I work at a large airport with both domestic and international flights as a wheelchair agent. As the job title implies, I am responsible for transporting passengers with mobility issues to and from airplanes in a wheelchair. I don't work for an airline itself but rather a private contractor. My company is contracted with certain airlines and as a result we are only authorized to work in certain terminals of the airport.
Passengers (who don't even need a wheelchair and are just passing by) often stop us when we're on the move to ask us questions. Most of them are basic things. Where is the baggage claim? Where do we catch a taxi? What terminal is so-and-so airline? I do my best to answer them if they're quick questions and point the passenger in the general direction. But my god does it get annoying when I clearly need to be somewhere and a passerby virtually corners me and fires off their laundry list of questions.
Last night, I was working a domestic terminal. This passenger was the one who made me want to post this rant. It was almost the end of my shift and I was tired after a busy day. The passenger approached me as I was making my way back to the company's office. He shoved his boarding pass in my face and asked in broken English “Where this gate?”. He was supposed to be on an international flight and the international terminal is literally on the other side of the airport from where I was working. I pointed him in the general direction but he kept insisting “Show me, walk me there”. This guy didn't even need a wheelchair. I offered him one but he denied. He just needed someone to escort him to his gate. That's when I started going “Ugh” inside me. As someone who is relatively new to the company, I called my supervisor for help with these kinds of situations since he didn't need a wheelchair and we aren't authorized to be at the international terminal during shift hours. My supervisor gave me permission to take him to the international terminal.
The walk from the two terminals is long but it's mostly linear. I thought it would just be an uneventful walk and I'd drop him off and go home. But no, it turned out to be the most agonizing airport walk ever. Every few feet the guy asked me “Are we there yet?” like a little kid on a road trip to which I responded with a Homer Simpson-esque “No”. Then he started cornering random passengers, shoving his boarding pass into their faces and asking where his gate was. I kept reassuring him that we're going in the right direction and he'll make his plane (which didn't leave for another four hours).
Finally, we got to the international terminal. The passenger already had his boarding pass and only had carry-on luggage so he could walk right through security. I told him that his plane is just past security, straight ahead. But he wasn't done yet. He kept insisting “Walk me, help me”. At that point I was done. I wanted to tell him “Hell no, I'm not waiting in that long ass line holding your hand through security”. So I left him at the correct security checkpoint, quickly told him to talk to security if he still needs help, and disappeared away.
Look, I get it, airports aren't the easiest places to navigate. But I do wish people would understand that if someone is moving then that means that have somewhere to be. And even if we can answer your question, we cannot hold your hand all the way to your plane. That's what information desks are for. Use them. The people there are literally paid to answer all the questions you have.
In an ironic twist, my last job was sitting behind one of these info desks at the same airport. It was amazing how often passengers would walk right by me and asked literally every other type of employee their question(s).