10 Big Mistakes to Avoid in Airport With My Travel Tips

I have seen what makes travel easier and what airport mistakes can cause unnecessary delays and way too much stress for passengers. I'm Laurie, a pilot's wife who's flown over hundreds of times, and today I will reveal 10 big mistakes to avoid when you travel by following these simple tips. The number one mistake is arriving late to airport parking or to be dropped off at the airport. Remember you have to find a parking spot or sit through traffic to get to the drop-off point. The simple way to avoid this mistake is to arrive two hours before boarding time. So you have your ticket on your phone or that you've had printed out and you're going to see that you're going from Boston to Chicago at this time, but these are the words you're looking for, boarding time, and sometimes that can be 30 to 50 minutes before takeoff time. So you want to arrive two hours before that time. This quick fix system may be your solution to arriving on time. Number one, you're going to set your alarm clock 20 minutes before you had planned on waking up. Number two, put all bags by the door by 9 p.m. the night prior. Number three, if you are charging a power bank or packing a jacket, put it beside your keys or put your keys beside those items so you will not forget those. My mistake that you can learn from me is I put my waterproof jacket for a Belgium Christmas market trip in our normal car that we drive in. Well, the next day in the butt crack of dawn, my husband decided to take the other car and therefore I forgot my waterproof jacket in the middle of December. And it was warm so I was not thinking about a coat. For those of you who are traveling with a family member who can hardly move or with mental or emotional issues, these tips and a hug from me will help you. If you're blessed with slow mobility because you once fought for our country or had to live through no air conditioning and still go to work, do not be embarrassed or disappointed in the way that you are moving now. You worked hard to pay for these tickets so get on with living. You are not dead yet. Number two, the second mistake that I've seen passengers make is not checking wheelchair when you book your flight. If you have immense pain walking through those humongously almost a mile long terminals or concourses, just check that you need a wheelchair. One travel tip for wheelchair use is that the line can be very long because there are like 15 people waiting in line to receive a wheelchair. Another travel tip for traveling with a wheelchair or waiting on a wheelchair to be provided for you is that those companies are contracted out with high turnover rate. So not a lot of employees may show up that day. So your tip is to arrive 30 minutes prior to the two hour mark because you know because of the wheelchair you may have to wait an extra long time. And that's just going to save you stress by arriving that much earlier. And you may not miss your flight now. There are several mistakes for number three that I see in airport security. Passengers do not know about TSA Cares which is a free program in most airports. If you break your leg or if you travel with a family member with difficulties, watch this interview with TSA Cares where I talked with officers. It was back in 2020 but they explain how they are trained for those special issues or hidden issues that some people may struggle with. Mental or emotional or issues like PTSD. If that person would benefit by having a less rushed private lane perhaps in airport security, you will need to sign up for it for free three days in advance. And I would always add two more so a week ahead of time sign up for it. I will have the link for it in the dot dot dot more box below this video. And I'll also have the video where I talk with the officers. Another travel tip is that passengers do not know that TSA can wand you if you do not feel comfortable going through the magnetometer machine because of radiation. And my husband says it's it's like hardly any radiation. He said it's only checking for metal. Well I went and checked and it does have radiation but it's even much less than just a chest x-ray. My neighbor just told me that ever since 2020 she has really high anxiety in airport security and when I asked her why she was like oh having to get wanded. And I said I told her about TSA Cares that she could do that and you do not even have to prove that you have this issue or this disability. I mean it can be because you broke your leg okay. But then I told her to say could I have a private screening today. I do not want to go through that machine. Please say the word please. Like you're asking them. Some people are so nervous and they don't think about being nice. They're like oh no way am I doing that. You got to find me another place to go. That's not gonna start off with a good on a good foot. Here is the mistake. That person who wants special screening has not factored in that extra time that it may take for them to find a TSA officer who's not busy to lead them through this other lane or to be wanded. But it is your right to decline that. So just do it nicely. Another mistake is the facial recognition. Where you stand in front of the TSA officer and