Airports have become known as places where passengers often exhibit weird or alarming behaviour, with serious incidents on the rise in recent years.
Environmental psychology studies show people are heavily influenced by their surroundings, with noise and crowds often causing stress and anxiety that could prompt angry outbursts.
Airlines are being pressured to restrict the amount of alcohol sold to passengers both in airport terminals and in-flight to combat such problems.
However, airports could be viewed as ‘thin places’, according to Celtic culture, where the boundary between the spiritual and the physical world is barely there, which could account for such unusual behaviour.
Beyond the stress of travelling, time and place lose meaning at airports, along with a sense of identity, with few social boundaries in place.
These factors can give an exhilarating sense of liberation to some, but, combined with the freedom to consume alcohol, can lead to problems.