Jan 21 2009
Airport Duty in the Munich Airport
This morning I had “airport duty” for my day job—I stood in the Munich airport for more than four hours greeting students arriving for class at the George C. Marshall Center. I’ve spent a lot of time in airports, but I have to say this is the first time I was working and actually took the time to watch what was going on around me.
It was fun to watch the reunions and greetings as people arrived—children grinning from ear to ear as their Daddy came through the sliding doors, businessmen shaking hands in greeting, friends holding hand-written welcome signs and offering beer as a welcome gift.
It was also interesting to be one of those people that stand there carrying a sign—and to watch all the other sign-carrying-greeters. There were some greeters from tour companies, some from businesses, and some from…well, I’m not quite sure (my favorite was the guy with a sign that had the Burger King logo on it—I really do wonder who he was picking up). Each of us staring at the throng of people coming through the doors waiting for some kind of acknowledgement or eye contact, hoping for some recognition.
It was a reminder, too, of just how amazing airports are. To think of how many people, flights, cars, deliveries, and bags that are processed through a large airport in a single day (and often without error) can be mind-boggling.
Kudos to those that work in airports…including those on “airport duty”.
