时尚女人。可爱孩子。美丽家居。男人爱车: Getting Stuck at the Airport Turned Into a Pleasant Bit of Downtime

Illustration by: Bashel Lubarsky

Flying these days: it can be complicated. If you, like me, got caught up in the CrowdStrike outage, you probably had to deal with a delay or cancellation, maybe a rebooking and the stress of Will my hard earned vacation go according to plan?

Our mid-afternoon flight to Vancouver was delayed by nearly four hours, but the experience felt somewhat manageable for two reasons. One, I had purchased travel insurance in advance of our trip, mainly for the medical benefits because we were staying at a remote wilderness lodge in Canada. But the baggage and travel delay coverage ($200 and $1,000 per person, respectively) certainly didn't hurt and it gave me added peace of mind. Travel insurance, in the year 2024, is moving from nice-to-have to need-to-have. Budget for it like you would a fancy dinner out.

Also: having a little extra downtime at the newly renovated Terminal A at Newark Liberty International Airport turned out to be not such a bad thing. Part of a $2.7 billion dollar renovation by the Port Authority, the sleek and streamlined space features works by New Jersey-based artists; a kids play area; and restaurants like Kitchen Step Neighborhood Bistro (the original is in Jersey City). To me, the shift to emphasize all things local at an airport is something long overdue, but I'm seeing it happen globally; check out our list of reader favorite airports around the world in our recent World's Best Awards, and you'll notice a common thread, from the excellent design to the innovative restaurants. This recent delay taught me that getting stuck at an airport can move from being a headache-inducing inconvenience to a pleasant bit of downtime, if you play your cards right.