Creative Writing Prompt: Write About a Busy Airport Delay

This week, I found myself sitting in an overcrowded airport lounge, watching tired faces, restless children, and endless departure board delays. Bags piled high. People pacing. Announcements crackling overhead with words no traveller wants to hear: “Your flight has been delayed.”

And somewhere between my second coffee and the third announcement, I realised…
This is a brilliant setting for a piece of creative writing.

Airports are buzzing with life.

They’re full of people from different countries, backgrounds and reasons for travelling.
Some are excited. Some are anxious. Some are just tired.

When a delay happens, suddenly everything changes.

There’s tension in the air. People’s true feelings rise to the surface.

It’s the perfect chance to:

• Build atmosphere

• Develop character

• Create a moment of drama

Here are some ideas to get you started:

👀 Describe the Scene:

• What can you see? Glass walls, neon signs, tangled queues, glowing departure boards…

• What sounds fill the air? Announcements, sighs, laughter, phones ringing, suitcases rattling along the floor.

• What do you smell? Coffee, fast food, perfume sprayed in duty free.

• How do people move? Restlessly shifting from foot to foot, pacing up and down, slumping in chairs.

🧠 Character Ideas:

• A businessperson frantically typing on a laptop while waiting.

• A child staring wide-eyed at the planes taking off.

• A couple arguing over whose fault the missed connection was.

• An elderly man calmly reading a newspaper, unbothered by the chaos.

⚡ Plot Sparks:

• A delayed flight causes a passenger to miss something important.

• A mysterious passenger is spotted changing their identity in the bathroom.

• Someone overhears a strange conversation at the gate.

• A lost suitcase sparks confusion and a race to find the owner before boarding closes.

When I was stuck at the airport, I tried to notice the little things:

• The way people forced small smiles at strangers.

• The bored teenager creating origami from a boarding pass.

• The sudden cheer when a single flight was announced as “On Time.”

Great writers observe the world carefully.
Your job is to take those real-life moments and turn them into a scene your reader can feel.

Give your story a strong opening, build up the tension, and end with something memorable—maybe the flight finally takes off... or maybe it doesn’t.

If you'd like to share your writing with us at TJ Tutors, send it over—I’d love to see what you come up with.

Our TJ Tutors Summer Programme offers a wealth of inspiration and support for creative writing.

📅 View the full summer programme:
👉 https://www.tjtutors.co.uk/summer2025

Or book a free chat:
📞 https://calendly.com/tj-tutors/consultation-call

Happy writing (and safe travels next time ✈️).