Back To Basics

Airports enable travelers to practice what they preach.

The most difficult thing about traveling, to hear Mark Joseph talk about it, isn't the flights, the long layovers or living in a hotel for days at a time--it's what to do on Sunday.

Joseph, 31, a practicing Protestant who owns a Santa Fe Springs, California, TV and music production company, spends one week each month on assignment. Although he tries to attend church while he's away, it isn't always easy.

Balancing a life on the road with a walk of faith can be a struggle for business travelers, but airports are trying to help. Last year, for instance, the Albany Airport in New York opened a new terminal with a dedicated interfaith prayer room developed with the help of local religious leaders, as did Washington's Reagan National Airport. Larger facilities, such as Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, offer formal services on holy days.

"There's a need for a quiet place of meditation at airports," says Linda Greene of the Airports Council International, North America. "The intent is that business travelers can use these areas any time--on their holy day or when there's a personal crisis."

This article was originally published in the September 1999 print edition of Entrepreneur with the headline: Back To Basics.