Navigating an Airport

Congratulations, you’ve made it inside the airport. As you look around, you are completely overwhelmed by the number of people in what seems to be chaotic mixes of lines and brisk walking. If you didn’t print your boarding pass off at home, have it on your phone, or you absolutely had to pack a checked-bag, then it’s time to figure out what line you need to be in first.

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If you have carry-on luggage, but didn’t print your boarding pass, you can expedite your wait time by looking for a boarding pass only kiosk that might be set off to the side, away from the ticket counters. If those aren’t available, hopefully the airline has a kiosk near the ticket counters. You just now need to figure out where the line starts. If you really can’t figure it out (and believe me, sometimes, especially during the holidays, it’s tough to figure out), you might just need to ask people which line they’re in. If it’s the holiday travel, you can probably assume there’s at least a few people standing in the wrong line, so be sure to ask more than one person or say it loud enough for a few people to hear. Yes, this has been the case a few times when I’ve asked because at some point the lines merged into one and created confusion. Always good to ask.

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If you have luggage to check, most airlines still require you to go to a kiosk first, even if you already printed your boarding pass. The kiosk prints out the luggage tag at the ticket counter or at the kiosk itself and you either have to wait for the attendant to call your name or get into another line, waiting to give your tagged luggage to the attendant. This process varies with the airlines, so my main recommendation is to ask if you the signs aren’t sufficient enough. If you haven’t noticed yet, I ask a LOT of questions if I’m unfamiliar with the airport. No sense wasting time assuming.

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Now that you have your boarding pass in hand and have checked any luggage, it’s time to figure out which checkpoint you need to go to. Some airports, like Charlotte, NC, it doesn’t matter which checkpoint you go to as they all lead to the same area. For these airports, I recommend finding the shortest line. However, there are other airports, like Orlando, FL, where you need to be certain you’re going to the correct checkpoint as the trams only go to certain gates. Luckily at Orlando, there’s normally a short line before you find out if you’re in the wrong line. If you are in the New Orleans airport, you have to wait in a long line before they would tell you that you’re on the wrong side. How do you know which airport has the limited access? As always, I recommend looking online before going to a new airport or asking a helpful attendant. You can normally tell based on the airport maps, but it sometimes explains it in the FAQ section.

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Because I travel a significant amount for work, I gave in and bought the TSA Pre-Check. This gives me a shorter line and doesn’t require me to take my computer out, my liquids out, my shoes off, or my outer jacket off. It does cost money and time for this luxury though. I don’t know the going rates, but you also have to schedule an interview. Lately though, the TSA Pre-Check lines is just as long as the regular line, but it moves a little faster as long as everyone in that line knows what to do. I would recommend looking into this option if you are consistently going to the airport and often cut it close in terms of how close to the departure time you are. Otherwise, just plan ahead for the long lines and save yourself the money.