If you’ve ever stood in a security line while a parent or grandparent explained why you needed to leave the house at dawn, you know the feeling. Airport habits are one of the easiest places for generational differences to show up. Everyone thinks their own routine is the sensible one.
Many of these habits have solid reasoning behind them, and some are even catching on with younger travelers. Here are six boomer airport habits that still raise eyebrows at the family dinner table, along with what the research says about each.
Arriving Hours Before the Flight
Younger relatives often wonder why a boomer wants to be at the airport long before there’s any reason to be. The standard advice backs them up more than you’d think. TSA guidance recommends arriving at least two hours before domestic flights and three hours before international ones.[1] Those numbers are a rule of thumb, though, not a law.
The gap is real, but it’s narrower than the stereotype suggests. An older AARP report found that over half of millennials arrive with an hour and a half or less before departure.[2] More recently, a Valet Connections study covered by Yahoo found that 75% of surveyed millennials and Gen Zers now arrive hours early, mainly to spend time in the airport lounge.[3] So the early arrival isn’t going away. Only the motivation differs.
Insisting on a Paper Boarding Pass
Nothing makes a younger traveler sigh quite like watching a parent dig through a bag for a folded printout. Phones have taken over fast. According to a 2024 airline industry survey, almost two thirds of flyers now use their mobile devices to board the aircraft.[4] Printed passes are the minority choice.
Boomers haven’t universally held out, but preferences do tilt toward paper. An industry analysis from a few years back noted that boomers prefer paper boarding passes and would likely pick a person over a machine.[5] A printout can’t run out of battery or lose signal at the gate. That’s a perfectly reasonable argument, even if it doesn’t convince anyone under 40.
Choosing a Human Over the Kiosk
Walking past a row of empty self-service kiosks to wait in the line for an agent seems baffling to many millennials. Yet kiosk use has dropped overall. In the airline industry survey, check-in via automated airport kiosk fell from 25% in 2019 to 15% in 2023, while mobile app check-in rose from 29% to 55%.[4] Almost everyone has moved to their phone, not just boomers.
A 2026 airport experience report adds some nuance. It found that only 40% of boomers are likely to use online airport services, compared with 62% of younger travelers, and a quarter avoid digital purchasing channels entirely.[6] Still, the same report showed boomers are as open as younger travelers to a single airport app, suggesting they want streamlined, functional tools rather than frills.[6] In other words, they’re not anti-technology. They just don’t want to fight it.
Booking Direct, Early, and Sometimes Through a Person
Younger family members tend to find flights through apps, comparison tools, or even social media posts. Boomers often do it differently. One industry analysis noted that older travelers are planning earlier than ever and will book on desktop directly from an airline or hotel website.[5] A trip gets researched, compared, and settled weeks ahead.
The travel agent habit is the one that really draws a double take. Coverage of generational travel trends points out that younger generations skip the boomer route of going through a travel agent and book vacations through social media instead.[7] Honestly, having a person who can fix a cancelled connection by phone is a perk plenty of app users would envy on a bad travel day.
Sticking With One Airline for Years
Ask a boomer why they’re loyal to a particular carrier and you may get a story that spans decades. Younger travelers are more likely to chase the cheapest fare. In OAG’s 2023 traveler survey, Gen Z (77%) was the most likely to change airline preferences to fit their budget, while Baby Boomers (47%) were the least likely to switch because of cost.[8] That’s a notable gap.
The motivation behind loyalty differs, too. Boomers have a higher chance of being in a loyalty program, so they’re often looking for rewards or senior specials.[5] Meanwhile, the same OAG survey found that on-time performance drives loyalty for 63% of Gen Z but only 25% of boomers.[8] Familiarity and perks seem to count for more than punctuality. That’s survey data from 2023, so it’s a snapshot rather than a verdict.
Treating the Terminal as Part of the Trip
Many boomers seem oddly relaxed in an airport, strolling the shops, grabbing a meal, and reading a magazine before boarding. A younger relative who sprints to the gate with minutes to spare may find that baffling. The AARP research offers some support. It found that just 14% of boomers described their most recent air trip as stressful, compared with 29% of millennials and 23% of Gen Xers.[2]
The same AARP report suggested part of the millennial stress came from behavior, since millennials were more likely to go straight to the gate instead of using airport amenities.[2] Keep in mind that this survey covered 2015 travel, so it’s older evidence. Still, the idea that arriving with time to spare buys some calm is hard to dismiss.
Most of these habits aren’t really about stubbornness. They’re about control, predictability, and a preference for dealing with a person when something goes wrong. Younger travelers may keep rolling their eyes, but they’ve also started to borrow the early arrival and the lounge visit. Next time a parent insists on leaving early, it might be worth asking what they’re doing with all that extra time at the gate. They may be onto something.
