I recently returned from an enjoyable trip to Denver, which was highlighted by two brief layovers and widespread pandemonium as the city was smothered in blizzard. On the day we arrived, we were greeted at the airport by hundreds, no, make that thousands of passengers who were trying to leave the city but couldn't get out. The security lines wrapped around the terminal. Suitcases lay neatly scattered all over the baggage claim. Had we been going in or out a day earlier, we would have been stuck.
The interesting thing I noticed in all this happened to be a little sign posted on the entryway to the bathroom. It showed a miniature tornado and words that read "Severe Weather Shelter," with the sign proceeding to lead deeper inside.
Now it's one thing to be stranded at an airport when severe weather is happening nearby. Even though you have the tremendous capacity to leave and fly far far away (on massive metal airplanes with enormous quanitities of gas), you are restricted to the limited mobility of your head, shoulders, knees and toes. No matter how strong the plane, a good wind gust or a funnel of fog and you're left at the ticket counter. That's tough.
But I think it struck me even more, when I was wandering through passengers on the way to our community storm shelter commode, that having a bathroom as your designated area for disaster recovery is not entirely a good idea. It's mind boggling. To begin with, airports already are areas that people come to to wait, many often for longer peroids of time than they'd like. Is it really a good idea to accentuate that wait by sending people in varying levels of panic (whether they have to go to the bathroom or not) into the one area where waiting is all the more highlighted by a natural urge to do your business and leave? That doesn't make sense. And then secondly, and even more obviously, the bathrooms are way too small. They could hold 35-40 people ... tops. I would imagine among the three concourses and with counting both male and female restrooms, there are about 24 bathrooms in DIA. Maybe there are some behind the scenes that the public can't see, but I'm still wondering how they will account for thousands of passengers in the event of incliment weather.
So here's the big question: Let's say at the time of a hurricane/tornado/snow storm/earthquake/mountain fire/moose attack they have enough room in the restrooms to accommodate half of the people currently in the airport. The security guard comes up to you and your family and says, "I'm sorry, we only have room for half of you. Some of you can join us in the handicap stall. The rest of you can go hide out in the McDonald's kitchen." What would you do?
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6 comments:
If I was given the option to squeeze into a crowded bathroom with hundreds of strangers or to hide out in a McDonald's I would have to choose McDonald's. If the storm didn't kill me I'm sure the greasey fries would. We can only hope that DIA actually has other options for shelter in severe weather. Or maybe it's the western mentality of, "I'm too tough to hide in the face of a storm. I'll ride it out. Ride 'em cowboy!"
Storm...Big Mac; Safety...Big Mac;Life...Big Mac; O.K. I've chosen...Big Mac!
and they said that there are about 150,000 people who go through the airport in a day. right?
they need way more bathrooms to hold them all.
unfortunately i had a hamburger for lunch in that airport (two of them, actually), and at 2am the next morning i was still tasting them. i think i'll take my chances behind the shoe polish stand.
i am not sure that i'm as noble as nate saint, but since we recently watched "the end of the spear," maybe I will copy his answer and say that I don't know if those other travelers know Jesus, but I do, so if I die, I'll go to heaven, and if they live, maybe they'll find Jesus. So send me to the Mickey D's!
Yeah, you have to wonder if the McDonald's bathroom was storm-proof. That might be a way to "have your burger and eat it too," so to speak.
I'm pretty sure the luggage carousel would be a bad place to wait, even though the word "carousal" might be inviting for some kids fond of the carnival. They need more entertaining options in the airport. Is it any wonder stranded passengers love to hang out at the bar?
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