This morning I drove from Jose Ignacio, Uruguay, to Carrasco International Airport to pick up 3 of my four kids. In NYC, where I used to live, I would go to greet dear ones at JFK and I would be normally surrounded by limo drivers. I was really surprised at how few people were actually greeted not by a driver, but by people who loved them. In Madrid things are somewhat better, I would say loved ones significantly outnumber drivers. I seemed to remember that things were different in Argentina and Uruguay but had no proof until this morning.

In this video I show a packed waiting area where families wait standing, in many cases holding babies so they are there first when their loved ones come out. I then come up with a weird idea in which you measure how affectionate people are in a certain country by counting the number of people who come and greet them at the airport in proportion to the arriving passengers. In this case it was a MOB scene for only two international flights.

Follow Martin Varsavsky on Twitter: twitter.com/martinvars

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PanMan on December 26, 2006  · 

It might be more complex: I can imagine that on JFK, there are more rich people (and business travelers), for who traveling is less special. That doesn’t mean they are less loved, but if you travel every week, you won’t get picked up by you family every time.

3.0 rating

Carlos Ituarte on December 26, 2006  · 

I been traveling around quite a lot the last few years and I have to say I really like to see my family when I arrive to the airport…

Unfortunately waiting at airport, specially the one in Mexico City has become a nightmare. Getting to the airport can take you something around 1 hour and 3 in the worse traffic jams. On top of that the flight delays have become very common (ask Air Madrid).

For these reasons I have asked my family not to go to the airport anymore, I rather see them comfortably in my home than tired and stressed for waiting hours for me.

I am sure is not like this in every airport…

3.0 rating

XL on December 26, 2006  · 

You should see “Love Actually” because they speack about that…

3.0 rating

Dabis Camero on December 28, 2006  · 

Why don’t you relax a little bit more, try to be more social, and try to understand people better.

Regards,

– Dabis

3.0 rating

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