Monday 22 September 2008

Why waiting for your plane is time to chill out




Packing and getting ready to go away on holiday, despite the excitement and anticipation, always feels like such a rush – or at least it does to me. Packing is not one of my great loves. So as soon as I get to the airport, check in, get rid of that suitcase, go through security, and arrive in the departure lounge, I am all ready to just head for a bar or a cafe for a bit of well-earned relaxation, while waiting for the flight to be called.

However some airports have even more facilities for chilling out than just coffee, beer or bookshops. At the Hong Kong International Airport you can get a massage, including a wonderfully relaxing foot massage. Or if you like to have a soak to wash away all the travel cares, Nagoya Airport in Japan has the only bathhouse where you can watch planes take off and land from a hot tub.

Vancouver Airport has pods that you can go to sleep in, and several spa points across the airport where you can get massages and facials. A lot of airports are now offering massage chairs, where you just put a coin into the slot, sit back and relax, while the chair gently pummels your back.

At the Newark Liberty International Airport you can have not just manicures, but also pedicures. There are also hair salons where you can even while away some of the time by having your hair cut, permed or coloured.

Recently, as part of a special promotion, massage and holistic therapy was laid on for travellers at the Doncaster Sheffield Robin Hood Airport.

It seems that the European airports have got a bit of catching up to do in terms of providing great relaxation facilities for their passengers, but the Robin Hood Airport seems to be making a start.

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