you have to smile. And the skepticism is that they now have your personal information and it's storing it somewhere where someone can track you or something like that. And what you have to do is to avoid that mistake is look for the signs. In different airports I have seen small signs. Like not every airport has a facial recognition thing. Okay new technology. But some of them do and I've been in some of them. And you just have to look for the little sign that says if you are declined facial recognition use that line. So just be aware of your surroundings and watch for that. But again that's no stress because you arrived two hours early to the airport. So you have time. Mistake number four is worrying about taking medication through airport security and how you are supposed to pack it. So here are some quick fixes on what you can do to give yourself peace of mind and be prepared. Because we all know that every airport security does it differently it seems like. In the United States you can pack pills anywhere you want and in any type of container you want to. Unless they are controlled substance type pills which may be illegal in four of our united 50 great states of America. The TSA are not policing passengers. They are not looking for illegal controlled substance pills okay. But if they can't see an item or if you have like a bottle of water in your backpack and they have to pull your bag and scan that like look through that pocket because they see liquid and they find like a back sandwich baggie of marijuana or whatever the pills are for that or controlled substance all right. Then they have to turn you over to the authorities. There is a medical card that you can fill out. I will have it in the dot dot dot more box for you down there. Here's what you can also do. You're going to search tsa.gov scroll down to TSA cares and then tap on medical slash disabilities and then tap on medicine. What I did was I found on Amazon this is the greatest thing because many of my viewers have problems packing their pills for like a month-long trip or they have to use so many pills they don't have like they don't want to take all of the containers okay. So what I would do is have your prescription list from your doctor or a documentation of the picture of the prescription label like we have in the U.S. but this these are sheets okay and here's like they have different types but this is like a month-long version of pretty deep pill containers and what you're going to do is you're going to drop in your pills for day one, the second, the third okay. All the pills that you need to fit in there and then you peel up from the diagonal okay. You're going to peel up and then you're going to close the plastic part which is like that metal foil that you see in the old pseudofed containers okay and you can just tear this off. This is where like nurses and doctors use this. It lists their medication but then when it is time for you to take that day's pill, you just poke through and they're your pills. So it's a lot easier to pack something thin like this than all of those little bottles or a bag of your pills let's say. I'll just put mine in a daily portion like the Monday portion of my pill organizer and just toss it in my personal item bag in case my suitcase gets lost if they've checked it last minute or something. For liquid medication, you can take over-the-counter bottles of medicine if you need to even if it is larger than 3.4 ounces or you can take prescription liquid medicine even if it's over 3.4 ounces of medicine. Like a good example of that would be contact solution. It is allowed in larger quantities in carry-on bags okay but this is the main mistake that people make. They leave it in their bags or they try to put this large container of liquid in their liquids bag which is what a pilot friend of ours did. He was in London Heathrow and had very expensive eye drops that were prescriptions so the bottle was larger than 3.4 ounces. It totally got confiscated because it stuck out because it was in his liquids bag and it's too large of a container but he didn't have the prescription to go with that liquid. So number one for you to do with liquid medicine is to one declare it to the TSA officer say I have liquid cholesterol medicine do you need to see it which is what I did going to Hawaii and number two it needs to be by itself in the gray bin for screening. Do not put it in your liquids bag if you have several bottles of liquid prescription medicine or contact solution. It may be easier for you to keep them in a plastic baggie and put them in the gray bin but they do not go in your liquids bag. Another tip for you to remember throughout this video is you're never going to see these people again. This is your vacation. Relax. We are just preparing just in case so that we can have peace of mind. When I return home from Hawaii with my cooler of cholesterol medicine they wanted to see the cooler part because that ice pack had gotten soft. If the ice pack is for medication like my cholesterol medicine going over it does not have to be frozen okay but then coming back it was not frozen. I had it frozen going over because I was taking the liquid medicine. Coming back from Hawaii it was not frozen that officer