About

An Airport Crush is a slang term for a stranger that you see at the airport who you develop a crush for, knowing that you will likely never see them again. Airport crushes are closely related to the Airport Crush Theory, which is the theory that people appear more attractive at the airport than they do in everyday life. The terms became increasingly popularized online throughout the 2020s, inspiring videos about airport crushes on TikTok as early as 2021. The terms continued to spread over the following years, seeing a spike in virality in August 2025 as a video of Korean model Eunchae Jang sitting in the airport, captioned, "airport crush theory is real," went viral.

Origin

The exact origins of the term "airport crush" are unclear. The earliest known online post to use the term was posted to X^[1] on October 5th, 2008, by user @xoxnicoco, writing, "Just developed an airport crush on a tall and sexy cutie… I don't even know his name!!! meow," garnering no interactions in 17 years.

Spread

The idea of "airport crushes" spread online throughout the 2000s. For example, in 2020, Quora^[2] user Jenna R. made a post titled, "Has anyone had any airport crushes," discussing her own experience having an airport crush.

In 2021, TikTokers began posting videos about airport crushes. For example, on March 31st, 2021, TikToker^[3] @niki_patton posted a video about having an airport crush that gained over 12,000 likes in four years.

On April 12th, 2022, the term "airport crush" was first defined on Urban Dictionary.^[4] On October 7th, 2023, YouTuber^[5] liam miller posted a skit about developing an airport crush, garnering over 4.9 million views in two years.

On August 12th, 2024, Redditor u/Lizardinex posted a video of a girl referring to herself as an airport crush to the /r/ImTheMainCharacter^[6] subreddit, garnering over 1,100 upvotes in a year.

On November 30th, Redditor u/WisePanda96 made a post to the /r/NoStupidQuestions^[7] subreddit asking, "Why are there so many attractive people at the airport?" garnering over 18,000 upvotes and 3,000 replies in nine months.

On December 5th, 2024, TikToker^[8] @woollymammussy posted a video filming someone in the airport captioned, "found my airport crush," in which the woman arranges her shirt so that it reads "footjob?" garnering over 1.8 million views in eight months.

On January 14th, 2025, YouTuber^[9] evidennt made a video about airport crushes, garnering over 380,000 views in seven months.

Eunchae Jang "Airport Crush Theory Is Real" Video

On August 18th, 2025, X^[10] user @PicturesFoIder posted a video captioned, "Airport crush theory is real," in which someone films a girl sitting at the airport, garnering over 47,000 likes and 6.3 million views in a day. The video was originally posted by and features Instagram^[11] user itseunchaeofficial, aka Eunchae Jang, a Korean model.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References