Christmas Airport Travel Tips

Those of us who aren’t lucky enough to live within driving distance of the place where we’ll spend Christmas will likely be passing through one or more airports this holiday season (if you see me, stop and say hi, wouldja?). Airports at Christmas aren’t necessarily as busy as they are at Thanksgiving, but it’s hard to tell when you’re stuck in the long lines at check-in or security. Yeah, the holidays may be all merry and bright, but getting there usually isn’t.

Last week we went over some of the tips for Thanksgiving travel, and the tips we’ll outline in this article for Christmastime travel are going to be similar. There are, however, a few things that you need to keep in mind at Christmas that probably weren’t on your radar at Thanksgiving.

And despite the legendary crowdedness of airports at Thanksgiving, when you throw in potentially worse weather into the mix at Christmas you’ve got even more reason to be prepared before you head for the airport – just in case you’ll be there longer than you really want to be.

Here are our Christmas travel tips.

Christmas Travel Tips for Air Travel

Travel Light

Traveling light is always a great way to ease stress, and this is doubly true when you’re talking about traveling at a busy time. We advocated for going carry-on only in our Thanksgiving airport tips, and while that’s always the best policy it’s definitely more challenging at Christmas when you’re likely to be toting gifts with you both ways. We’ll get to the gifts in a moment, but even setting those aside – and acknowledging you might be checking a bag – this still isn’t the time to go crazy with the big bags.

Airport security still has to do its job, even (especially) during busy times, and if your bag is overstuffed with Christmas goodies (not to mention your unmentionables) it’s more difficult for them to deal with if they need to open your suitcase. Pack carefully, but don’t cram your bag too full. And if you put everything in clear zip-top bags then security can see what’s inside without going through everything.

Do Not Wrap Gifts You’re Carrying

Continuing on the “security” theme, it’s a very good idea to leave all your gifts unwrapped, whether you’re taking them in your carry-on bag or they’re going into your checked luggage. Security may have to unwrap things if they open your bag, and that’s just a disappointing thing to find when you get to your destination.

If you won’t have access to gift wrap where you’re going, pack gift bags and tissue paper along with the gifts themselves and you’ll be able to make quick work of the wrapping when you arrive. Better yet, ship your gifts to your destination and you won’t have to carry them at all. Online shopping makes this easy, as you just put in the address where you’ll be over the holidays instead of your home address, but even if you buy things at brick-and-mortar stores you can ship them to your destination if you do so far enough in advance to avoid the post office rush.

Pay Attention to Layovers

This is something you’ll need to do when you’re booking your ticket, but you won’t know how critical it is until you’re actually traveling. If you can’t get a direct flight from your home airport to the airport nearest to where you’re spending the holidays, then you need to look at the airports where you’ll be making your connections.

First, make sure there’s enough time allotted to make your next flight – and take the weather into consideration. If bad weather could potentially delay your flight out, it’s better to have a longer layover and make your connection. And along those lines, the second thing to look at is where your connection is. If you have an option to connect to your next flight in an airport where the weather is less likely to be a factor (somewhere warm!), you’re less likely to run into weather-related problems on the flight out. The weather at your home airport might still make it so you’re delayed getting into your connecting airport, however, so keep that in mind.

Book Airport Parking Reservations in Advance

Even if you’re a good traveler and know about getting to the airport early (and if you don’t, see the point below about why it’s important), you may not realize how challenging it can be to find an open parking space in the airport lot around the holidays. You don’t want to waste all that extra cushion time you had driving in circles around the lot, right? Of course not – especially when it’s easy to avoid.

Most airports in the US now let you book airport parking reservations in advance online, saving you copious amounts of time at the airport. Book your spot a few days before your flight, and then on your travel day you just drive up to the lot and park quickly. No waiting, no circling, and no hassle. And sometimes it’s even a better rate than the normal airport lot, too, which is a bonus.

Use Online Check-In

Most airlines allow people to check in online starting 24 hours before the departure time of the flight, and while this is always a good idea to save time at the airport it’s even more important to do before a day that’s going to be as busy as the airport is at Christmas.

By using the online check-in function on your airline’s website, you can avoid waiting in the longest of the check-in counter lines. The lines for people who have already checked in but need to drop off bags is typically much shorter (and faster), and if you don’t mind tipping the guys at the curb you can drop your bag with the airline counter outside and bypass the line inside entirely.

In addition to printing out your boarding pass after online check-in, be sure to print out a copy of your whole itinerary as well.

Get to the Airport Earlier than Usual

Even if you’ve done online check-in and are traveling carry-on only, you still want to leave yourself extra time at the airport – and if you need to check in at the counter, are checking a bag, or anything else that might take more time, you really want to leave yourself extra time.

No matter how well-prepared you are to fly through the rigamarole of the airport, there are two words which are beyond your control – security line.

Getting through security on a good day can be annoying, and at Christmas when so many people who are, frankly, inexperienced travelers or unfamiliar with whatever new TSA regulations have come out the security line can be a nightmare. Do yourself a favor and get to the airport early enough so that the worst thing that happens is you’ve got extra time to sip your coffee and read your book at your gate. Don’t be the person who, because security took so long, has to run the length of the airport’s longest terminal and still misses their flight.

Bring Snacks & Entertainment to the Airport

This is one of those tips that traveling parents have memorized, because there’s nothing worse than a cranky kid when you don’t have anything to distract them. But at the holidays it doesn’t hurt for us grown-ups to think like kids and prepare some goodies for the airport.

If you end up stuck at the airport because of a delay, or you miss a connection because of bad weather, or the lines at every airport restaurant look as long as the security line, or you just can’t stomach the idea of paying the inflated prices for snacks at the airport anyway – then you’ll be happy you’ve packed some food in your carry-on bag. And to keep your mind off of all those frustrating delays, something like a book, magazine, sudoku puzzle, knitting project, or personal DVD player is a good idea to have with you as well.

Have Airline Contact Info Handy

It’s a good idea whenever you travel to keep handy the contact information for the airline you’re traveling, any hotel you’re headed for, and any other companies you’re coming into contact with during your trip, but when you’re facing a trip that has a higher potential for delays it’s even more important.

Let’s say your flight is delayed several times, or cancelled altogether. You look up at the counter and there’s one person at the computer, and a mob of unhappy passengers crowding around trying to get more information or booked on another flight. You could wait in that line, too, and hope there’s a seat on another flight by the time you get up to the counter. Or, you could pull out your cell phone and call the airline directly to get on another flight.

Sure, you may be put on hold. And yes, you obviously hope you don’t have to do this at all. But if you do? You’ll be happy to have the airline’s number handy.

photo by quinn.anya