Make the most of your vacation by avoiding airport headaches
By NANCY POSTER for Smart
Try online check-in. Sherri Snyder, vice president of Bailey Travel in York, recommends going to the airline's Web site to get a boarding pass. It can be done 24 hours before your flight, she said, and will eliminate waiting in line. If there's no luggage to be checked, online check-in allows travelers to skip at least one line and go directly to the security checkpoint.
Go light. Most airlines are cutting back to one checked bag instead of two. If a traveler needs to take that additional bag, most carriers are now charging an additional $25, said Kelly Lawson, leisure agent at Bailey Travel.
Remember the 3-1-1 rule for carry-ons. Each passenger is allowed one carry-on, in which they can have one quart-sized, clear, plastic, zip-top bag holding 3-ounce or smaller containers of liquids or gels. If you're in doubt, put liquids in checked luggage.
Skip strings. Wear slip-on shoes to ease getting through the mandatory shoe screening. Remember, even babies need to take off shoes.
Watch the prongs. "Anything that has prongs comes up funny on the (X-ray) machine," Lawson said. Her advice: Put items with prongs, such as a battery charger or hair dryer, in your checked luggage.
Avoid clutter in laptop bags. Laptop computers must be taken out of their cases, Lawson said. So to make the screening process speedier, keep only the computer in the case.
Pack light. Lawson's advice is to take the least amount of items in a carry-on as possible. That makes it easier to pass through the security checkpoint. She takes just reading material and her laptop computer in her carry-on bag.
Don't buckle up. "It's important that men remember to take their belts off," Lawson said. Metal belt buckles often set off the sensitive X-ray devices at security checkpoints.
Wait on the beverages. Remember not to buy a drink to take on the flight until after going through airport security, Lawson said. If you do have a beverage, security officers will throw it away.
Passports are required for international travel. "Everyone has to have a passport," Lawson said. The passport must be valid at least six months beyond the date of the trip and have two blank visa/stamp pages, she said.
Give yourself some time. Allow enough time at the airport to get through security. That means getting there 90 minutes early for a domestic flight and two hours in advance of an international flight.
Check the Web. Lawson said good sources for air travel information are www.travel.state.gov or www.tsa.gov.
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