Travel Tips

Your best friend is getting married in the Bahamas. You’ve managed to locate your lost USA passport and your bags are all packed and ready to go. The only thing is, you’ve never flown before. You’ve seen the horror stories about plane food and being strip searched at security. Just the thought of being miles in the air makes you want to throw up. Well, there is absolutely nothing to be worried about. Here are a few tips that should ease your mind.

The first and most important thing you can do is to just relax. Get yourself in a frame of mind where you can think rationally. Flying is extremely safe; driving your car is more dangerous than flying. Flying seems so scary only because all you hear about are dramatic stories covering crazy plane crashes.

- A bee sting is more likely to kill you than a plane crash.
- If you spend everyday on a plane, it will take almost 20,000 years before you would get in a crash.
 - Training a pilot takes the same amount of time and money as training a doctor does.
- Planes have a back-up system for everything, as well as three autopilots and two to three computers.
- For every hour a plane spends flying, it’s on the ground for 12 undergoing thorough maintenance.
- Airplanes fly only in designated flyways that are ten miles wide. No other airplane can fly through it.

These are legitimate facts. The truth is, all the fear can be attributed to the media’s coverage of plane crashes. However, now you have more stuff to do to prepare for your flight. First off, decide whether you want to check your bag or carry it on board. A small weekend bag is easy to carry on, but if you’re planning a long vacation, consider checking it. The TSA advises that you get to the airport at least two hours before your flight time in order to allow time for check-in, security, getting your boarding pass, and everything else.

Once you arrive at the airport, you are going to want to check in and get a boarding pass. In the terminal, look for a desk that has the airline you will be flying. Different airlines have different procedures for getting your bags checked, so just ask an employee and they can help you out. This is the same place you will be checking your bags, so make sure to have them ready.

Next is security. Make sure you have your boarding pass, ID, and passport out. Wait in the line, and when you get to the x-ray machine, take off your shoes, take your laptop out of its bag, and put your purse or backpack on the conveyor belt. You will be prompted into a metal detector, and once you pass through that, you’re finished.

With passports firmly in hand, you are now equipped with some reassuring facts and a quick overview of what to do for your flight. There is no reason to be scared about flying. The safety codes are very strict, and, despite the oppressive atmosphere, airports and flying can actually be sort of fun. So replace that lost or stolen U.S. passports, grab your new bikini, your bag, and get ready to take off.

Comments are closed.