49 Travelers Shared Their Airport Wisdom And It's Gold

Not necessarily hidden, but it was new to me and blew my mind a little:

Last year I had a layover in the Seoul airport and was too exhausted to find food so I sat down on a random bench to gather my thoughts. After a few minutes a little robot wheeled up to me and offered (in like eight different languages) to bring me a snack.

All the seating areas in the airport have a number, so I just had to enter the number of the bench where I was sitting and choose from literally any of the restaurants/cafes in the terminal. Took maybe ten minutes for the robot to return with my food.

I’m usually a “please let’s not let technology take over” kind of person but this was awesome.

Denver airport has comfort dogs (and apparently one cat) who come around to the gates to let people pet them. In a bit of naming genius, the program is called CATS. (Canine Airport Therapy Squad)

https://www.flydenver.com/cats.

I haven't seen this one mentioned yet, but if your European flight is cancelled or arrives more than 3 hours late, you are entitled to a **compensation of at least 250 Euro**. It doesn't matter if the original ticket was cheaper. I made a 100+ Euro profit this way when I flew to Barcelona last summer and it was delayed.

Bring an empty bottle to fill up water at the drinking fountains to avoid paying like $6 for a 500 ml bottle of water.

I am convinced that this whole "no liquids" thing past security is just a ploy to get you to buy overpriced water at the airport or on the plane.

If your flight is over booked and they're asking for 'volunteers' to take a later flight, it's definitely something to consider. Especially if you are carrying on. I have more than once received $300+ flight vouchers AND been rescheduled on another airline to arrive with an hour or two when I would have arrived. It's ok to say "I'd consider taking a later flight, how much are you offering in vouchers and when could I expect to get home?".

I would stop into faith/prayer rooms when my kids were babies so we could sit quietly while they napped. I never found one occupied.

Don't help anyone carry anything. and I mean ANYONE. It doesn't matter if it's a 90 years old grandma that can barely walk or a person that's missing a limb that wants you to carry a massive suitcase. If you really want to help, go find an airport employee to help them.

I used to design security checkpoints

I'll try and come up with some tips that aren't common place...

1) When you get your stuff, take the bin and gather yourself at a chair or table near by. There is almost always a revestment area on the other side of a checkpoint. Use it so you're not blocking others and creating a bottleneck.

2) Restack your bin and grab some other strays if you see them. This also keeps things moving along at the front end.

3) Be nice to the folks that work there. As terrible as the checkpoint is for your, it's 10 times worse to work in it. It monotonous, you're constantly being bombarded with X-rays, it pays bad, and you often bump into old high school friends traveling for cool jobs or awesome vacations.

4) My CT scanners always had problems with chocolate. It could have a similar density to certain explosives and could trigger a bag check. I don't know if that impacts other manufacturers, but I don't pack it.

5) I love people that check luggage and don't over pack overhead bins, that said, the checked baggage area behind the plastic flaps is a secret s**t show. Things get lost, stolen, etc. I try to check at the gate if I can. You'll still need to pack light enough to look like a carry on though.

If it's under 400 miles, drive.

If you are connecting through an airport, make sure you have at least an hour between your flights (1.5-2 hours for large airports), to be on the safe side.

This one may seem more obvious than others here, but so many people underestimate the size of airports and the security involved. What if your plane arrives at one end of a terminal, and your next one is on the other end, requiring a 30+ minute walk? What if you have to go through a security checkpoint before proceeding to your next flight (several airports have transit checkpoints)? Don't forget to factor in the time needed to deplane and board: you may not get off the plane until 5-10 minutes after it parks at the gate, and boarding usually starts 15-30 minutes before departure (with the gate closing at least a few minutes before the plane leaves).

Keep your hands out of your pockets and you're less likely to be patted down.

If you're Arab (which I am), please don't speak Arabic in front of anyone. I mean, unless you want to get dirty looks and called a terrorist multiple times. I advise you to refrain from speaking Arabic until you're away from people.

Narita Airport in Japan has a Transit and Stay program where local volunteers would take travelers with long layovers to various spots around Narita. I got to see the Goma Fire Ritual at Naritasan Shinshoji Temple, which was amazing! You can also participate in tea ceremonies, or go on mini-tours further outside Narita. Usually the tours only last 3 hours, so it’s a great chance to get out of the airport & stretch your legs!

Austin has a “Interimaginary Depatures” gate that you can print a boarding pass to mystical/fictional destinations like Narnia or Emerald City. It’s between gate 12 and 14, titled gate (infinity symbol). It’s an immersive and interactive permanent installation by Brooklyn-based artist Janet Zweig. If you have a fun spirit or traveling with kids, check it out!

If I'm not sure where to eat, I look for flight crews and airport employees, they usually know the best food and affordable places. Also when looking for outlets, look for crew members or machines. I had to divert to a small airport and they had ZERO outlets in the boarding area (they let us off the plane but we stayed in the secure area), and I found this little alcove with vending machines, there was one open outlet. Also carry one of those multi plug things, I have a 3 and a 6 outlet thing, if I'm lucky enough to find an outlet I can charge all my s**t at once, or share the space and make friends.

* Buy food before you fly; airplane food isn't that great and the airport sells overpriced snacks
* Empty out all change/receipts out of your wallet and fluff out your pockets before
* Wear shoes that are easy to put on without retying
* Some airports have baggage lockers; use these to store stuff to get out of the airport during a layover; not worth hauling luggage
* Some airports, especially in Japan, have showers. It's definintely awesome to shower after coming in from a 10+ hour flight
* Lookup and plan transportation at your destination before you leave
* Wet wipes and a change of clothes on long haul flights are a lifesaver in case of an accident ;-)
* It might be possible to ship things through the mail rather than pay for baggage fees.

My uncle used to say that when he came back into Australia, he'd tell customs he'd been on a farm. That way, he got to go to a special room where they checked all his shoes for potential biohazards (our quarantine rules are hard core), and in doing so, skip the massive line.

When you are looking at flights and hotels online, always look in incognito mode. They can't track you then and charge you more when you go to look again.

Minute suites. Basically a pay by the hour hotel in the terminal. I rented a room for 4 hours during a long layover on my way home from a camping trip. First hot shower I had taken in days, first mattress id slept on in that long too. TV was nice to have too. Also just some privacy.

There's a cat-robot who delivers your orders at Belfast airport bar.