There are two different types of airport travelers: those who love the airport experience and see it as the first part of their journey, and those who hate it and see it as a necessary evil they must get through on the way to their destination. If you’re the latter, we have some good news for you. There are a few simple things that you can do to help make the airport experience not only faster but easier as well. These are described below.
1. Make Your Luggage Easily Identifiable
If you’re only taking short journeys, we recommend only packing a carry-on bag, as this will provide you with the quickest means of traveling through the airport. However, this isn’t always possible, so in all other cases, you’ll want to ensure your luggage is easily identifiable. Luggage that’s easy to identify will be easy to spot on the carousels and you can be almost completely sure that no-one else will pick it up believing it to be theirs. Check out the bespoke leather luggage from Ugly Bagz for some great options.
2. Check-In Online and Book a Seat in Advance
Before you board a plane, you have to check in, go through security, and then queue again to board the plane. Luckily, you can eliminate two of these queues by checking in online and booking a seat in advance. You can check in online up to 24 hours before your flight now with most airlines, so all you’ll need to do upon arrival at the airport is print out your boarding pass and drop your bags off. If you book a seat in advance, you also won’t need to queue to embark; you can happily wait for everyone else to board knowing that your seat will be waiting for you when you arrive.
3. Be Ready for Security
If you’ve ever been on a flight before, you likely already know the drill when it comes to security. However, a lot of people end up holding up the queues because they’re not prepared and this leads to frustration all around. To prepare, ensure all of your liquids are in small containers and removed from your luggage. You’ll also want to remove your shoes and coat/jacket, and remove your laptop and tech items from their bags. Remove any jewelry and any other items that could set off the metal detectors too. You can find a full preparation list on how to get through airport security quickly here.
4. Be Polite, Friendly and Co-operative
Finally, this is something that shouldn’t really need saying, but it’s important to mention. Whenever you interact with airport staff, security personnel, or anyone else inside the airport, ensure you are polite, friendly, and co-operative. The airport process will go much faster when you act this way. If you are clearly frustrated or act sarcastic or uncooperative, you are more likely to be pulled over and questioned about your behavior.
Can you think of any more ways to make the airport experience less stressful? Let us know in the comments.