7 Spooky Airport Stories That Will Make You Never Want to Fly Again

Imagine the scene: you arrive at the airport in Hawaii a bit earlier and decide to chill in the waiting area. Suddenly, you notice an anxious blonde lady in a white dress standing at a gate. She’s looking out the window on the runway, waiting for someone’s arrival. You reach into your bag for some chocolate to comfort her. But it’s too late! She vanished into thin air.

Congratulations! You’ve just met the “lady-in-waiting” — a resident phantom of the Honolulu International Airport. Like any phantom, she has a grim backstory. The lady once fell in love with a man, and he promised to marry her. But then the happy groom flew abroad and never returned to his bride.

His betrayal broke her heart and she took her own life. But her phantom is still attached to the airport. And she waits for her man to return just like the famous Japanese dog, Hachiko, waited for its master. Over the years the local police have collected numerous complaints about the lady-phantom wandering around the gates and other restricted areas of the airport.

Also, this entity likes to hang out in public bathrooms just like Moaning Myrtle from the iconic fantasy novel. Some airport employees reported seeing paper rolls unfolding on their own while cleaning empty bathrooms in the middle of the night. In some cases toilet seats slammed shut and toilets flushed by themselves. However, it’s unlikely to surprise anyone since many public bathrooms have automatic flushing.

Unfortunately, this urban legend doesn’t clarify the way to release the heart-broken phantom. But at least this story is a good reminder to think twice before you make any promises.

And speaking of spooky ladies in white, the Kempegowda International Airport in India also has one. A pilot once noticed a weird woman in a white sari on the runway. He called the airport workers asking to help her. But she disappeared by the time the staff arrived at the spot.

Numerous witnesses have seen the same phantom in other parts of the airport. The lady haunted people in the cargo department, on escalators, and even in the parking lot. According to the media, nobody knows her background or the reason why she’s here. Maybe her luggage was lost, and she’s just trying to get it back ...

Today Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok is one of the busiest airports in the world. But it doesn’t stop this transport hub from also holding the title of the most haunted place in Thailand. Although imagination tends to draw something old and dusty when we hear the word ‘haunted’ Suvarnabhumi is relatively new. It started operating in two thousand six.

But it turned out that the land under the airport used to be an ancient burial site. Work crews had to drain a marshland called Cobra Swamp to prepare the land plot for building. And, mysterious events began to occur from the very first days of work. Wailing, creepy screams, and even classic music came out of nowhere! Some builders refused to continue construction because they were too scared of evil forces.

The locals believed that they angered the entities who were sleeping beneath the new airport. That’s why ninety-nine Thai monks were invited to perform a ritual. Together they chanted for nine weeks to clear all the bad vibes. The ceremony was almost finished but suddenly a random man interrupted the monks and claimed to be possessed by one of the local entities. His message was pretty clear, “You should build a proper ‘spirit house’ to guarantee the smooth operation of the airport.” Having said that, he fainted. Later the guy woke up feeling normal and conscious.

The airport authorities decided to fulfill the mysterious request. “Spirit houses” are part of Thai traditional beliefs. Landowners build nice tiny shrines to establish friendships with invisible entities who might inhabit their plots of land. So if you ever find yourself at the Bangkok Airport don’t forget to check out this artifact. As well as ‘The Churning of the Ocean’ — the remarkable sculptures that depict the ancient Hindu myth. The story is basically about light and dark deities working together to get ‘amrita’ — the beverage of immortality.

Here’s another example of why you should think twice before building a transport hub on questionable land. Welcome to Denver International Airport — reportedly one of the most famous haunted airports in the world. It stands on a special isolated plot of land that was considered sacred by its former residents, according to the media.

People reported multiple problems and strange incidents going on at the airport from the very beginning of construction. Today this place attracts numerous mystery hunters and the number of urban legends around the airport multiplies.

Some investigate the hidden meaning behind the local murals and gargoyles. Others believe that the giant cobalt-colored horse statue in front of the airport is haunted. That’s because the sculpture, known as Blucifer, took the life of its creator Luis Jimenez. In two thousand and six, a piece came loose and hit the sculptor while he was finishing his work.

The airport’s enormous layout and remote location inspires some people to speculate that there’s a secret bunker under it. In fact, it’s bigger than some real cities like San Francisco for example. But the spokesperson of the airport debunked that myth saying that this transport hub must support at least fifty million travelers a year. And thus it needs to be huge.

Our next destination may inspire you to revisit “The Langoliers” created by the legendary horror writer Stephen King. Although the thriller took place at King’s hometown airport in Bangor, Maine, we’ll be talking about the historic Chandler Airport located in Fresno, California. This place has many abnormal stories to tell, including reports of people going through the old terminal wall!

Some passengers heard disembodied voices in the airport restaurant. The kitchen staff once reported hearing a suspicious noise while cleaning up. They went to see what was going on and witnessed a plate moving across the counter and then falling onto the floor. Perhaps, the invisible customer was just upset by overly high food prices ... Hey, it could happen!

Just like Honolulu Airport, Chandler has a resident phantom. It’s an old man in the control tower. Thankfully, this guy doesn’t bother anybody. According to eyewitnesses, he’s just staring at the field as if he’s watching invisible aircraft take off and land.

Meanwhile, the urban legend behind Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport is spooky and romantic at the same time. It says the following: if you land right after sundown, you’ll get the chance to see two phantoms along the north side of the runway.

The legend says these are the phantoms of Richard and Catherine Dotson, who used to live on the land underneath the airport. They don’t bother the passengers or staff either. It seems like they’re just greeting arriving people.

Our list can’t be complete without the U.K.’s Manchester Airport. This busy place serves around twenty-eight million passengers a year and also hosts a few spooky phantoms. Passengers and staff reported seeing creepy figures and weird phenomena such as doors slamming on their own. The airport archives from the nineteen seventies revealed that some staff members refused to show up at Terminal Three alone after dark because they were too scared.

One night, the local worker saw a figure in a pilot’s hat entering a toilet. No flights were scheduled to arrive or depart at that time, so he decided to follow the mysterious gentleman. But the bathroom was empty and the motion-sensitive lights didn’t show any reaction to the stranger. Some people reported meeting face-to-face with a phantom of a pilot in an old school uniform. He usually wanders around Terminal Three looking disoriented. But unfortunately, no one knows his backstory for sure.

Another spooky resident of the airport is the Night Watchman — a phantom of a security guard from the nineteen sixties. A former airport employee once met this gentleman and tried to talk to him. But the figure simply vanished into thin air leaving the poor guy in shock. After that, he decided to leave his job for good. I can understand that.