# Having been to a city's airport=visiting the city? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 20, 2013, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/having-been-to-a-citys-airport-visiting-the-city/653440 "2013-03-20T12:40:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/having-been-to-a-citys-airport-visiting-the-city/653440/81 "2013-03-21T16:15:57Z")
Airports don’t count. One must leave the airport and set foot on the ground (actual turf or dirt) in the city itself and also urinate (hey, I mark my territory) in the city itself to count as having visited the city and/or state and/or country. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/having-been-to-a-citys-airport-visiting-the-city/653440/82 "2013-03-21T16:20:07Z")
> [@EmilyG](#): > > If you’ve been to only the airport of a certain city, would you count that as having been to that city? > > For example, I’ve been to an airport in Paris, but I haven’t been anywhere else in Paris. Can I say that I’ve been to Paris? Nope. And if it’s the closest thing I’ve done to being in the country, then I haven’t been in the country. Personal case in point: I’ve changed planes in Heathrow/Gatwick on the way from the U.S. to European destinations, but I haven’t yet visited England. I didn’t clear customs there; I was still in the land of Enroute. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/having-been-to-a-citys-airport-visiting-the-city/653440/83 "2013-03-21T22:18:24Z")
> [@kambuckta](#): > > I was always under the impression that airports were ‘international territories’ so to speak, so as\*\* Martini Enfield\*\* (and others) have mentioned, until you clear customs, you are not officially on that country’s soil. Try carrying some heroin through the airport in Singapore and see how that argument holds up. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/having-been-to-a-citys-airport-visiting-the-city/653440/84 "2013-03-21T22:43:42Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Where were you travelling to/from that you stopped at the airport in Kingston? I was island hopping from Trinidad to Antigua to Jamaica to Miami on BWIA in 1975. I stayed a couple of nights in Antigua. Bamako was an unscheduled stop en route between Paris and Libreville, Gabon. Entebbe was en route between Nairobi and a small local airport in Zaire. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/having-been-to-a-citys-airport-visiting-the-city/653440/85 "2013-03-22T03:48:42Z")
> [@Donnerwetter](#): > > What about all those foreign dignitaries who descend on New York City for the United Nations General Assembly every year? Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been to the Big Apple several times, but I assume he has only seen the airport, the Iranian UN embassy and the UN building. I assume he was driven between these points, and the route from JFK passes through a lot of NYC. But as for airports alone, these are No Man’s Land. I find it disingenuous at best to say you’ve “been to” a city just because you transited the airport. I’ve changed planes at Narita all the time, but next month will be my first time in Tokyo as far as I’m concerned (and not just because the airport is outside the city). ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 8:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/having-been-to-a-citys-airport-visiting-the-city/653440/86 "2013-03-22T08:53:24Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > IIRC, in the USA if you land and deplane, you go through ICE even if just in transit. It’s been well over a decade since I last did the flight, but there used to be a special exemption in place for NZ 1/NZ 2 heading Auckland-Los Angeles-London (and vice versa); passengers didn’t have to clear customs even though you were in a transit lounge for an hour or two while they refuelled the plane, swapped crews, restocked the galleys etc. ---
**Author:** ![Mdcastle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/958977/32.png) [@Mdcastle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mdcastle)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/having-been-to-a-citys-airport-visiting-the-city/653440/87 "2013-03-22T13:16:41Z")
In my opinion airports do count, provided they’re within city limits. There’s nothing special about an airport lounge, or even waiting in a plane at the gate, that makes you not within a certain city. If you commit a crime in an airport (assuming it’s not a federal offense) you’re going to get prosecuted in whatever city you happen to be in, you can’t claim it doesn’t count as being in a city. While doing something in an airplane will get you prosecuted wherever the plane lands, not what state you happen to be over. So you can’t count jurisdictions by flying over them. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/having-been-to-a-citys-airport-visiting-the-city/653440/88 "2013-03-22T13:33:52Z")
