Posted on 04/18/2026 4:42:12 AM PDT by daniel1212
Airport lounges were once the destination of a select few. But recently, the premium spaces are becoming increasingly crowded — and chaos is following in some cases.
Stories are going viral about passengers raiding complimentary buffets in lounges, and children wreaking havoc while distracted parents are unfazed.
At one airport lounge in a major New York City airport not long ago, witnesses watched in shock as a couple ordered six signature burgers and multiple orders of buns, the "View from the Wing" blog reported.
Instead of eating the premium patties, the couple stuffed the burgers into a large duffel, adding desserts snatched from the buffet, the blog added.
Then, to conceal the heist, apparently, the couple stashed the greasy plates behind decorative planters, the blog noted.
... "The mores and norms associated with [airport lounges] have changed, and that stands out especially to those whose expectations are built on an earlier era," Leff said....
Another viral incident was captured by a photo of an airport lounge after young children seemed to wreak havoc there.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
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Greyhound started an airline?
No, but Carnival cruise line did.
Amish on vacay?
CC
I've heard of "all you can eat" but society now seems to view this as "all you can carry" -- bring a duffel bag and just carry the whole buffet out with you.
We used to live in an actual society. It meant something.
Was it them again Yogi?
Got all the earmarks of ratchet behavior
It’s our strength
“Stories are going viral about passengers raiding complimentary buffets in lounges, and children wreaking havoc while distracted parents are unfazed.”
…all wearing MAGA hats I presume
Thank you self-esteem and moral-relativism culture.
On a reasonably related side issue, I remember fondly as a kid going to the Ponderosa restaurant with the all you can eat salad and dessert bars. The kind of behaviour I’ve read about in recent years as cited by the article makes me wonder if the Ponderosa could or could not make that kind of a comeback.
Yikes!
They sound like beached cruise ships at this point.
Me too. The glorious fried chicken and pudding. It was an annual reward by my parents for splitting and stacking the year’s firewood supply.
We need to bring back public shaming. Pillories...Footstocks... Schandmantelen...
They might be able to make a comeback if they can figure how to align all you can eat over the course of a month from a single visit.
About 40 years ago as a bachelor that was flying a lot I obtained lifetime lounge access that are valid today for AA and Delta, the lounges have become crowded in that time. I accessed the main Skyclub at DTW a few years ago and it was packed. It was difficult to find 2 seats together.
To make things worse I needed to make some changes to my flight but the attendants said they didn’t support that anymore and I’d have to call 800 number. Having top notch support at those clubs was a great help.
And they’ve changed the rules with things like you can only access the lounges within 2 hours of a flight and/or can only access if you’re booked on that airline.
“It was an annual reward by my parents for splitting and stacking the year’s firewood supply.”
I think your parents got the better end of that deal. 😁
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