9 Useful Gadgets For Passing Time At The Airport

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To make sure you don't miss your flight, you're generally advised to arrive at the airport several hours early. However, this also means there will be a lot of waiting before you can actually get on the airplane. Thankfully, there are plenty of gadgets that can help you and your family pass the time, and we've rounded up some of the best options.

There were a lot of possible choices for this list, but we've narrowed it down to nine devices. Among our selections are a power bank that can keep all of your gadgets running, a few handheld gaming consoles, and even luggage that you can ride around the airport.

This roundup of useful gadgets for passing time at the airport features products that you can buy on Amazon, and most of them have solid buyer scores after more than 1,000 ratings. All of them have received favorable reviews from trusted websites and channels, which makes these devices worth considering in preparation for your next trip.

Using the airport's public Wi-Fi to connect your mobile devices to the internet is one of the most accessible ways to pass the time. However, we highly recommend using a travel router to safeguard your web activities, and one of the highly rated options on Amazon is the GL.iNet Slate 7. This device comes with OpenVPN and WireGuard pre-installed to work with your chosen VPN provider, which will protect your gadgets from the dangers of a public connection. This alone makes it worth its price of $169.99 on Amazon, where it has an average score of 4.6 stars (out of five) after more than 1,300 reviews.

TechRadar described this GL.iNet travel router as an essential device when connecting to a public network while working remotely or traveling. The review also flagged the ease of connecting multiple devices to the internet, as connecting this gadget to any public Wi-Fi can get your whole family online at the airport (or wherever) at the same time. Amazon shoppers, meanwhile, praised the gadget's excellent performance despite its small size of just 3.5 inches by 1.3 inches by 5.1 inches with the antenna folded out. It also strikes a great balance between powerful features and ease of use, according to a network engineer among the retailer's customers.

Waiting at an airport is an opportunity to catch up on the backlog of books that you've been meaning to read. With the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite, which you can buy on Amazon for $159.99 for its ad-supported model, you'll get a device that can store up to 16 gigabytes (GB) of e-books and access more than 15 million more through a Kindle Unlimited subscription. This is all on a gadget that measures five inches by seven inches by 0.3 inches, so it just slides into your carry-on luggage without taking up a lot of space.

In our review of the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite, we highlighted several advantages over the base Kindle model, including its larger seven-inch display, an adjustable warm light, waterproofing, and 20% faster performance. Good Housekeeping tagged the device as the best e-book reader for most people because it's "an all-around excellent package" that provides great value for its cost. Amazon's customers appear to agree, with the device racking up an average score on the retailer's website of 4.7 stars following more than 19,000 reviews. In their comments, the general sentiment of shoppers is that they appreciate being able to focus on reading e-books since there are no distractions from app notifications, as well as the Paperwhite's long battery life that can last up to 12 weeks from a full charge.

If you're part of the reason why old school gaming consoles are making a comeback, then the Retroid Pocket Classic will be a great way to pass the time at the airport. You can choose between the version with four action buttons or six action buttons, both of which are available on Amazon for $179. Both versions have great D-pads (directional pads) and triggers at the back, according to Android Authority, though the review said that the best thing about the device is its 3.92-inch AMOLED screen with incredible colors and brightness, as well as a perfect aspect ratio for retro games.

This Retroid handheld console ships with Android 14 and an interface that makes it easy to install the emulators for your favorite consoles. The Retroid is also great for organizing your ROMs in its 128 gigabytes of onboard storage, according to Retro Dodo's review. Joey's Retro Handhelds said that the speakers provide excellent audio quality, and the review also mentioned that the gadget is especially strong for playing games for the Game Boy, Game Boy Color, NES, SNES, and PlayStation 1 platforms. Android Authority said that while playing Game Boy Color and SNES games, the Retroid Pocket Classic's battery can last more than 12 hours.

Using your electronic devices to pass time at the airport will drain their batteries, so you'll need a high-capacity power bank to make sure they don't die on you. This Anker Prime power bank offers a capacity of 26,250 milliampere-hours (mAh) and a max output of 300 watts, which is divided into 140 watts each for a pair of USB-C ports and 20 watts for a USB-A port. It can charge a 14-inch Apple MacBook Pro M4 from 5% to 80% in 40 minutes, according to Digital Camera World, which demonstrates the gadget's laptop-level power output and speed. 

Amazon's customers confirmed the impressively fast charging of phones and other devices using this Anker power bank, while also mentioning the usefulness of the built-in display that shows its remaining charge. Digital Camera World recommended that you pair the charger with the Anker app on your smartphone, which will let you check the gadget's battery health and download any firmware updates. At $329.99 from Amazon, where it's rated 4.6 stars after more than 1,200 reviews, this Anker Prime power bank comes with a travel pouch, a 3.3-foot USB-C to USB-C cable, and its charging base.

When you have to wait for a long time at the airport, a tablet like the Apple iPad (A16) can be an invaluable gadget since it can provide many different kinds of entertainment. Shoppers on Amazon, where the device's price starts at $349 for its Wi-Fi, 128-gigabyte model, said that the performance enabled by Apple's A16 processor makes it a great gadget for checking social media, playing video games, and multitasking between apps. They added that its 11-inch Liquid Retina display delivers amazing brightness and color quality for watching movies and viewing photos. Overall, Amazon customers have given the device an average of 4.7 stars after more than 25,000 ratings.

