Airport Travel Tips

If you do any international travelling at all you will have experienced the joys of navigating an airport. Unless you are very lucky (or you travel in First/Business Class) you're going to have to spend a couple of hours in the terminal before you can fly to your exciting destination. There are a few things you can do to reduce the stress of this experience and ease your transit through the airport.

Take a taxi. Unless the public transport to or from the airport is ridiculously good, take a taxi instead. The saving in time and stress is almost always worth the extra cost.

Check-in Online. If your airline and airport support it, check-in online or on your phone and avoid the tedious queuing in arrivals. If you're carrying hold luggage you may still need to queue for the bag drop (which sometimes takes as long as checking in, depending on the airline), which leads me nicely to my next point.

Reduce your luggage. The objective is to carry as little stuff as possible, both to and through the airport, and to get in and out as quickly as possible. Some compromise is required here, since the goals of speed and lightness are mutually exclusive (unless you are embarking on a by short trip indeed), but the aim is to carry everything you need in your hand luggage so that you can skip the bag drop and the pickup. If you're away for up to three nights this should be possible if you pack carefully and cut out everything you absolutely don't need.

Buy the Best. When you are looking for travel equipment - bags, clothes, wallets etc. - take your time and spend a little more money to make sure you get something that fits well with your lifestyle. Saving a tenner on the backpack you use for hand luggage (you're not planning to use a devilish wheeled suitcase, are you?) by choosing the one with the thin straps is something you may regret later and it just isn't worth it.

Dump the Metal. You're going to be screened through a metal detector and if your fail the test you'll be searched, probably by a disinterested "security" person. On the assumption that you don't want the inconvenience of a full body pat down, go through your pockets and out everything in your bag or coat pockets, including belt, watch, coins, phone, wallet and keys (remember to collect everything on the other side of the scanner).

Book a Decent Airline. Unless cost is the top priority, don't fly with a budget airline. Instead spend a little more and try to get those little extras (allocated seats, in-flight food and entertainment) that massage away some of the pain of travelling.

Drop the Attitude. Don't bother arguing with the staff or their regulations, particularly at security. It simply isn't worth the effort and you won't achieve anything.

Those are my top airport travel tips. I hope you find them useful.