Since the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, travel in this country has changed dramatically.

This is particularly true when it comes to flying anywhere inside, to or from the United States. Due to the attacks, security is tight and inconveniences everyone. (”Sir, you’ll have to throw away that Mountain Dew and take off your shoes to proceed.”) The economy has forced airlines to raise prices to cover general management and oil costs. (”Ma’am, that’ll be $30 to check those two bags.”)

As a result, traveling by plane is not a day at the park for many. It means waking up before dawn to catch a flight, getting to the airport two hours early to make it through the long lines at check-in and security and sitting around at the gate until the plane is boarded.

Flying means when the plane is boarded, there is an overweight person in aisle seat A when your ticket says seat B, braving suffocating heat or bitter cold airplane temperatures on top of the always turbulent flight. Flying means the plane arriving at the gate late, waiting 15 minutes to get off of the plane and waiting another 30 minutes for baggage. Flying, for most, means a hassle.

Though everybody seems to have had one bad experience or another with the airline industry, the method of travel by flying is really quite an extended adventure. Even an hour-long flight, say, Chicago to Knoxville, takes up a good four hours of one’s day at minimum when getting to the airport, checking in and flying are included in the travel time.

In a flight from Chicago to Knoxville, one must challenge the brutal traffic of the city to get to major United Airlines and American Airlines hub O’Hare International. The speed limit on the heavily policed highway that circles the facility is 35 mph, which means not only are the taxi drivers out to run everybody over, the cops are out to pull everybody over, and one has to fight them all off at a mere 35 mph with the stress of trying to catch a flight. Avoid these enemies at all costs.

If the traveler can make it safely into the parking garage, he or she must then navigate their way through the desolate underground passageways that lead to the terminal entrance. The passageways resemble secret underground caverns, empty and cold.

Perhaps Chicago to Knoxville is not the most extreme of airport adventures, but a flight from Knoxville to Rome certainly is. Rarely if ever are there direct international flights from Knoxville’s McGhee-Tyson Airport, so one must connect at a larger airport like Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International. Knoxville’s airport is the easy part, as it is so small that the only inconvenience is what to order at Ruby Tuesday’s — a laidback start to the upcoming voyage.

But consider Atlanta, the world’s busiest airport. A flight from Knoxville would land in a small, regional plane section of the airport, while a flight to Rome’s Fiumicino Airport would depart from an international gate on the total opposite side of Hartsfield-Jackson. This means running down to the end of the terminal, dodging those running to catch the flight to Charlotte, N.C., or Birmingham, Ala., gliding down the endless escalators and into the subway station.

After waiting impatiently for the subway, one cramps into the train and rides for what seems like ages to the international terminal. Then comes the hustle back up the escalator and back down the terminal to the gate. And that is just the beginning.

Airports are the most fascinating places. In the cases of airports like O’Hare and Hartsfield-Jackson, over 200,000 people coming in and out each day make for a people watcher’s dream. That is an adventure in itself.

But with the exception of those who fly multiple times per week, traveling via the friendly skies is not just a trip but a journey. Not quite to the epic proportions of Indiana Jones’ Nazi encounters but a journey in itself. Sitting back and enjoying the flight is cake, battling the various evil entities and barriers that keep you from getting there is the fun.

Unless, of course, the adventure gets to you before you get to your plane.

— Oliver Casey is a junior in enterprise management. He can be reached at [email protected].