The chime is modeled on the public address attention signals used in airports and train stations for decades, where a soft tone precedes spoken information for passengers. As travel videos, pranks and parody announcements spread online, creators began isolating the tone as a standalone ding sound effect to instantly set a scene without showing a terminal. It remains popular because audiences recognize it immediately from real journeys, making it effective for transitions, announcements and comedic interruptions in edits, streams and short-form videos across platforms today.