A Man at Portland International Airport Took Over the Monitor to Play His Playstation

A man in Portland’s International Airport last week turned one of the airport’s informational screens into a personal video game console, proving there’s more than one way to pass the time while waiting for a flight.

The monitor, typically used to show a map of the airport with areas noted for things like food and bathrooms, was taken over by the traveler at about 4:30 a.m. on Thursday, CNN reported. He reportedly hooked up his PlayStation 4 and went to town.

"I couldn't believe it. You've got all these monitors there and he's playing a video game," traveler Stefan Dietz, who tweeted about the moment, told CNN, adding the man even seemed to be talking to other players through a headset at the time.

According to the network, the man appeared to be playing the game Apex Legends. But the gaming session didn’t go unnoticed by airport officials who asked him to unplug, Kama Simonds, an airport spokeswoman, told the network.

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"He politely asked personnel if he may finish his game," Simonds said, adding the man was distinctly told no. "We would love travelers to plug into our power outlets, but just ask that they don't plug into anything else.”

The airport, which was named T+L’s No. 1 domestic airport last year, saw more than 19 million passengers pass through during fiscal year 2018, according to the airport. Besides video games, travelers there can catch a movie at the free, 17-seat microcinema featuring local Oregon filmmakers or hit up the airport’s spa to relax before a flight.

While taking over an airport’s monitors is generally not encouraged, there are many airports around the world that have made whiling away the hours before a flight entertaining. In Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, for example, a video game lounge welcomes passengers. And at Singapore’s Changi Airport, travelers can travel through the terminal on a giant, multi-story slide.