Jul 2024: Article by Elena Davydova in “Mobility Humanities”
The latest issue of Mobility Humanities (Vol. 3, No. 2, July 2024) features the article “How to Board an Aircraft in Chukotka” by Elena Davydova. This special issue was guest-edited by Michael Anranter and Manuel Moser.
Based on ethnography of airports in Eastern Arctic Russia (Chukotka), the article examines institutionalized practices of active waiting prior to the boarding of an aircraft, called the podsadka. On the one hand, a distinct feature of Russian Arctic aviation is its unpredictability. Delays, cancellations of flights, and persistent waiting by passengers are an inevitable part of the everyday life of airports in Chukotka. On the other hand, even in remote places of the Russian North, airports are spaces of heightened control. The article argues that the disjuncture between the rigidity of airports and the flexibility of people creates a podsadka game among passengers and contributes to its “hunting” / “active” peculiarities. The article begins with a comparison of passenger and air carrier perspectives, which are termed “lucky” and “efficient” mobilities, respectively. It expands on this theme by considering airports as spaces for displays of diverse airport regulations and passenger intentions. Finally, it focuses on specific traits of Chukotkan mobility that include overcoming multiple queues and waiting, revealing the strategies applied by local people to be lucky in their travels.
The article is open-access and can be read online here.
