Introducing ‘Airport Divorces,’ the Temporary Split That Could Prevent Fights Before Flights
· Vice
You’ve heard of the “sleep divorce,” where partners choose to snooze separately from each other for better rest. But what about the ‘airport divorce’?
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Apparently, more couples are seeking ways to diffuse travel stress while protecting their relationship, one such way being the airport divorce. This temporary pre-flight separation has likely saved many couples from petty fights and unnecessary tension.
Let’s explore, shall we?
What Is an Airport Divorce?
An airport divorce isn’t actually a divorce—or even a breakup/separation of sorts. Instead, it’s a brief, mutual separation between partners while navigating pre-flight tasks. In other words, rather than enduring the stressful airport activities together, you give each other space before linking back up for the flight.
British journalist Huw Oliver introduced the term in his Sunday Times travel column last summer, defining it as “parting ways after passing through security and reconvening an hour or so later on the plane.” He mentioned that he and his wife, Morwenna, agreed on getting an “airport divorce” to avoid conflict while traveling together.
“To look at things within the framework of type A/B personality theory, in non-airport life I’d argue that, like most people, we both sit somewhere between A (organised, think time management is sexy) and B (relaxed, susceptible to being late). At the airport we transmute, werewolf-like, into unrecognisable beings,” he wrote. “I amp up my neurotic type A side; Morwenna leans into her laid-back type B persona (all the more difficult to comprehend because in the real world she is five minutes early for everything). We are not our best, balanced selves.”
And so, the solution? Separate to do your own things rather than trying to force compatibility in pre-flight stress. One partner might sit and wait patiently an hour before boarding, while the other might browse airport shops for books and snacks, unbothered by the time. This way, neither is forced to do something they don’t want to do.
We all know that tensions run high in airports (at least they do for me). Many people are anxious travelers/flyers, while others get easily stressed going through airport security or navigating the different terminals. By allowing each other to do things on their own terms, you’re avoiding potentially heightened interactions and arguments.
The Rise of ‘Divorce’ Relationship Strategies
Perhaps to avoid an actual divorce, many people opt for these types of relationship strategies to protect their relationship and personal freedoms. For example, some people are all for the “sleep divorce,” which is basically just sleeping in separate beds/rooms. The end goal is to get better sleep without disturbing each other. As with the airport divorce, if both parties are on board, why not?
For Oliver and his wife, the airport divorce saved them from a potentially stressful, tense situation, which is never ideal before catching a flight with your lover.
“On that journey back from Alicante, she did her thing, I did mine. She perused the tins of olives and anchovies; I knocked back an Estrella and scanned the flight information board,” Oliver wrote. “I was anxious on her behalf. We gave each other nasty looks across the gate while I queued and she lounged. But aside from that … it was a much less fraught experience all round.”
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