Introducing the hottest new place for singles: the airport

• There's a hot new place to meet people. It's the airport.
• Some individuals say they feel heightened sexual tension with other people their age while traveling.
• Dating experts and therapists break down the phenomenon — known colloquially as an "airport crush."

There's something strange going on at the airport.

It's not one specific airport, and really, it's not even about the airport itself. It's about the people there, all schlepping through the terminals with their rolling suitcases and U-shaped neck pillows.

Apparently, they're all really attractive.

It's a phenomenon some people have taken to social media to unpack — the sudden realization that the person across from you in the boarding area, who happens to be about your age, is exceedingly and undeniably sexy. Young TikTokers have begun posting videos theorizing that the airport, a place that's simultaneously drab yet buzzing with energy, somehow makes other travelers seem irresistible.

Think of it as having an "airport crush" — or slipping on a pair of "airport goggles."

"It's like when you've had a couple of drinks and those beer goggles come on," media personality Josh Moss told Business Insider. "Unfortunately, you can't take them off until you're sober. It's the same thing when you're at the airport — you've got your 'airport goggles' on."

"You're hypnotized, you're in a state, and you can't get them off," he continued.

Understanding the allure of the airport hottie

To an extent, experts say, the development of an airport crush comes down to a few things: proximity, similarity, and mystery.

Leigh Norén, a Sweden-based sex therapist who specializes in sexual desire, told BI that geographical closeness is one of the "fundamentals of attraction," which is why it's not uncommon for people to develop workplace or gym crushes — or, in this case, a love affair with the guy from Gate 12.

"Obviously, this is then applied to the airport, too," Norén said. "You're close to people geographically in an airport, so it makes sense that you might be drawn to someone there in a different way."

It's easy to find someone to be attracted to when you're stuck in a terminal with a relatively finite number of people. Plus, there's the added bonus of already having something in common: Whether you're traveling for vacation, work, or something different altogether, you're both, well, traveling.

As humans, our initial attraction to others is typically based on physical similarities with other people, said Beverly Palmer, professor emeritus of psychology at California State University, Dominguez Hills.

"The first thing that research shows in terms of physical or sexual attraction is that we tend to initially be drawn to people that are similar to our physical attractiveness," Palmer told BI.

Palmer, who wrote "Love Demystified: Strategies for a Successful Love Life," held that attraction is largely based on physical similarities. Norén, meanwhile, added that attraction can be based on similarities beyond looks — like an affinity for travel.

"At an airport, if you're flying to the same destination, there's going to be some level of similarity: Either you live there, or you're both going there to work, or you're both going there for holiday," Norén said. "It's a 'great minds think alike' kind of thing."

And despite having built-in commonalities, there's an innate sense of mystery with an airport crush. You can let your imagination run wild — is this person going to the same place as you? Are they unfathomably wealthy, and going to invite you to their cabin upstate, where you'll fall in love and one day raise a family? Who knows!

"There's so much left to the imagination, because you can be anybody you want," professional matchmaker Jacqueline Fae told BI.

Fae, the CEO and founder of Florida-based matchmaking firm IDL Match Club, continued, saying that she can see how people start to envision a life with the sexy stranger from Terminal B.

"We're all coming together at this airport, and it's exciting," she said. "You're by yourself and you can kind of connect with somebody."

Are they really a 10? Or are your 'airport goggles' on?

Moss, best known for his appearance on Love Island Australia in 2018, said he's had his share of airport crushes. The key to withstanding them, he said, is to determine whether or not your vision has been clouded by the fantasy of it all.

"Airport goggles," as Moss called them, are akin to "beer goggles" — a term people use to describe finding others more attractive after having a few drinks.

"Once you leave the airport, you're out of that setting, and you've calmed down, then you can look and see, 'OK, were my airport goggles fogging my judgment? Or are they really attractive?'"

Your airport goggles could also be a biological response that can trick people into thinking it's love at first sight when it's really just nerves.

If you're a nervous flier and you find yourself experiencing an airport crush, "it might not actually be attraction," Norén said. "It might just be nerves."

Studies have shown that humans can confuse anxiety for attraction, a concept sometimes referred to as the misattribution of arousal. Norén pointed to the popular "Bachelor" franchise, which often sends couples on adrenaline-pumping dates in the hopes of sparking a connection.

The same could be true for individuals with a fear of flying, said relationship expert and dating coach Samantha Jayne.

"Anxiety and love are quite similar," Jayne told BI. "And so you start to lock eyes with someone, and then you start to look for the pleasure in that person."

That search for pleasure can easily disguise feelings of nervousness and anxiety — racing heart, sweaty palms, a tightening chest — as feelings of affection.

"You can apply this to an airport crush," Norén said. "If you're a bit nervous, or if you're just excited in general, you might more easily feel attracted to someone at the airport, because you're misinterpreting your bodily signals."

Still, she added, airports hold a certain kind of allure, a buzz of anticipation, making them an environment ripe for developing an infatuation with a stranger.

"There's an air of possibility when it comes to airports — being able to go anywhere and experience anything, that's kind of what an airport signifies," Norén said. "It makes sense that that kind of experience can affect how we feel about the people we're in close proximity to."