As many of you probably already know, the Wednesday before Thanksgiving is the busiest travel day of the year. Roughly 27 million passengers will fly between Nov. 23rd – 27th. Combine that with the (still) new TSA full body scanners and pat-down nightmares (as was common last year), and it’s easy to see this is not going to be pretty.
So here are the OK WASSUP! last-minute travel tips to get you home with the least amount of stress and abuse:
1.) This should go without saying, but get to the airport early. And when I say early, I mean AT LEAST 2 1/2 hours prior to your flight departure. The airports will be a madhouse during the Thanksgiving travel season, and it will take more time than you can imagine to navigate your way through the new security measures and to your gate. Better early and safe, than late and missing your flight, hoping to get on a stand-by flight. Yeah, right!
2.) Ship your luggage in advance, or only take a carry on bag. This will prevent you from having to stand in long lines to have your bag checked by security prior to take-off, or from having to wait at a luggage carousel upon arrival with the thousands of other travelers.
3.) Check in for your flight and print your boarding pass on your home computer the night before. This will save you enormous time and hassle once you arrive to an overcrowded airport.
4.) When getting to the airport (especially for a morning flight), don’t go to the Departure Level. It will be a zoo. Instead, head for the Arrivals Level, which should be virtually empty in the morning hours. Then just take the escalator upstairs for your gate.
5.) When you arrive, have your friends or family pick you up at the Departure Level. Why? Because no one will be there! They’ll all be downstairs screaming and pushing, hoping against hope that their bags were actually on the same flight they were, and waiting for at least 40 minutes or more for that carousel to start moving. Traffic exiting the airport from the Departure Level should also be at a minimum, which should expedite your way out of airport hell and home to the smell of turkey and giblet gravy.
7.) Do not expect the ID tag that you faithfully put on the outside of your bag to remain there. Baggage conveyor belts love to eat these tags. So protect yourself. Using duct tape, affix a larger ID to the inside of your bag. That way, if the outside tag is lost, someone opening your bag will at least know where to find you.
8.) Those Thanksgiving leftovers are so delicious to take home from Grandma’s on your flight. But be advised, many items just won’t make it past the security checkpoint. Pies are OK. But cranberry sauce is not. Neither are:
* Creamy dips and spreads
(cheeses, peanut butter, etc.)
* Gift baskets with food items
(salsa, jams and salad dressings)
* Gravy
* Jams
* Jellies
* Maple syrup
* Oils and vinegars
* Salad dressing
* Salsa
* Sauces
* Soups
* Wine, liquor and beer
9.) If at all possible, use alternate airports: Burbank instead of LAX; Flint instead of Detroit; Chicago Midway instead of Chicago O’Hare; Oakland instead of San Francisco; Providence instead of Boston. You’ll thank yourself for avoiding the biggest crowds and traveling through calmer airports.
10.) Last, but not least, if you’re one of those who waited until the last minute to make your travel plans, DO NOT attempt to fly out on Wednesday the 23rd. Assuming you can even get a seat, the price will border on outrageous. Instead, fly out on the very first flight on Thanksgiving morning. You’ll still get to where you need to go in time to cut the turkey, see your long-lost/crazy relatives and let them push all your emotional buttons during dinner.
On the flip side of Thanksgiving: Stay the night. Then on Friday afternoon, fly home. The airports and your flight will both be empty, and the airfare will be substantially lower. It’s a win-win situation!
