space for anyone, and a few with rooms for specific faiths. Some airports also have sensory rooms for people with sensory processing issues to get away from the overstimulation an airport can cause. Quiet spaces like this can also allow people with a fear of flying to do things like breathing techniques and calming exercises in relative peace. 

If your issue with airport lounges is that they're not as quiet as you'd imagined, and you really just need a bit of shuteye before your flight, you may also want to check out sleeping pods like Minute Suites, GoSleep Pods, and Escape Pods. These often have beds, desks, and white noise machines to help you find your happy place before flying to it in real life. However, these aren't free, so you might want to weigh that into your decision. But, in a pinch, if you're skipping the lounge for whatever reason, some noise-canceling headphones, a travel pillow, and a sleep mask can give you a bit of your own space.