I flew quite a lot in Europe in the 90s and it was definitely a completely different experience compared to nowadays.
I do remember walking on the tarmac yes. I had my ticket before but could seat wherever. I could just show up 60 to 30min before take off. I was also - as a kid - always asked by the stewardess if i wanted to visit the cockpit.
I remember telling that to a friend of mine who was 10 years younger and never flew before 9/11 and he thought I was making it up.
I have walked on the tarmac plenty of times in the last 10 years either at smaller airports or at very large airports. At large airports it's because smaller flights don't get to park right up to the terminal so you have to board a little bus that takes you from the airplane to the terminal and vice-versa.
At smaller airports it's because planes that small (100 or fewer passenger jets) don't really need the big walkways.
> I could just show up 60 to 30min before take off
I do that every time I fly domestic out of SFO. Super fast airport :)
Like I said: it happens at very large airports where not all connections fit around the terminal building, and at very small airports where the terminal itself is small.
Many international airports do the tarmac thing for smaller regional-ish flights. In Europe those regional flights can easily be to a different country.
I haven’t walked over tarmac from a terminal to a plane since
checks
Sunday.
Showed up 45 minutes before the flight and still lamented how early it was. Despite security and passport control the longest time was spent walking through the duty free section.
Same thing happened to my friend. In the 90s sometime his dad just asked if his kid could go and they said sure and pointed him out all the buttons and the controls.
> I could just show up 60 to 30min before take off
In the early 90's I showed up at a check in counter for a domestic flight from SYD 1 minute before scheduled departure time and the lady there apologized and told me that I missed the flight because it had left a little early.
I think I remember a Trump Shuttle print ad from, presumably, 1989 or 1990, saying that you'd better not show up for a flight at 6:00:01 if the scheduled departure is at 6:00:00.
This principle still works for Swiss and Japanese trains, but it might be a little harder for people to relate to for air travel nowadays!
I do remember walking on the tarmac yes. I had my ticket before but could seat wherever. I could just show up 60 to 30min before take off. I was also - as a kid - always asked by the stewardess if i wanted to visit the cockpit.
I remember telling that to a friend of mine who was 10 years younger and never flew before 9/11 and he thought I was making it up.