(Photo courtesy Keene Public Library, via Flickr)
Here are links to some of the airline travel waivers/advisories posted for Hurricane Arthur as of Friday morning, July 4th.
As always – if you have travel plans, check directly with your airline for updates.
During the holidays, fog, snow, extreme weather, long lines at security checkpoints and other challenges may conspire to leave you stuck at the airport longer than you planned – or ever imagined.
No need to let a delay ruin your trip. Here are some tips to help time fly by.
Get ready for battle
The best offense is a good defense and this applies all the more when traveling during the holidays. Try to get a good night’s sleep before your flight so you arrive at the airport on-time, well-rested and ready for anything. Pack snacks, a little “mad money” and your good humor.
Make technology your co-pilot
Sign up for airline flight alerts and have them sent by phone, email and/or text message. More than one delivery method can’t hurt. On Twitter, “follow” your airline and all airports on your itinerary. Increasingly, Twitter is where news, updates and alerts appear first.
Re-confirm your flight online and get a boarding pass 24 hours before your flight. Mobile boarding passes are great, but print a paper copy just in case.
Checkpoint savvy
Prepare for the security checkpoint “experience” by making sure you and your carry-on are TSA-ready. Review the prohibited items list at TSA.gov, see if you qualify for TSA PreCheck and remember there are now rules that expedite the checkpoint passage for kids 12 and younger and adults 75 and older.
Access the amenities
Many airports now have their own apps and robust websites to guide you to upscale shops, fine-dining restaurants and bars offering everything from wine and tequila flights to massages.
During the holidays, airports often offer entertainment by carolers and musical groups, There may be photo ops with Santa and his elves, complimentary gift-wrapping, and free candy canes or other treats. Retail shops at the airport may also offer special discounts. Travelers should check the airport’s website in advance to see what they may be able to take advantage of.
Here are some other ways to make good use of your time stuck at the airport:
(My story: Stree-Free Holiday Travel Starts at the Airport first appeared on Travel Guard)
The busy Thanksgiving and Christmas travel season is just around the corner and it’s a given that airports will be busy airports and airplanes will be crowded. With that in mind, the TSA has gathered up some helpful hints for holiday travelers.
Pies and cakes are OK to take through airport security checkpoints, but the TSA reserves the right to give those food items addition screening. Because there are always questions about what other items will clear the security checkpoint this time of year, it appears that the TSA has updated its sample list of liquid, aerosol and gelled items you should leave home, ship ahead or put in your checked baggage if you’ve got more than 3.4 ounces.
That list includes:
Cranberry sauce
Cologne
Creamy dips and spreads (cheeses, peanut butter, etc.)
Gift baskets with food items (salsa, jams and salad dressings)
Gravy
Jams
Jellies
Lotions
Maple syrup
Oils and vinegars
Perfume
Salad dressing
Salsa
Sauces
Snowglobes
Soups
Wine, liquor and beer
Notice that snowglobes are on the list.
For a long time snowglobes were not allowed in carry-on baggage, but the TSA has revised its position on these items and now snowglobes that “appear to contain less than 3.4 ounces (approximately tennis ball size) will be permitted if the entire snow globe, including the base, is able to fit in the same one clear, plastic, quart-sized, resealable bag, as the passenger’s other liquids, such as shampoo, toothpaste and cosmetics.”
You can find more tips here and you can read more about the TSA’s snowglobe decision and concerns about pet tornadoes here.
Travelocity’s Roaming Gnome is a busy fellow. But I’m honored that he took time out to include me in a series of holiday interviews in the Window Seat blog.
RG: Where are you off to this holiday season? New York City? Tahiti? Poughkeepsie?
HB: Our family gathers in a suburb of Washington, D.C., where Christmas morning comes fast on the heels of that age-old holiday tradition: Christmas Eve poker.
RG: As the expert – if you had to be stuck at an airport during the holidays – which one would you choose? (I’d go wherever there’s frozen yogurt!)
HB: As an airport aficionado and creator of StuckatTheAirport.com, nothing pleases me more than being stuck at an airport during the holidays. For people-watching, any airport would fit the bill, but beyond that, I’d want to be somewhere such as Philadelphia International Airport, where there are plenty of shops and usually a good schedule of planned holiday entertainment,
RG: What’s the one thing you can’t travel without? Me- my wit and good looks of course!
HB: I always pack a lightweight silk sleep sack, because especially during the holiday travel season, you just never know where you might end up sleeping. Two other lightweight must-haves: my patience and my sense of humor.
RG: What’s your favorite travel tip? I always say leave early in case there is a line at the airport bar.
HB: I keep an extra $20 bill tucked into a corner of my wallet. It’s my “mad money:” If I get really irritated or weary – or mad – while traveling, I use that $20 to buy myself a frivolous treat.
RG: Brilliant! Mad money could come in handy for my favorite guilty pleasure – airport and travel shopping. (I own a neck pillow in every color.) How many gifts will you be purchasing from SkyMall and/or Hudson News this year?
HB: Oh! For years, I’ve done all my holiday shopping at airports. That used to mean everyone got a shot glass and a pack of gum. The shopping scene at most airports is much better these days, so friends and family no longer heckle my gifts.
RG: Fun travel fact: I easily fit in overhead compartment bins. What’s your fun travel fact
HB: I’ve been touring and writing about airports for more than 15 years, so can tell you where the best restaurants – and restrooms – are at almost any airport.
And… I too would fit easily into overhead airplane bins, but flight attendants don’t usually let short people travel that way.
RG: No, I don’t suggest it for humans – it’s a bit stuffy. I’ve traveled at various times of the year, but holidays are my favorite times. When else can you see holiday sweaters and poodles on layovers? What’s your best holiday travel story?
HB: Unable to sleep while on a Christmas weekend get-a-away at a park lodge in Washington state, I grabbed a book and settled in by the grand fireplace in the lobby. About 5 a.m. I was joined by a slow moving, somewhat-Santa-looking fellow who poured me a cup of hot coffee from his thermos and then took off. Not sure if he left by the chimney..
RG: That was either my friend Santa, or one of my fellow garden gnomes. Santa and gnomes have similar beards. Shall we spend Spring Break together? I do a wicked cannonball.
HB: And I once won second place in an oyster-eating contest where the goal was to be the fasted to eat a dozen oysters- with your hands behind your back.
RG: I’d like to try that! My hands are cemented to my sides, and I love to eat!
