Sleeping in Airports

Sara Gatti
Jan 15, 2019
3 min read

So you're thinking you want to sleep in an airport before an early flight to save some money? Okay, I hear you: but first, here are some tips&tricks.

Milan Malpensa Airport's "capsule hotel"

A few weeks ago, I had a flight out of Milan Malpensa Airport to go home for Christmas. My flight was at 10:30AM on a Friday, but because I live in Parma and can only take a train to get to the Malpensa, I had to get myself to Milan by Thursday evening. So I worked Thursday, came home to grab my bags, and two trains and three hours later I was walking through the front doors of Malpensa Airport. It was around 11PM, and after I got my bearings (and something to eat, of course), I looked for the sleeping options I'd researched previously-- but long story short, I ended up "sleeping" on a metal chair. If you want to try to avoid this, below are some tips. If you think a metal chair sounds comfy enough, I'll give you some tricks for how to make your airport overnight stay safe and (somewhat) comfortable.

If you want to sleep, in style & in private, at the airport

Do your research

Duh, right? Maybe this is obvious, but I mean really do your research. First, look at what overnight options the airport provides. At Malpensa, there are these small sleep pods/capsules that you can rent for 9euro/hour (photo above) to catch some ZZZ's before a flight. I figured I'd find them, book one for maybe 4 hours, then just hangout in the airport until it was time to make my way to my gate. However, when I got to the pods, they were all reserved. This was a bummer, but I had a back-up plan, which is something else you need to have in your back pocket. There was a hotel inside the airport that rented rooms for the night or for just 5 hours, which I knew would be more expensive than the sleep pods, but it was my only option. I walked across Terminal 1 and down to the Sheraton only to find out that they too were completely booked. By now, it was around 12:30AM and I was dead tired and defeated, so I found a public area to sleep.

Basically, if you don't want to end up how I did on this fateful night, do your research. I did research, but you should take it a step further than I did and actually book things in advance. Don't assume that rooms or pods will be vacant at the exact time that you need them-- it's short-sighted and self-centered. There are hundreds (if not thousands) of people traveling through your terminal, so odds are that if you're waiting until the last minute to book somewhere to sleep, others beat you to it. With that being said, it really wasn't that bad sleeping in the terminal, so read on if you're thinking of going that route.

My view for the night in Terminal 1 of Malpensa

If you want to sleep, publicly in the terminal, at the airport

Be safe

Not tryna sound like your mom, but be smart and be safe! How do you do that when you're exposed and sleeping out in the open? A few things:

Choose a place to sleep where there are also other people sleeping: you don't want to isolate yourself. As a woman traveling alone, it was important to me to be in a populated and well-lit area. Although there were literally no other women around me, I still felt comfortable as there were several other travelers near me in a well-trafficked area. Also, scope out security cameras and park yourself near those as well.

Protect your bags. If possible, choose an area that has rows of seating rather than just seats along the exterior wall. If there are rows of seats running perpendicularly to the wall, you can push your bag(s) against the wall and sleep with your legs extended across the aisle and propped up on the other row of seats. That way, no one can grab your bag while you're deep into your airport slumbers.

Be Prepared

If you're sure you want to (try to) sleep in the airport before your flight, bring the essentials: an eye mask/sunglasses to block the lights, headphones, a blanket, disinfectant wipes, water & snacks, phone & laptop charger. If you're traveling light, your coat can double as your blanket, your scarf can double as an eye mask and pillow (or also a blanket). I suggest using your purse as a pillow also, which keeps it safe while also providing some comfort for you!

All in all, sleeping at Malpensa wasn't so bad-- I saved money, got about 3 hours sleep, and felt like a boss for handling the situation with smarts... and had another experience to write about!