If you are a frequent business flyer you know just what a pain it is having to arrive at airports early, stand around in queues at the check-in for ages and then get snarled up again when trying to clear the airport security checkpoints. I have been doing quite a lot of travelling over the past few years and now have the whole process taped down to a fine art so that I can breeze in, bypass check-in, go directly to the shortest queue at the security control points and whiz straight through. In fact at some airports I now arrive just 45 minutes before departure and am happily sitting in the departure lounge 30 minutes before departure, usually just as they open the gates and allow boarding.
Here are some of my tips.
Travel only with hand baggage
This may seem a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised at how many times I see people arriving for a two-day business trip with a bag that they have to check. That is really unnecessary. If a small shoulder-slung bag is not big enough for your laptop and a change of clothes and toiletries then surely a little cabin-sized wheel-along is.
Rather carry one bigger piece of luggage than two small ones.
If you are using the network of low-cost airlines that fly in Europe such as Easyjet or Ryanair you have to be sure to have only one piece of baggage. Even if you have a small overnight bag and then a separate, equally compact laptop bag, then they will force you to check one of your bags. This is irritating in the extreme, and costly too since they will hit you with a charge for the checked-in luggage. So be sure to make a rule of only having one piece of luggage.
Use online check-in
This is another no-brainer. If you can check in and print a boarding pass at home, or send it to your phone, then there is absolutely no reason to ever stand in a check-in queue again. Just be sure you remember the two rules above about baggage and you’ll be fine.
Know the least-popular control points in the airports
Just knowing which control point to use at your airport can easily save you 10-15 minutes of time that would have been spent in queues. At Gatwick Airport, for instance, there are two levels. The control points at the ground floor always have huge long lines. The ones upstairs are almost deserted. The same is true for Schoenefeld Airport in Berlin. If the airport is one you’ve not used before just try to ask one of the staff or security staff. They are usually only too happy to tell you because they want the system to work efficiently too.
Prepare for the Security Checkpoint
Preparation for clearing security actually starts at home. Keep in mind one principle, that the easier you make it for them to decide you are safe to fly, the more pleasant your experience will be. Some of the things I have learned are to avoid travelling in Levi jeans or other similar ones with a lot of metal in the buttons. They always trip the metal detector and get you pulled over for a pat-down. The same is true with some pairs of shoes, watches and belt buckles. If you can eliminate those you reduce the chances of having to be checked by hand. Dump all of your change, keys, phones etc into your laptop bag before you get to the checkpoint. That way you are not held up, or holding others up at the metal detector. You also do not have to worry about forgetting your keys or phone in the plastic tray.
Be nice
The people who are screening you are only doing their jobs. And their job is to keep you safe. Now no matter how stupid it might seem for them to take away your contact lens solution or your bottle of water, they are doing it with the best of intentions so be nice and help make their jobs easier. The easier you make it for them the easier it is for you to breeze through and catch your flight.
