Sleeping in Airports FAQ

These are the most popular questions we receive, especially from nervous first-time airport sleepers. In many airports, the answer is yes. However, some airports close at night and others simply do not permit/like airport sleepers and are openly hostile. We suggest you visit the airport guide for the airport you’re curious about. In each airport guide, we list the airport hours and link to airport reviews submitted by travellers in our community who have either experienced a long layover or spent the night in the airport. If there are no traveller reviews or hours, we do not have the answer.  Consider writing a review to help others in the future.

In terms of whether you are “allowed” to sleep or stay in the airport overnight, we do not answer this question simply because we are not representatives of the airport.  Additionally, security or airport officials may change their rules or ask you to leave at any time without notice. If having permission to stay in the airport would make you more comfortable, you should contact the airport directly, but chances are they will most likely direct you to book a hotel instead.

We have over 1200 airports listed on the site and have only slept overnight in a few of them personally. Please explore our airport guides or read the traveller reviews in our database for tips and suggestions. If no reviews exist, unfortunately, we do not know the answer until a member of the community contributes a review.

Entry requirements are constantly changing, and that is not something we have time to keep track of. We suggest you check the entry requirements with the embassy or consulate of the country you plan to visit or contact your travel agent.

In our airport guides, we list locations as being either Airside or Landside.

Landside refers to the airport area BEFORE you go through security, i.e. the public area, the ticketing/departures hall & arrivals area.

Airside refers to the airport area that is located AFTER passing through security, i.e. boarding gates & transit area.

We only know what our travel community tells us, so if there are no reviews or the reviews are outdated, we do not have secret information we withhold from readers. Everything we know is on the site. Please consider writing a review to help other travellers in the future. Only with community participation can we keep this site running and up-to-date.

Generally, sleeping in the airport is safe as long as you take the usual precautions that one should expect to take when sleeping in public places. While we have never received any reports of attacks against airport sleepers, there have been a few bum fondlings. A few iPods and laptops have also gone missing! There are a few airports where you may not want to close your eyes, so be sure to read some traveller reviews to gauge the conditions. If you are travelling alone, look for other airport sleepers, as there is safety in numbers. If you are travelling with a friend, you can take turns sleeping. If you do not feel safe, do not attempt to sleep. Drink coffee and stay alert. You can sleep on the plane the next morning. Ultimately, you may prefer to break the budget and check in to the nearest airport hotel.

Read more of our sleeping in airports tips.

We only list lounges that economy class travellers can access with a lounge pass, airline lounge membership or by paying at the door. Currently, we do not list lounges that can only be accessed with a first/business class ticket or elite frequent flyer status.

If the airline lounge we are missing can be accessed by economy class travellers with a lounge pass or airline lounge membership or by paying at the door, please let us know by emailing us at lounges@sleepinginairports.com.

We do not operate any of the lounges listed on the site. You must contact the airport or airport lounges directly to report lost items. Unfortunately, we do not have the direct email address for the lounges.

We conduct an annual survey each year asking readers to rate their airport experiences. Our Best and Worst Airports results are based entirely on survey responses and airport reviews submitted throughout the year. The list is published annually in October. To vote in this year’s survey, please click here.