Airports are the last unreviewed public square

A travel story is usually a destination. The current event is the terminal. Late-summer 2026 has been a study in throughput: storms, staffing, the particular American talent for designing a hall that cannot sit. People live in airports now for hours at a time. Almost nobody reviews them as places.

Water, seating, signage, the lie of 'nearby' ground transport — these are the facts of a trip. Destinations get the poetry. Terminals get the truth. If you flew this month and it was fine, that is also news. Competence should be documented or it disappears.