I don’t think anyone is arguing that being in an airport isn’t technically being in that city/country. At least I’m not. But it doesn’t count as “visiting a city,” which is what the OP is specifically asking about. If I’m sitting in Charles de Gaulle, it’d be a bit disingenuous of me to tell a friend that I’ve “visited Paris.” Even saying “I’ve been to Paris” as part of conversational fodder would be misleading to me, as even though it’s technically and pedantically true, nobody gives a shit if you’ve been to the airport (unless you’re specifically talking about airports.) I don’t even remember half the countries and cities I’ve technically been in, as layover stops don’t mean anything useful to me, other than I’ve seen that city’s airport. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/having-been-to-a-citys-airport-visiting-the-city/653440/89 "2013-03-22T13:40:03Z")
I’ve been to LAX and I’ve been to the airport in SF while waiting for connecting flights. If I’m under oath and being asked if I’ve ever been to CA, I’m saying yes. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/having-been-to-a-citys-airport-visiting-the-city/653440/90 "2013-03-22T14:00:09Z")
This thread is revealing that there are two types of people in this world. And if either type has been to the airport in a city, then they’ve been in that city. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/having-been-to-a-citys-airport-visiting-the-city/653440/91 "2013-03-22T14:02:36Z")
> [@Count\_Blucher](#): > > I’ve been to LAX and I’ve been to the airport in SF while waiting for connecting flights. > If I’m under oath and being asked if I’ve ever been to CA, I’m saying yes. Sure, I would say I’ve been to the airport and let them decide whether that qualifies as a “yes” or “no” depending on what they’re trying to establish. Like I said, I don’t even remember half the places I stop in, especially if we don’t deplane. My trip to Phoenix this past Thanksgiving had a layover, but god help me if I can remember where that was. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/having-been-to-a-citys-airport-visiting-the-city/653440/92 "2013-03-22T14:04:16Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > This thread is revealing that there are two types of people in this world. And if either type has been to the airport in a city, then they’ve been in that city. Sure, technical, “letter-of-the-law” types and more conversational “spirit-of-the-law” types. There is no doubt being in an airport technically means you’ve had a physical presence in that city/country where the airport is located. Of course. But I contend it does not mean you “visited” or “been to” the city in the way that word is normally used. Like, I’ve technically “been in” Reykjavik and Aukland and Istanbul and Turkmenistan (actually drove through that last one for about 10 minutes in getting from one town in Uzbekistan to another), but I would never say I’ve “been to” those cities or countries. Only if I’m trying to inflate my “places I’ve been” scorecard would I add Iceland, New Zealand, Turkey, and Turkmenistan. ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/having-been-to-a-citys-airport-visiting-the-city/653440/93 "2013-03-22T14:10:42Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > Of course, using the city limits can also lead to weird issues. If you go to Las Vegas and never leave the Strip, were you in Las Vegas or not? Well, technically, no. As the [Las Vegas Strip](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Las_Vegas_Strip) is located in Paradise and Winchester, not LV proper. Having said that, I have visited Las Vegas numerous times, and on at least a few of those occasions, I probably never enterer “Las Vegas proper”. Hell, I got married in the Little Church of the West there - located right outside McCarran Airport - both located in Paradise. But I still tell everyone I got married in Vegas. As to everyone’s favourite transit airport, Schiphol: it is located in the municipality of Haarlemmermeer, not Amsterdam. So even if you’ve cleared customs and went outside for a cigarette break, you’ve not visited Amsterdam, as far as I’m concerned. My general rule of thumb seems to be the consensus here: an airport, even within city limits, does not equal “the city” or “the country”, unless you actually travel outside it and do something. A meal, a quick tourist visit. Travelling by car through a state in the US means I’ve visited it. However, I’ve also driven through Baltimore on I-95, whilst travelling from Philly to DC. But since I didn’t get out, I wouldn’t claim I’ve visited Baltimore. I have visited Maryland, however. Does that make sense to anyone? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/having-been-to-a-citys-airport-visiting-the-city/653440/94 "2013-03-22T14:26:35Z")
> [@Count\_Blucher](#): > > I’ve been to LAX and I’ve been to the airport in SF while waiting for connecting flights. > If I’m under oath and being asked if I’ve ever been to CA, I’m saying yes. Actually, I just thought of something. When you apply for a visa, or when you’re filling out your customs declaration form upon arrival back to the US from a foreign country, there is usually a spot to list the countries (and sometimes cities) you’ve visited in the last X amount of years (the silliest one was the visa to the Russian Federation that asked you to list all the countries and cities you’ve been to in the last ten years. You’ve got to be kidding me.) The customs declaration form says “Countries visited in this trip prior to US arrival.” So do people actually fill that out with their transfer points? I’ve never included those in either. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/having-been-to-a-citys-airport-visiting-the-city/653440/95 "2013-03-22T14:29:56Z")
