Going There - Departure Airport Advice For Backpackers
Make sure that you have enough time at the airport before your plane leaves.
Check with your airline how much time in advance you need to be at the airport, especially if you travel with certain budget airlines which close their check in extremely early.
If you travel in holiday periods it may take a lot longer to check in and pass through security.
Also, allow time for paying airport taxes and fees for overweight luggage or special luggage (e.
g.
golf clubs, surf boards) if necessary.
If you are traveling from a cold country to a warm and do not have anyone to drive you to the airport it can be really annoying to have to lug around a warm jacket which you do not need in your destination.
Instead put on several layers of clothing and remove them when you get to the airport.
Do not accept packages from strangers and make sure you have packed your bags yourself.
If you plan on watching the movie and there are no individual monitors ask for a seat a few rows behind the screen to get a good view.
If you have a short time to catch your connecting flight ask for an aisle seat near the exit so that you can get off the plane quickly.
Murphy´s law of course dictates that in this case your plane will be parked away from the gates and a bus will take you there and you will be stuck in the back of the bus and be the last one to leave the bus.
Go to the restroom before you board the plane, delays happen and you do not want to be stuck on the tarmac for two hours with a full bladder (yes another lesson learned the hard way).
If the plane is overbooked and you are in no hurry you may be able to get money, food and accommodations in return for taking a later flight.
If your flight gets cancelled call the airline directly to get rebooked to another flight instead of standing in line with all the other passengers at the understaffed desk.
If you want to pass check in quickly find out if there are any self service terminals where you step up to a computer and perform the check in yourself.
You will then get your boarding pass and luggage tag printed from the machine.
Attach the luggage tag to your backpack and drop it off at the bag drop point.
Avoid check in lines where there is a new employee trying to learn their job, you can usually tell by the fact that there is another person standing next to them and pointing at the computer screen, it can take a lot longer.
Sometimes there are several queues to check in counters but one queue is significantly longer because it is hard to see the second queue and everyone assumes that there is only one queue.
Just join the second queue and save yourself some time.
In order to pass passport control quickly pick a line which seems to have people you do not think that the passport control will scrutinize.
After a while you learn where you may risk hold ups because the border police want a closer inspection (e.
g.
since they suspect that the person is not a tourist and intends to disappear in the country).
Check with your airline how much time in advance you need to be at the airport, especially if you travel with certain budget airlines which close their check in extremely early.
If you travel in holiday periods it may take a lot longer to check in and pass through security.
Also, allow time for paying airport taxes and fees for overweight luggage or special luggage (e.
g.
golf clubs, surf boards) if necessary.
If you are traveling from a cold country to a warm and do not have anyone to drive you to the airport it can be really annoying to have to lug around a warm jacket which you do not need in your destination.
Instead put on several layers of clothing and remove them when you get to the airport.
Do not accept packages from strangers and make sure you have packed your bags yourself.
If you plan on watching the movie and there are no individual monitors ask for a seat a few rows behind the screen to get a good view.
If you have a short time to catch your connecting flight ask for an aisle seat near the exit so that you can get off the plane quickly.
Murphy´s law of course dictates that in this case your plane will be parked away from the gates and a bus will take you there and you will be stuck in the back of the bus and be the last one to leave the bus.
Go to the restroom before you board the plane, delays happen and you do not want to be stuck on the tarmac for two hours with a full bladder (yes another lesson learned the hard way).
If the plane is overbooked and you are in no hurry you may be able to get money, food and accommodations in return for taking a later flight.
If your flight gets cancelled call the airline directly to get rebooked to another flight instead of standing in line with all the other passengers at the understaffed desk.
If you want to pass check in quickly find out if there are any self service terminals where you step up to a computer and perform the check in yourself.
You will then get your boarding pass and luggage tag printed from the machine.
Attach the luggage tag to your backpack and drop it off at the bag drop point.
Avoid check in lines where there is a new employee trying to learn their job, you can usually tell by the fact that there is another person standing next to them and pointing at the computer screen, it can take a lot longer.
Sometimes there are several queues to check in counters but one queue is significantly longer because it is hard to see the second queue and everyone assumes that there is only one queue.
Just join the second queue and save yourself some time.
In order to pass passport control quickly pick a line which seems to have people you do not think that the passport control will scrutinize.
After a while you learn where you may risk hold ups because the border police want a closer inspection (e.
g.
since they suspect that the person is not a tourist and intends to disappear in the country).
