Traveling is stressful enough when everything goes right, but some mistakes people make when flying can make it much worse. Travel pros are revealing the errors that may not ruin your trip, but will make the airport experience more challenging and annoying than it needs to be.
Avoiding these big blunders can lead to less anxiety when you fly:
- Not managing travel expectations before you leave - If you’re traveling with a group, talk about logistics and expectations ahead of time, like where you prefer to stay, if you like to start the day early or take it slow, and how you’ll divide costs and who pays for what, so everyone’s on the same page.
- Not having a REAL ID - As of last month, you have to have a REAL ID-compliant license or other identification to get on domestic flights in the U.S. If your driver’s license or state ID has a star in the upper right hand corner, you’re good to go. If you don’t have one, you’ll need a passport, permanent resident card or another form of acceptable identification.
- Bringing a carry-on bag that’s too large - Check your airline's restrictions to know if your bag will fit in the overhead compartment and meets the size requirement even when it’s fully expanded.
- Putting essentials in checked luggage - Keep your medication, passport and keys in a carry-on, just in case your bag gets lost.
- Not charging your devices - Unless you want to settle into your seat with your tablet loaded with a movie and have it die five minutes later.
- Not arriving with enough time before your flight - Avoid the stress of being afraid you’ll miss your flight because of a long check-in or security line at the airport. The TSA recommends getting to the airport two hours early for domestic flights and three hours before international ones, even if you have TSA PreCheck or Clear.
- Not packing your own snacks - Sure, you can grab a pack of cheese crackers and pretzels at the airport, but they’ll cost a fortune and the selection is often limited.
- Not having your airline’s app on your phone - The app makes it easier to check in, make changes and learn about updates and gate changes, so it’s worth adding yet another app to your phone.⠀
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