Airports are full of hustle-bustle and you fall in love with the environment it offers. The infrastructure, the food, the people you meet and the views you get from the airport are just astonishing.
With such a great atmosphere, you can try some of the best airport hacks pointed down bellow in this article. I have been traveling for long and had to spend several hours at the airport moving around and making the most of my time. Here is what you can do to make the best of your time at the airport:
#1. Check about your destination and layover airports
This is what most travelers do. You can use your internet sim or free wifi at the airport to search for your destination and layover airports.
The fact is that you’re familiar with your home airport but the layover and destination airports can be a distraction for you. To stay on the line and make the most of your waiting time, learn about the airport’s free amenities, find food chains or toiletries.
To learn how your next airport looks and find places where to go; there’s an app called “TripCase” that features airport maps with amenities about each terminal. It’s good to know earlier where your favorite spot is and move there to have fun for the time flight gets back in action.
#2. Pack a dedicated set of “air travel clothes”
This hack is dedicated for long-hours flight. The worst part of a long-haul flight is when you are not having the comfort required. Formal clothing and the seat you choose could be the reason.
To have the maximum comfort, pack a dedicated set of air travel clothes that includes pajamas, tees and other lightweight clothing and put them in your hand carry.
As soon as you take off and meet the clouds, you can go to the washroom and change the outfits. This is probably the best advice for any long-haul flight, it’s better to be comfy rather than travel that lacks it!
#3. Luggage overweight issue? Put more clothes on
Got inspected by the airline’s team and notified about the overweight?
Have your sweaters, hoodies and other heavy clothes in the first pocket. As soon as the agents notify about the overweight, open the zipped pocket and put them on.
This hack works every time and was suggested by a PRO traveler at SmarterTravel, first. It worked for me, always. Make sure you try it once! 😀
#4. Snap a photo of your luggage and parking spot
A photo that is essential whenever you’re taking flight. Make sure you capture a photo of your parking spot and find exactly where your luggage is placed. You can have customized tags or other customizations to easily identify your carry cases.
About the parking spot, make sure to remember the garage number with a specification to learn about the place. I have been to a few airports where there were no signals or tags for the parking spots. If you experience one, capture your parking spot by taking a photo right into your phone’s gallery.
#5. Take an empty Water Bottle in your carry-on
Yes, you can’t easily take filled water bottles in the air but you can take an empty water bottle with you. The airport shops are expensive and have mark-ups for each product so an empty bottle can save you the cost of water bottles there. Fill that empty bottle at a water fountain near the checkpoint.
Although the empty bottle will go through a security checkup, that’s not an issue at all.
#6. Use an inside jacket to carry more!
This is what my friend travelers recommend to carry extra stuff. They wear vets inside to have the maximum essential equipment with them on the go.
Some photographers do wear a vest with large pockets designed for fragile stuff including lenses, and when they take-off, they put it in the overhead bin to their carry bags for later use.
During my travels, I experienced that sometimes, luggage bags run out of space and the inside jackets (with several pockets) can save your hassle by carrying the necessary things along!
#7. Wear a plastic-buckle belt
Well, it is a weird situation when you’re asked to take off your belt and half your clothes falling off. To avoid that, don’t go for a metal buckled belt, rather wear a plastic-buckle belt.
It gets messy when you’re on tight deadlines, trying this hack saves your time by easy security checkups, every time.
#8. Have a portable phone charger in our pocket
Mobile phones being a part of our life, we surely require them in case of an emergency. First thing is to get them charged as you depart for the airport but if you are running out of battery, have a portable charger right in your pocket.
Several airlines’ lounges have charging sockets in common and you can get your phones charged, the right way!
#9. Be careful when wearing noise-canceling headphones at the gate
Last but not least, be careful when wearing noise-canceling headphones at the gate. Chances are that you can miss an important announcement that can lead to more problems later.
Make sure you don’t keep the headphones most of the time or probably near the gate; this way you can easily learn about the important announcements like flight arrival, delay, etc.
The Bottom Line
Airports are what that completely showcase a city or a state, whatever airport you visit, you’ll find each airport constructed with infrastructure and creativity. We have everything from hotels to apparel shops but how you spend your time there is what that matters. Make sure you follow the above 9 hacks to spend quality time at each airport you land.
Written By Boyan Minchev
References:
https://www.smartertravel.com/18-best-airport-hacks/
https://www.mintnotion.com/travel/30-airport-hacks-every-traveler-know/
I would love to arrive at an airport that is user friendly. Communication, signage, announcement,directional signs, information counters all these are hacks that would make it easy to travel.