Breeze through the Airport, or, you know…RUN

You know those times when you’re super lucky and your airport layovers end up being the perfect length of time. You have all the time to need to stroll through the airport at a comfortable pace and make your connecting flight without having too much extra time to kill…(cue blissful music)

BUT for the times you aren’t so lucky, and you find yourself having to either run through the airport to make your connecting flight or spend several hours camping out at the airport to make your next flight, these airport comfort hacks have saved me more than once…

In case you find yourself having to run to catch your connecting flight, make things a lot easier for yourself and either print out a copy of your flight details or save them on your phone home screen, so you don’t go looking through your emails or even several folders in your phone trying to find it. Better still, save it as your home screen so that there is absolutely no way you are going to lose it!

When in a rush, lots of people prefer to ditch the trolleys are just grab their suitcases; I’m one of them. In that case(ahaha), it’s a lot easier to rush around with your suitcase if you stroll it sideways along with you. If you have two suitcases, you can continue to use just one hand to stroll the suitcases as long as you make sure the front of both of the suitcases are facing outwards. Doing this, instead of dragging your suitcases behind you, will save you a lot of energy. And if you have a really long wait, chances are you might have to pick your bag up and recheck it, closer to boarding time. In that case, don’t forget that the airport storage lockers are there, ready for the rescue, and potentially, your sudden new, best friends.

In your hand luggage, you will most likely prepare a folder containing all your important travel papers like your ticket, visa, passport, and other details you might need at immigration. It’s helpful to pop on a little post-it either in that folder or in another place like your wallet that you can easily grab at all times. On this post, it’s handy to have your passport number, key passport details such as your name as on your passport, and flight number. In the event your luggage gets misplaced, your luggage is overweight, and to fill disembarkment cards, this key info will always be needed, and when that time comes you can copy the details from just the post it, instead of sifting through your folder to find the individual document.

This might seem excessive to some, but honestly, my carry-on is never truly complete with a least 2 sets of clothes, a laundry bag, and all my essentials. That way if ever my bags were to get lost ( a constant and unfortunate all too common issue these days), I’d never truly left with absolutely nothing.

Obviously, your airport outfit should be ultra comfy, and for me, the most important element of that is my footwear. If you’re spending a long time, it’s nice to pack a pair of slippers in your carry-on,so you can kick your shoes off for a while and just relax, but still, walk around. It’s also crazy important to make sure you’re the shoes you travel in are comfy, and also easy to undo. I cannot be the only one who has struggled to remove a particularly stubborn boot at security, can I?

Since oftentimes, suitcases end up being the same generic colours of red, black and blue, don’t forget to tag your bag uniquely. While a fancy luggage tag is a great marker, it can easily be pulled off or lost. I’ve sadly lost many a cute luggage tag that way ☹. So make your luggage tag goes along with some bright ribbon or DIY some string that can go into a zip or two. These are more likely to stay in place. And that way if you have to pick up your luggage in a hurry once you reach your destination or to make another flight you can spot it easily and then, grab and go!

Make sure you have an empty water bottle with you at all times. Not only is it essential to have some water when you’re super tired running or even waiting around at airports, but it saves you from buying expensive bottled water from the airport. You can keep refilling it from the refilling stations scattered around the airport, empty it when you pass through security, and refill it again before you board.

While it’s tempting to grab a seat and enjoy the free wifi at the airport, it’s wise to use this time to do a little bit of walking, in between all that rest, especially when you find yourself spending hours in the same spot. Even if you don’t want to spend too much and shop at the airport there is always plenty of exploring you can do, and that way you save all your sit-down activities for when you are actually on board.

And finally, this is your time to freshen up and start feeling like yourself again.A long layover will give you the chance for a proper shower. But if don’t manage that, make sure you have a fresh change of clothes, and all your toiletries to freshen up. Personally I change at my stopover as well as when I land, so I feel completely fresh and so much more alert to go through the whole immigration process, calmly and patiently, no matter how long it takes (and as we well know, it takes it a hot minute)

There you go,Bon Voyage!

Signing off now, to hop into a slightly less fun mode of transport!