We tagged the Apple iPad (A16) as the best iPad for most people in 2026, noting that its performance is strong enough for the usual activities on a tablet. Macworld said that, between this iPad and models with faster processors, there's virtually no difference in single-CPU performance, which is what's measured in daily tasks like browsing the internet. We added that you can pair this device with the Apple Pencil (USB-C) and the Magic Keyboard Folio in case you also want to get some drawing, writing, or remote work done while you're at the airport. 

While you're at the airport, a pair of noise-cancelling headphones can help you focus on listening to podcasts, watching streaming shows, or whatever else you're doing on your electronic device to pass the time. The Bose QuietComfort Ultra, among the best headphones for audiophiles, is a solid choice on Amazon with an average rating of 4.2 stars following more than 10,000 reviews from the retailer's customers. What Hi-Fi gave these Bose headphones a perfect score for noise-cancelling and said that their overall performance and capabilities justify their price of $449.

Amazon's shoppers said that the soft ear cushions make these Bose headphones comfortable to wear, helping them live up to their name. Customers have also praised the device's Immersive Audio mode, which basically makes music sound like it's coming from speakers in front of you. Bose promises up to 24 hours of battery life for these headphones with Immersive Audio turned off and up to 18 hours with the feature on, numbers that match What Hi-Fi's testing. Once the battery runs low, just 15 minutes of charging replenishes up to two and a half hours of usage, just in case it happens while you're still waiting for your flight.

The Nintendo Switch 2 will help you pass time anywhere, so if you own one, you won't regret bringing the handheld gaming console with you to the airport. The 7.9-inch touchscreen is a fantastic display for playing video games, and Amazon shoppers really appreciate how thin and lightweight the device is, making it very portable. They added that the gadget offers fast load times, and its versatility with your choice between TV mode, tabletop mode, and handheld mode makes its starting price of $449 more appealing. Overall, the Switch 2 has scored 4.8 stars from more than 3,800 customer ratings on Amazon.

CNET's review of the Nintendo Switch 2 a year after its release focuses on the platform's improving lineup of games, which the review site said justifies buying the console or upgrading from the original Nintendo Switch. You'll be able to play titles like Pokémon Pokopia and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom solo on the Switch 2, but if you're at the airport with your friends or family, you can play Mario Kart World and Super Mario Bros. Wonder on a single console using its detachable Joy-Cons to ease the boredom while waiting.

If you're going to spend a lot of time at the airport, you may have to walk long distances to buy food, go to the bathroom, or just to look around. The Airwheel SE3S can help you navigate those in-airport travels, as it's luggage that also serves the purpose of letting you ride it as an electric scooter with a maximum speed of about eight miles per hour. It also has enough capacity to hold plenty of your stuff, and its size (14 by nine by 22 inches) fits the carry-on limits of most airlines, according to GamesTechAuto. The review also mentioned that the device has no problem going uphill, so it can handle the inclines in airports, and that it appears it won't have any issue with supporting passengers weighing well over 200 pounds.

Fiona Wang said that riding this Airwheel electric luggage scooter is a really fun experience, and it's very helpful if you need to move around the airport when you're already tired. YouTuber Tech Man Pat demonstrated the ease of using this gadget, from the one-touch button to extend its front wheel into riding mode to simple navigation using the device's trigger system. The Airwheel SE3S's battery can last up to about nine miles of travel from a full charge, and it doubles as a power bank if you need to recharge your other devices.

Cumbersome weight and size are among the common problems with gaming laptops, so they can be tough to lug along for your travels. If you want to keep playing PC and Xbox games while waiting in the airport and throughout your trip, though, the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X is a powerful device that was described by Trusted Reviews as "the definitive Windows handheld to buy right now." That's partly because of its powerful performance provided by the AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme processor and 24 gigabytes of RAM. The console also comes with massive built-in storage, courtesy of a one-terabyte SSD, and according to IGN's testing, about two and a half hours of usage when playing AAA games like Cyberpunk 2077.

In our review of the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X, we focused on the impressive power of the console, as well as on the Xbox Full Screen Experience, which delivers a streamlined and intuitive user interface. IGN praised the gadget's seven-inch 1080p display, which offers a 120-hertz refresh rate and support for AMD's Freesync Premium technology, because of its vivid colors and brightness of up to 500 nits. The device may look bulky, but according to Tom's Guide, it's actually very comfortable to hold, with even distribution of weight and controller grips. 

For this article, all the gadgets that we've included can be purchased on Amazon, ensuring they're widely available to travelers from all corners. Most devices have an average score of at least 4.2 stars on the retail platform after 1,000 or more reviews, and we have explained their inclusion in this list by highlighting their unique features, feedback from customers, and insights from trustworthy websites and channels.

For products with only a few ratings on Amazon's website, we swapped customer feedback for additional comments from professional reviewers. All of these data points help support our recommendations for this roundup of useful gadgets for passing time at the airport.