# Moving sidewalks in airports **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 21, 2019, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-sidewalks-in-airports/845189 "2019-12-21T19:45:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2019, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-sidewalks-in-airports/845189/81 "2019-12-31T14:15:34Z")
On a couple doors I pass through regularly, I bash the handicap button because when you’re manually moving the door, it’s heavy because you working against the opening mechanism. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2019, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-sidewalks-in-airports/845189/82 "2019-12-31T14:28:15Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > I’m a bit mystified why you take such a dim view of this (I was joking). I think it is the pinnacle of laziness that one would rather push a button and wait for the door to open, rather than to just push it and get on with it, using a device designed for people who _can’t_ push a door open. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2019, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-sidewalks-in-airports/845189/83 "2019-12-31T16:13:22Z")
[The _Jackie Brown_ intro features an airport moving sidewalk.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKQWn-UBDTo) ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2019, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-sidewalks-in-airports/845189/84 "2019-12-31T16:36:40Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > I think it is the pinnacle of laziness that one would rather push a button and wait for the door to open, rather than to just push it and get on with it, using > a device designed for people who _can’t_ push a door open. Maybe I’m too contrary, but this really makes me want to push the button next time I encounter a handicap door. ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2019, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-sidewalks-in-airports/845189/85 "2019-12-31T17:35:38Z")
> [@Die\_Capacitrix](#): > > … > > Amsterdam airport has signs at the entrance and along the moving walkways specifying the lanes for walking and standing… No, they don’t. What they do have is a light above head height indicating which walkway to use. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2019, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-sidewalks-in-airports/845189/86 "2019-12-31T18:38:09Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > [The _Jackie Brown_ intro features an airport moving sidewalk.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKQWn-UBDTo) That’s the LAX moving sidewalk…with the tiled wall I mentioned before. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2019, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-sidewalks-in-airports/845189/87 "2019-12-31T18:39:25Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > On a couple doors I pass through regularly, I bash the handicap button because when you’re manually moving the door, it’s heavy because you working against the opening mechanism. This. If you try to open it manually, it’s like it’s fighting you. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2020, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-sidewalks-in-airports/845189/88 "2020-01-01T02:28:19Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I’m not in an airport to enjoy the ambiance. I’ve got someplace to be, and I want to get on with getting there. So I continue walking. I’m not in an airport for ambiance either but needing to be early in order to clear security &/or having a layover on a connecting flight means I do have time to kill in them. I’d much rather walk around than sit in the waiting area before I’m going to sit in a confined space for many hours. > [@puzzlegal](#): > > (Also, this is a good time to note that if an escalator is crowded to capacity, it’s actually better if everyone stands. A standing person takes less space than a person walking up the escalator, so the total thru-put is higher if everyone stands as close to each other as they can bear. Of course, few escalators are packed to capacity, and normally it’s fine to pass on the left.) Facility management might want maximum thruput but I, who moves thru a crowd faster than the average person, don’t. Stand right & allow me to walk left. Gitoutdaway, thankewverymuch. The flaw in their design is that they should be wider than a normal escalator, like in a mall. This is because most people, with their arms on the side of their body tend to walk with their rolling luggage somewhat off to their side instead of directly behind them. When a standee & their luggage is taking up 1¼ or 1½ widths of a two-person wide moving walkway then I can’t get by them. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2020, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-sidewalks-in-airports/845189/89 "2020-01-01T04:01:54Z")
You guys must have great lives if someone blocking a moving sidewalk is enough to annoy you. I walk very fast and live in a crowded city (where many people meander along watching movies on their phone). If I got annoyed every time someone obstructed me my blood pressure would be enough to look like a beetroot. Yeah I wish people were more considerate at times but it’s such a trivial thing to get irked by. Sent from my Redmi 5A using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2020, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-sidewalks-in-airports/845189/90 "2020-01-02T12:10:14Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > You guys must have great lives if someone blocking a moving sidewalk is enough to annoy you. When I’m trying to get from gate 69 in terminal C to gate 17 in terminal A in under twelve minutes, pretty much anything annoys me. ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-sidewalks-in-airports/845189/91 "2020-01-03T11:31:10Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > and more recently they experimented with one that accelerated as you got on it. Not a success: > > [https://www.thetransportpolitic.com/2009/05/21/paris-experimental-high-speed-moving-walkway-is-abandoned/](https://www.thetransportpolitic.com/2009/05/21/paris-experimental-high-speed-moving-walkway-is-abandoned/) Maybe that one didn’t work, but I have seen travelators at airports that move slowly if no-one is on them, increasing to their usual speed when someone approaches - presumably as an electricty-saving measure. > [@Grrr](#): > > I walk in them because it’s just too fun. > > It’s like having a superpower like the Flash or something. Exactly. If I’m tired and/or have awkward luggage, and am not in a hurry, I’ll stand on the right and ride. > [@SanVito](#): > > Yes of course we have them, we’re so up with the 20th century. > > But we stand on the right and walk on the left. At least, anyone who has ever lived in London does, where hogging the escalator is a capital offence. For everyone else, I’m not entirely sure there’s a rule about it. I’ve never lived in London, but have visited often enough to know the rules. I find it ever so slightly irritating on mall/department store escalators when people stand two abreast, preventing those who are happy to climb up half a flight of stairs from saving a few seconds. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-sidewalks-in-airports/845189/92 "2020-01-03T12:49:24Z")
Yeah, I walk fast enough that if I see people dawdling on moving sidewalks or down escalators I can make better time by walking - if the stairs / walkway isn’t crowded as well! It only rises to the level of outright annoying when I am late or if the offenders are so few that they could easily make way for me as a party (I know human nature better than to expect several parties to simultaneously come to their senses and let the walkers through). ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-sidewalks-in-airports/845189/93 "2020-01-03T15:36:49Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > Wait a minnit. Taking a dump on a _moving_ escalator is easier than on a stationary one? O-o-o-kay. You would think so, but… [https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Human-waste-shuts-down-BART-escalators-3735981.php](https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Human-waste-shuts-down-BART-escalators-3735981.php) ---
**Author:** ![Scougs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scougs/32/3158_2.png) [@Scougs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scougs)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-sidewalks-in-airports/845189/94 "2020-01-03T15:56:15Z")
The trouble with airports is the hazardous mixture of frequent flyers who know exactly where they are going and what they are doing, and folk that fly at most once a year and regard the airport as part of their holiday. Business travellers cutting it fine, mixing with people with all the time in the world who want to gaze around and enjoy the airport experience. If you want to stand on the moving walkway, do so by all means, but don’t block the way for someone who may be in a crazy hurry to make their gate, or who just wants to get the whole sorry business of moving through an airport over as soon as possible. And have the same consideration when you move around the rest of the airport as well. Especially in the ones where you have to walk through the duty free shop to get from security to departures. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-sidewalks-in-airports/845189/95 "2020-01-03T16:00:58Z")
This discussion reminds me of _The Roads Must Roll_, a Robert Heinlein short story. It envisions a future where moving sidewalks are the primary transportation infrastructure. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-sidewalks-in-airports/845189/96 "2020-01-03T16:07:39Z")
I walk on the left, stand on the right, the same as escalators. The worst is when a family spreads out and stands on a moving walkway, they manage to scatter their luggage and slack jawed spawn in a perfect roadblock of obliviousness to other people and when you try to squeeze by, they are dumbfounded. ---
**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:** [January 3, 2020, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-sidewalks-in-airports/845189/97 "2020-01-03T17:27:09Z")
If I have to hustle to make a gate, I’ll walk or even run on them to save time. Otherwise, I’ll stand and enjoy the rest. I had one memorable experience on a moving sidewalk, I don’t remember which airport. Someone on a wheelchair managed to somehow get stuck on the departure end. It happened to be about 20 feet ahead of me and maybe 5-10 people between us. They started to fall like dominos in front of me as we were all swept into the poor stuck wheelchair user. I fell as well but had the good fortune to be right behind a very lovely young lady and I had the honor of cushioning her fall as we toppled. Soon enough the jam cleared and we all got to regain our footing and fortunately nobody seemed to get hurt. But now I look a little more at what’s going on ahead of me on the sidewalk. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-sidewalks-in-airports/845189/98 "2020-01-03T22:18:25Z")
My most memorable moment in moving public transport was in London when I was walking on the left down a Tube escalator and the person in front of me, despite the fact they were walking, _stopped at the bottom to catch their bearings_, causing me to simultaneously look behind me for other walkers and walk backwards to avoid her. Thankfully, as there was no one behind me on the left, there wasn’t a multi-person pileup! ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2020, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-sidewalks-in-airports/845189/99 "2020-01-04T19:40:02Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > This discussion reminds me of _The Roads Must Roll_, a Robert Heinlein short story. It envisions a future where moving sidewalks are the primary transportation infrastructure. I remember that well. When entering a belt station you’s easily step onto a slow moving one and could keep walking crosswise to get on faster and faster belts the last one of which, the one most people traveling intercity would be, was wide enough to accommodate restrooms, snack bars, and other services. IIRC there was a design flaw when the protagonist saw one of the faster belts suffer a breakdown and come to a halt. The adjacent belt kept at its original speed and a woman, nudged off balance from behind, automatically put her foot out onto it instantly causing a chain reaction accident. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-sidewalks-in-airports/845189.md?page=4)