By Editor,Hayley Minn

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New ‘Airport divorce’ trend set to be the trick to avoid holiday arguments – would YOU try it?

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By HAYLEY MINN, DEPUTY TRAVEL EDITOR

Published: 11:31 BST, 15 September 2025 | Updated: 11:31 BST, 15 September 2025

Couples’ holidays should be calm and romantic – but the stresses of travel can often lead to arguments even at the airport.

But, if you’re looking to head abroad without a row, you may want to think about an ‘airport divorce’.

The strategy, involving splitting up after security and only reuniting once at your seats on the plane, is one that a Sunday Times journalist and his fiancée, Morwenna, have become fond of using.

Huw Oliver said it was beneficial, due to the fact that his fiancée enjoys duty-free shopping at the airport, while he likes to sit around looking at the departures board.

And he finds it really beneficial.

He wrote in his column: ‘If you’ve already spent the whole holiday together—or you’ve arrived at the airport two hours early—there’s not much left to talk about.

‘It gives you a break.’

Licensed clinical professional counsellor Anne M. Appel confirmed an ‘airport divorce’ is very likely to save couples from arguing, as studies from the Journal of Travel Medicine and the Journal of Air Transport Management show that travellers tend to experience increased anxiety in airports.

Couples’ holidays should be calm and romantic – but the stresses of travel can often lead to argument even at the airport. But, if you’re looking to head abroad without a row, you may want to think about an ‘airport divorce’

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She said in the Sunday Times: ‘Airports are stressful. They are basically pressure cookers.

‘You’re racing against the clock, standing in endless lines, and you have almost no control over what happens next.

‘Add in additional stimuli like noises and crowds—and the fact that most are already tired by the time they arrive at the airport—and you’ve got the perfect storm for conflict to arise.

‘What looks like a small preference—shopping versus sitting—actually ties into deeper values like freedom versus security, and those are hard to compromise on in a hurry, as we revert to our most natural tendencies and can dig in our heels.

‘Airport divorce is brilliant.

‘The genius is that it trades enforced togetherness for planned autonomy. Each partner gets the control they crave in an environment designed to take it away.’

However, Appel says airport divorce isn’t for everyone – as many people experience anxiety around travelling alone.

‘Being together provides a sense of safety, which helps to regulate stress levels.

Licensed clinical professional counsellor Anne M. Appel confirmed an ‘airport divorce’ is very likely to save couples from arguing, as studies show that travellers tend to experience increased anxiety in airports

‘It also allows the more confident traveller to model calmness and provide reassurance.’

For those interested in trying the airport divorce technique, Appel says you must have a clear, agreed structure.

‘There must be a clear agreement on a meeting time at the gate or whatever is mutually agreed upon in advance,’ she said.

‘It’s not about being apart. It’s about managing unnecessary stress and annoyance that you know will result in conflict and allow[ing] each partner to show up at the start of a vacation in as relaxed a state as possible.’

New York Times

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New ‘Airport divorce’ trend set to be the trick to avoid holiday arguments – would YOU try it?

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