2008-11-17

Sleeping in Airports - Arlanda

I love airports, I can’t help it. Some I love more than others. And even though there are some that make my blood boil and make me want to chew my leg off, I still love them. After all, wise men say there’s only a thin line between love and hate.

There are some airports that I watch with morbid fascination of the kind normally reserved for car wrecks and really bad street performers. CDG definitely falls into that category – it’s even better than watching a car wreck, there’s all the morbid fascination you can handle AND you get to come out (mostly) alive at the other end.

Arlanda, on the other hand, is an airport I love and continue to love almost instinctively. Why? It’s big in a provincial sort of way. It’s safe in a way that most international airports in capital cities are not. It’s a “silent” airport with no blaring announcements disturbing your sleep. That lack of announcements makes for interesting entertainment when you get to watch lost foreigners running for their flights, frequently in the wrong terminal altogether.

But Arlanda is a silent airport in a different way, too. Most of its shops, cafes and businesses close ridiculously early – between 7 and 8PM, which makes for a comfortable and peaceful night should you choose to sleep there. And sleeping at Arlanda can be a surprisingly easy options for those unable and unwilling to shell out their hard earned cash on a hotel or a hostel. That also happens to be my option of choice. And judging by the hordes camped out around me at this late hour, it’s the option of choice for many budget travelers, both Swedes and foreigners alike.

The most popular places to sleep are in Sky City (try to get the benches in the corner by the hairdresser’s) or in Terminal 5 downstairs by the left/lost luggage offices. It’s quiet and pleasant down there and that space tends to fill up quickly.

But if you can’t find an appropriate bench or a row of seats, you can simply sprawl yourself on the floor on top of your bags, or next to them. That seems to be the way favored by those with own sleeping bags and blankets.

The security is quiet and unobtrusive and in my five years of sleeping at Arlanda while waiting for an early morning flight I have never been bothered by them. The cleaners are courteous and kind and try very hard not to bother the sleepers.

And just who sleeps at Arlanda? Seemingly everybody who doesn’t have an expense account and is not on a business trip. You can see entire families with children on their way to a sunny charter destination (charter flights normally leave at an ungodly hour of the morning), you can see foreign students returning to their native lands (normally on the cheapest Air France flight which leaves at 6-something AM), you can see backpackers with packs the size of large refrigerators, you can see stranded travelers unable to afford a hotel (airlines don’t have to put you up when a flight is canceled due to bad weather and SAS is famous for being ridiculously stingy like that).

If you want to clean yourself up in the morning head to Rest and Fly in Terminal 4 where for 70SEK you can take a shower. It sure beats the 500SEK and up you’d have to fork over for a night at one of the nearby hotels.

And if you find yourself stranded at Arlanda during the day? There’s not much to do, that’s a fact. There are public internet terminals for 2 euro or 19SEK an hour, or a wireless network for 70SEK an hour, if you have your own computer. The dining options are mediocre, and if you order a salad, chances are it will be served without any sort of salad dressing. It won’t be available even if you want to pay extra.

And if you’re really bored – go skating. A small skating rink is being constructed in Sky City for the winter months. Open 10AM to 7PM, skates and helmets available for rental. There are no prices posted just yet, but even if you can’t afford it, watching those who can will still be fun.