did want to see it and they had to unscrew the top and test it or if it's an ice pack they're just going to mush it around okay but some airports may not have to see it. When I was going to Hawaii from Houston they said I declared it I said I've got liquid cholesterol medicine do you need to see it he's like no just keep it in your bag and that is because that their machinery is newer technology so it sees what it needs to see in most instances but I was ready and I have done my best by telling them that I have it and guess what in Hawaii it took maybe three minutes for him to do that so it's not going to delay me getting to my flight. I just know that it's going to be pulled out probably and checked. The fifth mistake is not prepping for TSA. Avoid this mistake by getting ready before you leave your house. You know the new rule is that no one has to take off shoes anymore thank goodness well basically another new rule is that they're not making you pull out your liquids back but the way to avoid that mistake is to know that that rule is still in effect. Here's the rule. Number one all liquids have to be in containers that are 3.4 ounces or smaller so they can be in bottle shapes or little disc shapes or whatever shape as long as it's 3.4 ounces or smaller and they all must fit in one zipped liquids bag per person that is clear-ish and quart sized. If you're looking on Amazon you'll see that it says TSA approved. If it says that it's a quart size okay. This is my liquids bag that I use in the U.S. because they are not strict and it is the same shape eight by eight but if I'm going to London Heathrow or a country that's another country in Europe basically I will use a slimmer bag and I will link both of those in the dot dot dot more paragraph as well as the first pinned comment for you. Some of you may be thinking oh my gosh there's so much to do who wants to travel anymore but really the TSA hardly wants to see anything anymore. Number six is one mistake that I see over and over is senior citizens making this frustrating mistake. Number one you are carrying too heavy of a bag in a way that you do not have to. This mistake can lead you to becoming off balance on the escalator when maybe you should have taken the elevator instead. I am not making fun of people okay or you have chosen a bag that has no straps to go over your luggage. I started thinking why do so many passengers have this problem and I think it's because a lot of people cannot lift because of shoulder problems or something or they're super short. They cannot lift their bag into the overhead bins. One solution is to check a bag or check your carry-on suitcase and then roll through the airport with this bag. I do not talk about it a lot because it's called an under seater and it is not going to fit under any seat. If you can find a smaller suitcase like this and you can pack some of your things in here well that is small enough where you can lift it in the overhead bins and then wear a crossbody bag or a small thin backpack as your personal item bag that's going to go under the airplane seat in front of you. The number seven mistake that I have seen that you can avoid is some people try to hold all the things in one hand while also holding their luggage or their personal item bag. One lady I know she cannot physically put on a backpack so she usually takes a tote bag okay. Well I was going with her on a flight and she has a backpack that I know she cannot put on but it does not even have a trolley strap on it so I was like why did she choose this one? Okay this is a trolley strap that is going to go over your luggage handles so you could be walking through the airport like this. Only one hand is being used with no stress but instead she was trying to hold her empty water bottle, her keys, her wallet that had her ID to show in it and her ticket and trying to balance a backpack with no strap on her luggage which could have thrown her off balance but the main mistake of that is she could have lost a very important item. It would never have known it. One way to avoid this mistake is prior to arriving at the airport put that phone and your ID in an outer pocket that is easily accessible. You do not need those things until you get to maybe the first TSA officer okay and because they're easily accessible just keep them in there. You do not have to hold them. Make it easier on yourself. Show your credentials and put them in an easily accessible pocket that zips or just put them way down in the bottom of your bag if you're nervous about things getting stolen. Go through airport security and then take them out and put them in like your wallet or in your crossbody bag or down in your luggage that you have. Several of you women make this airport mistake and that is by packing a bag with no top zipper like the Louis Vuitton Neverfull. There are two places no zipper will be a huge mistake. Number one, you could lose something important in airport security like through the conveyor belt screening process or under the airplane seat. Something rolling out or spilling out and you do not even notice it or it getting stolen. So here is a fix or your solution if you really do want to take a bag with no zipper on top. You are going to pack everything