> The complicating factor is that it isn't just "their property", it's an essential destination of many people's ability to function in society

That's a much bigger can of worms, one that reaches well beyond just airports. Many modern societies are extremely complex and assume individual access to a long list of resources and services.

Its a pretty slippery slope though. People can absolutely choose not to fly, it isn't a basic requirement for life. The slippery slope leads to larger and larger government - as long as society continues to create implied requirements on the individual it seems reasonable to give more and more power to a central authority to ensure everyone can have that access.

It sounds reasonable enough, though there isn't a good guardrail built in to avoid eventually building a totalitarian or communist state as so many things are now " basic necessities."