Got a bad case of airport doldrums? Hope for a flash mob

It starts like any other day at the airport, with passengers shuffling toward departure gates. Then suddenly a guy in a lime-green shirt stops to tie his shoe, straightens up and begins moonwalking across the floor. Cue throbbing music, more dancing bodies and suddenly gawking onlookers with phone-cams at the end of outstretched arms are swaying to the beat.

That’s pretty much what passengers at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport recently witnessed when a flash mob of dancers heralded the opening of the Atlanta Airport Marriott Gateway (see video above). It looked spontaneous, but the outburst actually was a carefully choreographed attention-getter.

“I had to do something to create awareness at the airport ... and to take it virtually,” said Mary Baxter, a senior marketing manager for Marriott in Atlanta. Though the 40-person “show” lasted just a few minutes, Baxter had started planning the event six months prior. Her muse? An endearing flash mob performance she saw online of dancers promoting “The Sound of Music” at a train station in Antwerp, Belgium.

Marketing tools or not, airport flash mobs are just plain fun, a wonderful diversion amid terrorist alerts and security hassles. Videos posted online capture not just the dancing but reactions of passengers and passersby, some of whom join in.

Here are two of my favorites:

> Singapore Changi International Airport, May 22, 2010: This performance was organized to promote a $1 million giveaway/shopping promotion at the airport. It starts off with a woman screaming that she won and escalates to 400 dancers and musicians who “celebrate” her luck. Best part: The drumming on airport carts.

>Lisbon Airport, Dec. 23, 2009: This is a classic that’s been viewed by almost 2 million people since last year’s holiday season. The video focuses on TAP Air Portugal and airport employees who burst into song and dance to impart a little holiday spirit and create the ultimate feel-good flash mob moment.

So I wonder how many folks miss their flights while they’re watching the show?