Holiday Travel Tips

This weekend is Labor Day Weekend, and everyone is giving out their sound advice for holiday travel. This Labor Day is is predicted that 15.7 million people will fly between today and next Wednesday. “It’s fair to say people should brace themselves and bring a good book,” said Marion Blakey, FAA administrator.

It is nice to know that the head of the FAA is so lacking in optimism about the state of our commercial aviation system. Blakey will be braving the airport herself this weekend…and she claims she always flies economy class.

With a summer filled with record cancellations and delays, here are our tips for a safe and happy holiday air experience.

1. Arrive early. Normally, recommendations are 1.5-2 hours for domestic flights, 2-3 hours for international. Add an extra 30 minutes to an hour to when you’d normally go to the airport. Don’t get there earlier than two hours before departure. Better to wait around than miss your flight.
2. Check the estimated wait time at your departing airport. The TSA has a site for Security Checkpoint Wait Times and add some time to that.
3. Be familiar with security restrictions for carry-on luggage. Remember, these are the rules of the TSA, not of your airline. Our summary of the 3-3-3 rules can be found here. To summarize in a sentence: 3oz or less of liquids or gels, collectively assembled into one quart-sized zip-top bag per passenger. The TSA is more concerned about that than anything else. Aside from the obvious sharp objects, most other items are permitted in your carry-on. Here is the prohibited items list. Check it over…
4. Check for flight departure delays, either through the website or the telephone information line for the airline.
5. Be smart…be prepared…be patient. There WILL be delays. Be prepared for them. That means leave extra time, have a backup plan if necessary, and bring something to keep yourself busy.

Travel safely.