Over the past few months, influencers and content creators have flooded TikTok, Instagram and other social media sites with pictures and videos of aesthetically pleasing … airport trays. In the images, the utilitarian bins come to life with carefully arranged accessories – cameras, headphones, tickets. Some displays get elaborate, adding designer purses and makeup, while others simply arrange commonplace items in a nicer way.
A recent video showed a creator’s monochrome variations for different cities. Others opt to display the contents of their gadget-filled personal carry-on item or their favourite book. For Hitha Palepu, the author of “How to Pack: Travel Smart for Any Trip”, the trend is one of her “biggest travel pet peeves and icks” for several reasons: inconsideration of fellow travellers and security staff, “gross” hygiene and an unrealistic portrayal of the messy – and often stressful – realities of travel. (A 2018 study found that the plastic trays carry more cold germs than airport toilets.)
As if the base line anxiety of travel weren’t enough to deal with, adding “annoyed” to the roster of emotions might send some travellers like Celeste Hernandez, 27, over the edge. “The way I’m waiting for TSA to yell at me just because I’m taking my sweater off,” she said, en route to Houston from New York. But some said onlookers were too quick to be grumpy about the latest influencer trend. The posts, many said, were meant to be expressive, celebrate the joy of travel or bond with friends.
The Transportation Security Administration is aware of the trend, but a spokesperson said the agency had no problem with it “as long as the staged glamour photos are not causing delays or issues with other passengers in the checkpoint.”
The trend may have started as a way to help sell products. A video on this topic was a marketing attempt by Sarin Jivalagian, the founder of an online store for vintage bags. She and her friends arranged a photoshoot on some benches after the security line at Hollywood Burbank Airport in California. Some people jumped to conclusions, she said, assuming that she had been holding up the line. “Did you do this in Des Moines, Iowa?” One commenter asked, “because where did they let you take up this much time in TSA????” Even if pictures are taken after security, “that’s one less bin to get through security seamlessly,” Palepu, the author, said. “That’s inconsiderate.”
A recent video showed a creator’s monochrome variations for different cities. Others opt to display the contents of their gadget-filled personal carry-on item or their favourite book. For Hitha Palepu, the author of “How to Pack: Travel Smart for Any Trip”, the trend is one of her “biggest travel pet peeves and icks” for several reasons: inconsideration of fellow travellers and security staff, “gross” hygiene and an unrealistic portrayal of the messy – and often stressful – realities of travel. (A 2018 study found that the plastic trays carry more cold germs than airport toilets.)
As if the base line anxiety of travel weren’t enough to deal with, adding “annoyed” to the roster of emotions might send some travellers like Celeste Hernandez, 27, over the edge. “The way I’m waiting for TSA to yell at me just because I’m taking my sweater off,” she said, en route to Houston from New York. But some said onlookers were too quick to be grumpy about the latest influencer trend. The posts, many said, were meant to be expressive, celebrate the joy of travel or bond with friends.
The Transportation Security Administration is aware of the trend, but a spokesperson said the agency had no problem with it “as long as the staged glamour photos are not causing delays or issues with other passengers in the checkpoint.”
The trend may have started as a way to help sell products. A video on this topic was a marketing attempt by Sarin Jivalagian, the founder of an online store for vintage bags. She and her friends arranged a photoshoot on some benches after the security line at Hollywood Burbank Airport in California. Some people jumped to conclusions, she said, assuming that she had been holding up the line. “Did you do this in Des Moines, Iowa?” One commenter asked, “because where did they let you take up this much time in TSA????” Even if pictures are taken after security, “that’s one less bin to get through security seamlessly,” Palepu, the author, said. “That’s inconsiderate.”
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