©istockphoto.com/Simon Oxley

There should be movie theatres in airports. Multiplexes, even. Wouldn’t that long layover be more palatable if you could see that movie you never had time for but wanted to watch? I do this on flights all the time, playing catch-up with the blockbusters I never had time to see.

You can buy almost anything in an airport nowadays, and there are countless places to eat and linger over a cocktail. So the next logical step is entertainment.

I could imagine this as a decent revenue producer for certain airports. (Let’s face it; this only works in major hubs.) Suddenly, that three-hour weather delay wouldn’t sound so bad.

Time moves differently in airports. It feels more fluid; it can be both compressed and extremely drawn out. Waiting at an airport feels different than waiting in line at, say, a movie theatre. But time spent watching a movie is better than fluid; it’s more like a river.

What if airport movie theatres showed short films? There are so many great movies out there that don’t fit the public’s standard definition of “movie” (that is, films that are at least 90 minutes long). Here’s a way of making the Best Live-Action Short Film at the Oscars less of a mystery.

I could see this drastically improving the overall airport experience. Airports and airlines do much to make their customers feel better – for example, more amenities in the lounges, full-service spas in airports. A traveller in a better mood is a better traveller.

I’m not naive. I know there are enormous interests out there that will balk at this idea. What would happen to bookstores? So many people only read books (more specifically, fiction) in airports and on airplanes. I want to do everything I can to encourage more reading. And the retail and food outlets will rightly see this as an attempt to share their dollars.

But the added competition could be mitigated by the fact that you feel better. About yourself. About the world. But, more importantly, about travel itself.

You and I want to get in and out of Airworld as quickly as possible. And most of the time, that will be the case. But not always. For those occasions, a quick shot of movie magic could do wonders for everyone – and make the airport a better and more entertaining place.

Should airports have movie theatres? Leave us a comment!

Article originally published in Air Canada‘s enRoute, which is also published by Spafax.

UPDATE: Thanks to the many readers who wrote in to remind us that Singapore’s Changi airport has screening rooms in several terminals that display movies on cable TV network STAR. We’d love to hear about your movie-watching experiences at Changi!