Just over an hour after that first security check the departure gate opened.

BBC: reporter Colette Hume boards plane with aerosol can

But the very act of making them like glitzy shopping centres has put a long run of shops and restaurants between you and the departure gate.

BBC: Has the airport experience become horrible?

Nearly two-thirds of travelers told FlightView that they would value mobile access to walking directions from to their departure gate, especially when changing planes on a connecting flight.

CNN: Opinion: Airport Wi-Fi and mobile services are lacking

Supported by other major players in the aviation industry, including BAA and SITA, it aims to cut the time passengers spend between the check-in desk and departure gate.

CNN: Heathrow tests biometrics

Boarding passes for the flight did not state a departure gate number however, leading to irritation among some passengers lining up at BA's customer service desk to inquire about the status of the flight.

CNN: Software glitch delays London flights

On his return to Sheremetyevo, to reach his departure gate the visitor must negotiate a bewildering series of queues, starting with one to get into the building: if he is unassertive, he will still be standing in one of them when his plane takes off.

ECONOMIST: To understand contemporary Russia, consider its airports

Directions to the airport used to stop at the parking garage, but indoor positioning will extend it to include wayfinding directions to your actual gate of departure.

FORBES: Indoor Venues Are The Next Frontier For Location-Based Services

If ATC is busy and clearance cannot be obtained to fly through the Class Bravo airspace, it is still possible to fly the Bay Tour: execute a left Dumbarton departure heading toward Half Moon Bay, follow the coastline all the way to the Golden Gate Bridge, then east to the Bay Bridge and retrace your path back to PAO staying under Class Bravo airspace throughout.

FORBES: San Francisco: Up Close And Personal

Just before the 10:30 a.m. departure time, Woo Chan Lee, a U.S. embassy employee, strode to the gate not with his wife but with a tired-looking man in a down jacket.

CNN: Free -- And Still Feisty