If you’ve traveled in the last decade, you’ve seen them—the glowing kiosks at arrivals, shouting “TOURIST SIM! BEST DEAL! UNLIMITED DATA!” before you’ve even wiped the airplane sleep off your face. And if you’ve ever bought one, you probably did it half-confused, half-exhausted, and fully convinced that if you didn’t hand over €25 right there, you’d be stranded without internet forever.

But here’s the thing nobody really talks about:
Airport SIM card counters don’t exist because they’re useful—they exist because they’re profitable.
Very profitable.

Let’s break down what’s really going on, why these counters are still thriving in 2025, and why savvy travelers (aka… you) should skip them entirely.

1. Airport SIM counters survive on traveler panic, not traveler need

Airports are built around controlled chaos. You arrive in a foreign country, maybe without sleep, maybe without roaming enabled, maybe without a plan. And in that moment, the one thing your tired brain wants is Wi-Fi and maps.

Airport SIM sellers know this.
In fact, they rely on it.

That’s why airport plans are intentionally simple (“Unlimited for 7 days!”) and intentionally overpriced. When you’re jetlagged and confused about currency conversion, you don’t stop to ask:

• Is this unlimited data really unlimited?
• Why does this 3 GB plan cost €30 when the same carrier sells it for €8 downtown?
• Why is this guy typing so fast on the terminal before handing me the receipt?

You’re reacting, not thinking.
And that reactive moment is exactly when they close the sale.

2. Airport rents are insane—and you pay for it

Think of how much it costs to rent a tiny patch of airport floor. Now multiply that by “international arrival terminal pricing,” and you’ll start to understand why an airport SIM often costs 2×, 3×, or sometimes even 10× more than the regular price.

The business model is brutally straightforward:

The airport charges high rent → the SIM vendor charges you high prices.

There’s no mystery. No “special traveler deal.”
Just a classic tourist markup wrapped in fluorescent branding.

Some airports even take a cut of every sale. And guess who covers that cut?

Yep. You.

3. The plans look generous… but read the fine print

Ever wonder why airport SIM deals sound suspiciously too good to be true?

“Unlimited data!”
“Unlimited WhatsApp!”
“Unlimited social media!”

Here’s the unromantic truth:
Airport SIM unlimited plans are usually “unlimited… with limits.”

These fine-print tricks are common:

• Unlimited but throttled after a tiny amount of high-speed data
• Unlimited social apps, but everything else is painfully slow
• Local unlimited, but international calls cost a fortune
• Short validity windows (7 days only)
• No tethering allowed

And the biggest one:
Plans are often different—and worse—than what the same carrier sells to locals.

You’re literally getting a tourist version of connectivity: convenient, overpriced, and limited.

4. Commission culture keeps these counters alive

A weird truth about the airport SIM world:
It’s one of the most commission-heavy corners of telecom.

Why?

Because telecom brands know that airport counters move high volumes. They compete on commissions, not on the actual value of the plan. So the counter staff is incentivized to sell the most expensive plan every time—not the best plan for you.

That’s why you’ll never hear:

“Actually the 3 GB plan is enough for your 4-day trip, it’s half the price.”

Nope.
They’re going straight for the €35 “Unlimited Gold Supreme Traveler Pack,” whether you need it or not.

5. They exist to upsell physical SIMs—not to help travelers

With eSIM adoption exploding, airport counters should be dying out, right?

Wrong.
And here’s why:

Airports are one of the last places where physical SIMs can still be pushed aggressively.

Travelers who haven’t used eSIMs yet are more vulnerable at arrivals. They don’t know:

• How to compare plans
• whether their phone supports eSIM
• How activation works
• that they could’ve downloaded an eSIM before their flight

So the counter gets a chance to convert a confused traveler into a physical-SIM buyer.

And yes—physical SIMs still give them higher margins.

6. The real convenience is buying ahead, not buying on arrival

This is where modern travel reality kicks in.

If you’re a 2025 traveler, you have better options:

• Buy an eSIM before you fly
• Activate it on the plane
• Land connected instantly

No counter.
No queue.
No haggling.
No cash.
No drama.

Just the internet.

The average eSIM from a reputable provider costs somewhere between €3 and €15, depending on destination and data, which is hilariously lower than airport pricing.

To put it bluntly:

Airport SIM counters survive because many travelers still don’t know eSIMs exist.

That gap is closing fast, and the counters know it.

7. The “local authenticity” argument is a myth

Some people say:

“But airport SIMs are local — I want the local network!”

Good news:
eSIM providers already partner with the same local networks.

The difference is simple:

• At the airport → you’re paying the tourist premium
• Online → you’re getting the wholesale partner price

Same towers.
Same coverage.
Half the price (or even less).

The idea that the airport kiosk gives you something “more real” is just old-school traveler thinking.

8. There are two situations when airport SIMs make sense

I’ll be fair—airport SIM counters aren’t 100% useless.
There are rare cases where they’re genuinely helpful:

1. Your phone doesn’t support eSIM

This is increasingly uncommon, but yes, some older models still rely on physical SIMs.

2. You need local calling for specific reasons

Some travelers need a temporary local number for banking verification, business calls, or rentals that don’t accept WhatsApp.
Though to be honest, many eSIM providers now offer add-on numbers too.

But aside from these two edge cases?

Airport counters are a convenience trap.

9. The 2025 truth: airports will keep SIM counters alive as long as travelers keep buying

Airports don’t care which products survive—they care what sells. Right now, SIM counters still make enough money from uninformed or rushed travelers to justify their existence.

But the trend is undeniable:

• eSIM adoption is skyrocketing
• Physical SIM demand is shrinking
• Airport kiosks are slowly shrinking or consolidating
• More airports are offering free Wi-Fi that works well enough to buy an eSIM after landing anyway

Give it a few more years, and these counters will look like the old CD-rental stores at airports—nostalgic, but pointless.

So… should you skip airport SIM counters? Absolutely.

Here’s the honest summary: airport SIM card

Why they still exist:

• High impulse-purchase profits
• Sky-high airport rent is baked into the price
• Commission-driven sales
• Tourist confusion
• Physical SIM leftovers that still need selling

Why you should skip them:

• Overpriced, sometimes massively
• Data limits disguised as “unlimited”
• Short validity periods
• Confusing terms
• Slower speeds on tourist plans
• Cheaper, cleaner, instant eSIM alternatives exist

In other words:

Airport SIM counters don’t exist because they’re good — they exist because they work.
And they work only because travelers still walk up to them.

You don’t have to be one of them.

Land connected.
Skip the counter.
Keep your travel budget for things that actually matter—like coffee, snacks, and bad souvenir magnets.