This article is re -publish of The conversation under a Creative Commons license.

Many of us have seen unusual and even antisocial behavior at an airport or on a flight. These can range from benign acts such as sleeping on the floor or doing yoga before the flight information system to serious incidents such as early morning drunken arguments or even to open the aircraft doors in the middle of the flight.

It seems that these more sinister problems have worsened over the past few years, with increasing incidents in air rage and flight disorders. Such incidents have led to calls to reduce or even ban the sale of alcohol at airports and aircraft. For example, Ryanair called on a two-drink limit at airport bars to stop drunken incidents on aircraft.

But what is it at airports that make us act differently? Let’s look at psychology.

Many holidaymakers feel that the adventure starts at the airport and puts it in another state of mind than normal. They are eager to start their one or two weeks of relaxed hedonism with a flourish.

However, others are anxious about flying, which can make them act out of character or take refuge in alcohol. The noise and crowds of airports do not help either. As the field of Environmental Psychology has shown, people are very sensitive to our immediate environment and can easily be ‘overloaded’ by stressors such as crowds and noise.

Stress and anxiety cause irritability, both on a temporary and continuous basis. People who are generally anxious are more prone to anger. And a temporary anxious mood often causes evil outbursts.

In my opinion, we must also look at the airport from a psychogyographic perspective. Psychogeography studies the effect of places on people’s emotions and behavior, especially urban environments.

In Celtic cultures there is a concept of special ‘thin places’ – often sacred trees or forests – where the veil between the material and the spiritual world is thin. In thin places we are between two countries, not fully in one place or another.

In the modern technological world, airports can also be seen as ‘thin places’. These are liminal zones where boundaries fade. On a literal level, the national boundaries dissolve. As soon as we go through security, we enter a no -man’s land between countries. The concept of place becomes haze.

In a similar way, time becomes a frantic concept at airports. About to walk on a plane, we are in a liminal space between two time zones, about to jump forward or even go back in the past. Some flights across the US – like Atlanta to Alabama – have earlier than departure time while crossing time zones. If we can manage our time, we give a sense of control over our lives. Losing it can be another source of anxiety.

In another sense, airports are an absence zone, where the present moment is unwelcome. Everyone’s attention turns to the future, to their flights and the adventures before them when they arrive at their destination. This intense future focus often brings frustration, especially if flights are delayed.