Haven’t flown in about 10 years, away on a family holiday tomorrow. Is there anything I should do/not do at the airport that’s changed?
For example, I remember going away about 15 years ago with a laptop in my carry on luggage. This caused a bit of fuss at security, where they made me remove the battery and nearly made us late. I imagine this not to be the case anymore as personal electronics are so much more commonplace now. Anything like this?
Thanks in advance!
10 comments
You will just put your laptop and other electronics in a tray for it to pass through a scanner. Nobody will give it a second glance.
Allow 3hrs for security. Prepare for organised chaos. A quick pint at 6am is still perfectly acceptable, but you’ll now pay a premium for it. đź‘Ť
Go to your airports website they will have a full list of current refs for security. Security rules are intentionally changed randomly as well as for legitimate reasons as a form of defence so don’t be surprised if you’re unexpectedly asked to remove a belt, etc. m
Most airports have boots or WH Smith’s in departures. Buy a meal deal from there. The drink & food will be better & cheaper than the food/drink you buy from the trolley on the plane.
Airports are big but they are designed for a lot of people to use for the first time, so there will be a lot of signs and staff. As long as you’re not trying to be funny, there is no stupid question for the staff.
You may have to do far more online check in type stuff than last time you flew, check your booking.
I would advise to get to the airport 3 hours before
There’s nothing special just lots of waiting around and queues
Depending on where you’re flying from, you may still have to put your hand luggage toiletry liquids in a wee clear plastic bag to get through security checks.
Most airports have wee bags available as you approach security, so you can pick one up before you swipe your boarding card and join the security queue.
Put your stuff in the bag before you join the queue, so you don’t have to do it when at security (you will.slow things down and annoy a lot of people if you try to do it at security).
You may also be required to take your belt off.
Best to avoid boots, as they normally ask you to take them off and put them through the scanner machine.
Don’t rely on the live updates telling you how long it’s currently taking to get through security. It’s never accurate and one small issue can create a backlog.
Get there in plenty of time. Get through security before starting on the pints.
And have a great holiday
At the other end when you land immigration is an absolute chore now that we can’t just file through the blue channel anymore.
Similarly coming back home make sure you leave loads of time as there’s always a massive queue at the secondary passport control at departures now. And when landing the e-gates work if you actually pay attention to the instructions and don’t think you know better than the machine.
Make a fist with your toes
1) If it’s with RyanAir, cancel your flight now.
2) Airports are extremely busy nowadays – vastly more than when you last flew.
As it’s been a while I would have someone else pilot the plane.
The only thing less likely than surviving a crash landing on water, is your floatation vest keeping you alive long enough to be rescued..