in pouches and I have a fantastic video coming out in different new methods for packing in a purse, line, and bag. I also want to offer my community a step-by-step walkthrough in the airport security lines and then I'll share with you the other mistakes. Here's how I go through airport security line for the TSA officers. I take my tote bag and I am thinking in the U.S. most airports do not make you pull out your liquids bag but they might that day because they know the security rules or threats. So I'm going to have my liquids bag easily accessible. So if they say liquids bag do need to come out today I can throw it in there and a frequently asked question that I always get is do we need to put our electronics, our power bank inside the bins? They do not want to see that. That's the best thing about security is they hardly want to see anything and then put your tote bag or your bento bag in that bin for screening and push it on down the line. Here are two mistakes that could happen in the security line. In the fall especially you can wear your rain jacket so you do not have to pack it. Just toss it in the bin with your liquids bag or a bin with your bento bag. They do not want to see your phone in airport security. So put it in an easily accessible pocket just for the security line and then secure it. If you're worried about your phone getting stolen or something then you're going to put your phone down in the very bottom of your bag or in an inside zippered pocket and then after security you can pull all of your valuables out or rearrange things and put them in a secure location. Hope that helped. The ninth mistake that you can avoid in airports is being dehydrated before a long flight even begins. Here's the first simple tip or fix for you. Number one, remember to use the restroom before the plane starts descending. So an hour before you're supposed to land use the restroom before everybody else gets up. Once they start descending you will not be able to get up to use the restroom or you're going to have to walk through their airport and all the way through their customs line which could take almost an hour. The second tip is to drink that water especially the day before and drink it during your flight. Stay hydrated and here's what I do to avoid jet lag that first long day when you're trying to make it to the evening time. I have a Tylenol that I'll take like around dinner time just to like help me and then I'll also pack one hydration packet. You can use the full one late afternoon or because it has sodium in it even though it's natural like real sodium it's not salt salt sodium you can split it in half but down that packet with a bottle of water halfway through your afternoon and then maybe one at dinner. It just gives you a boost of real nutrients like nutrients like sodium. Even in TSA PreCheck I have heard officers yell at us before they've gotten so much better. If you have not flown in a long time it's so much better but in every company you're going to have the rude people but if you forget like I have done before I had one of those small bottles of water totally full in my little pocket of my backpack totally forgot to take it out. If you do that the alarms are not going to sound and lights arrow lasers point to you if you did something wrong. It could just delay you so just shake it off and say oh I made a mistake I'm going to learn for next time and keep going. It's okay if you make a mistake. You're not going to get arrested. Even in PreCheck sometimes we still have to take off our belt so if you can wait until after airport security just leave your belt in your bag pocket until after like when you leave your house put it in there and then after security put on your belt. I know some of you can't okay. The tenth mistake has a simple fix but it's not always easy to fix because it is technology okay. Download your airline's app. One viewer is petrified of flying. She flew when she was a teenager and now she's 70 something because she doesn't use a phone. You've got to take that responsibility and learn how to use your phone. Learn how to use that airline's app. Look up that airport's app and that will help you know where to go. If you can get a visual of what the map looks like when you get inside it helps but here's the reason why you want your airline's app. When you arrive to the airport it will prompt you and say you're already checked in. Go straight to security or check in for your flight. It is it's time to check in for your flight okay because a lot of times I forget until like two hours before I'm like oh shoot but the best reason is that it because you may not hear that they have changed the gate but your app will prompt you or have a pop-up that prompts you and tells you where the new gate is. Airports are set up to help you use their services. You paid a lot of money for this ticket so use the airport. Use the airline services that they have made convenient to you in the app or on their website. Remember that I will link several of the officer or the several of the videos for you as well as the TSA links and other things you may want to shop or look at in the dot dot dot more paragraph as well as the first pinned comment. All right thanks for your time good luck.