5 ways to improve your airport experience

Thanks to security issues worldwide, travelling abroad has become a far more complicated process, not least of which involves airports. Here are ways to minimise the stress.

Download the app

There's nothing worse than fighting traffic to rush to the airport to find out that your flight has been delayed, or worse, cancelled. One solution is to download the app for your airline carrier onto your smartphone before you leave the house, so that you're updated about changes in the flight status. But if you're not too keen on loading up your phone with a bajillion apps, get yourself familiar with GateGuru. Brought to you by the same geniuses behind TripAdvisor, it comes with flight information for about 200 airlines. In addition to being your itinerary wizard, it can help you with your transport rentals, and point you towards the amenities you desire. How's that for convenient?

Dress the part

Outside of the temperature controlled environment inside the airports, there might just be a huge difference in the weather between the place you just left and the place you're going to. Being prepared for the switch can save you a bunch of discomfort. And that means dressing in layers. Also, bear in mind some airports will require you to take off your belt and shoes while passing through security, so wearing drawstring pants (or skirts), and slip on shoes will make the process a lot more comfortable.

Pack some food

While liquids and gels are verboten, most airports allow food items in your carry-on. While this doesn't mean you pack a dabba full of maach er jhol, a couple of snack bars, maybe some dried fruit, or chips can not only make it easier to deal when you're waiting for the boarding call. You could always buy from the airport stores, but it's no secret that those places are ridiculously overpriced.

Watch the Wi-Fi

One of the ways in which the airport experience has improved over the years is that most places now offer free Wi-Fi, so you have ways of keeping yourself occupied during the wait. Now “free” isn't the same thing as “secure”, and this is doubly true of public networks. Think twice about entering id's and passwords, or you could be looking at an account hack, or worse.

Mark your territory

And by that, we mean your luggage. Even if you had the smoothest flight ever and a relatively stress free immigration experience, the wait by the baggage carousel is no fun. Watching an endless train of identical suitcases roll by, wondering if that one is yours can be pretty annoying. Cut out the suspense by marking yours with a bright, easily identifiable tag, preferably with your contact info (in the unlikely event that your stuff goes missing), and you can spot it from miles away and be on your way.