Practices of “travelling light” for secure and sustainable aeromobilities

Abstract

Recent “national security panics” demonstrate that aeromobility assemblages are more fragile than they appear. This fragility will become more acute as the growing global aviation industry is stretched by the short-term demands of contemporary security politics, and the long-term challenges of environmental and economic sustainability. The individual tourist traveler inhabits an uneasy space between these concerns. In this article, we develop the theoretical linkages between material cultures and practices of tourist travel and the resilience, sustainability, and security of global aeromobility assemblages. We examine the effects of recent “national security panics” on airport systems and inquire about the ways that such systems are impacted by the ways that travelers pack their bags, carry their goods, and move through the airport space. Drawing on this reconstructive analysis and interviews undertaken with tourist travelers, we argue that there is a prevailing culture of “travelling heavy” that militates against the realization of secure and sustainable aeromobilities. We argue that these findings signal the need to cultivate a tourist culture of “travelling light” that includes the reduction of the material footprint of travel and the self-recognition of the integral role that travelers play in producing secure aeromobilities.