> [@Coldfire](#): > > As to everyone’s favourite transit airport, Schiphol: it is located in the municipality of Haarlemmermeer, not Amsterdam. So even if you’ve cleared customs and went outside for a cigarette break, you’ve not visited Amsterdam, as far as I’m concerned. The nice thing is that it’s easy to turn that into a proper visit to Amsterdam, as the train runs in the airport and is 20 minutes to the city centre. It’s one of the few international airports I’ve been to where making a run into the city on a 4-hour or so layover is actually feasible and relaxing. ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/having-been-to-a-citys-airport-visiting-the-city/653440/96 "2013-03-22T15:07:19Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > The customs declaration form says “Countries visited in this trip prior to US arrival.” > > So do people actually fill that out with their transfer points? I’ve never included those in either. When I’m flying to the US via LHR, I will just state “AMS, LHR”. I am assuming the customs drone then understands that I mean my itinerary, without me actually claiming I visited Britain straight before coming over. Never had any questions regarding this method. You’re right about the short trip into Amsterdam by train. Of course, I rarely think about that, as I never transfer in Amsterdam, I just end up there. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/having-been-to-a-citys-airport-visiting-the-city/653440/97 "2013-03-22T15:12:08Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > This thread is revealing that there are two types of people in this world. And if either type has been to the airport in a city, then they’ve been in that city. Well \*obviously \*you have physically “been in” the city (if the airport is actually within the city limits.) But you have not “visited” or “been to” that city if you have never left the airport. The only people that list airports when saying what places they have visited are braggarts who want to appear more worldly and well-traveled than they actually are. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/having-been-to-a-citys-airport-visiting-the-city/653440/98 "2013-03-22T15:17:50Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > Well \*obviously \*you have physically “been in” the city (if the airport is actually within the city limits.) But you have not “visited” or “been to” that city if you have never left the airport. The only people that list airports when saying what places they have visited are braggarts who want to appear more worldly and well-traveled than they actually are. Unless they add ‘…but only to the airport when mentioning those cities’. Or perhaps the braggarts are the ones who have been to so many cities that they say they don’t count the ones where they’ve only stopped at the airport. Ok, not really, but still, it’s not that hard to be specific and eliminate misunderstandings. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/having-been-to-a-citys-airport-visiting-the-city/653440/99 "2013-03-22T15:21:44Z")
> [@Coldfire](#): > > When I’m flying to the US via LHR, I will just state “AMS, LHR”. I am assuming the customs drone then understands that I mean my itinerary, without me actually claiming I visited Britain straight before coming over. Never had any questions regarding this method. That makes sense. Similarly, I’ve never had a problem or been asked about not putting a transfer point on my customs form. For example, on my last international trip, I was in India via Istanbul. I filled out “India” for “countries visited on this trip.” Certainly, the immigration and customs officials knew that the big influx of passengers is from the Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul, but never have I been asked why I didn’t put “Istanbul” on my form, or when asked “Where are you coming from?” my answer of “India” was accepted. Same with my annual trips from Hungary (over a course of 6 years). Never listed a transfer point as “country visited,” (unless I was there during the year for work), and never been quizzed about it. ---
**Author:** ![Stanislaus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stanislaus/32/3391_2.png) [@Stanislaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stanislaus)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/having-been-to-a-citys-airport-visiting-the-city/653440/100 "2013-03-22T15:26:55Z")
Imagine the following conversation: A: “Yes, we’re real excited about the trip. We’ve never been to Istanbul before.” B: “Oh, I’ve been to Istanbul.” A: “Really? Wow, fantastic, what would you recommend? Did you see the Hagia Sophia? How’s the food? Do many people speak English?” B: “Umm… I mean, I changed flights there once. Never left the airport.” A: “… Oh, right. Well, thanks.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/having-been-to-a-citys-airport-visiting-the-city/653440.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/having-been-to-a-citys-airport-visiting-the-city/653440.md?page=6)