A few years back, during the pandemic, if you traveled during Thanksgiving you were required to wear a mask and stay at least 6 feet away from other travelers.
A distance San Jose Mineta International Airport (SJC) had measured out as being equivalent to the length of two turkeys.
You may encounter some different types of turkeys during your Thanksgiving travels this year. But here are tips that may help your trip go smoothly – or as smoothly as possible.
Weather, labor actions, inexperienced and flustered travelers, mechanical or tech glitches, construction on the way to the airport and traffic are just some of the things that may get between you and the flight that will bring you to your friends and family over the holiday.
Some of it is out of your control. But there are things you can do to try to keep mayhem and missed flights out of your itinerary.
1. Check your flight times. Download AND print out your boarding pass.
Even the most experienced travelers misread or ‘misremember’ their flight’s departure time.
When you go online to check to in for your flight, be sure to download an electronic boarding pass and, for good measure, print out a paper copy of the boarding pass. Then, on the paper version, highlight the boarding time, just in case.
Plan to arrive at the airport early. Extra early.
Airports and airlines aren’t kidding. You should show up at the airport (not leave for the airport….) at least two hours before your flight. Or more.
Showing up early means you won’t be (as) stressed if you encounter a very long line at the Transportation Security Checkpoint. And don’t assume your TSA Precheck will let you get through super fast. At many airports, those lines get very long too, especially this time of year.
Download some apps
Download the app for all the airports on your itinerary, your airline app and the app for your hotel and rental car company.
The airline app will help you stay on top of any gate, schedule and flight changes as well as other details of your journey.
The airport apps offer maps to help you make your connections as well as lists and locations of shops, restaurants and other amenities in the terminals, such as art exhibits.
Many airport apps also have real-time data that tells you how long the wait time is at various TSA checkpoints so you may be be able to to go to an alternate checkpoint to save some time.
Make a reservation to go through airport security.
There’s a free, ‘secret’ way to bypass those lines at about 20 airports in North America and Europe.
For travelers without paid memberships in TSA PreCheck or CLEAR, there’s a free virtual cueing program at select airports.
It’s like a restaurant reservation. And it lets you bypass others waiting in line at the airport security line.
The service go by different names at various airports, but is the free Clear RESERVE program managed by CLEAR, the company that also runs the paid Clear Plus program that uses fingerprints or eye scans to expedite your checkpoint journey.
As of December 2024, free timed security checkpoint reservations are being offered at 17 airports in North America and Europe, including Denver (DEN), Minneapolis (MSP), Seattle (SEA), Phoenix (PHX) and Orlando (MCO).
Bring some Mad Money
No matter how well you plan, traveling during the busy holiday season can be stressful. Tuck a little cash in your wallet to buy yourself a decadent snack, a cocktail or a trinket in case you find yourself stuck at the airport.
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