The modern miracle of human flight is a spectacle to behold in itself. Journeys that once would last a lifetime, now can be notched off in a day. Without doubt, we’ve come a long way. While some of us enjoy some of the exciting aspects of flying, there are just some things that can leave us feeling, frazzled, depleted and downright irritated.
So, we’ve listed the top 4 stresses when flying and our top 12 tips on how to handle them, to make sure your next flight experience is as stress free as possible.
Rushing to the Airport
The one guaranteed way to compound the stress of flying is to let yourself run late and have to rush. It’s never fun when you know you’re cutting it close to missing your flight.
Our tips:
- Be organized – pack all your luggage/hand luggage the night before. Weigh out your luggage if you can too, it can help save headaches at the check-in desk. If you have kids, make sure they have their bags and their necessities packed the night before too.
- Arrive with plenty of time to spare – nowadays most airports boast a healthy selection of shops and restaurants to choose from. Who cares if you’re early for your flight, you can rest assured that you can relax that little more and if you’re feeling good you can have a quick look about the shops.
- When booking your flights, try and see if you can fly around midday instead of early mornings – generally speaking afternoons are a less hectic time for flying.
Queues/Security checks
It’s safe to say, when flying you’re most certainly going to have to deal with the dreaded queues. If it’s checking in baggage, preparing to go through security or lining up to get on or off the plane, they can make us all feel a little like herded cattle at times and can all test the best of our patience.
Our tips:
- Arrive with plenty of time to spare – like above, being early will help you avoid fretting in the queue
- Check in online/Carry hand luggage only – thanks to the ability to check in online, dropping off your luggage at the airport is as quick as ever. But for some of us it can be too much of a hassle. Nowadays airlines have much more generous hand luggage policies. So try checking in online and only carrying hand luggage, you’ll be surprised how little you need/much you can fit.
- Know what not to pack to breeze past security – apart from being ready for when it’s your turn to go through the security scanners, ensuring you don’t have any banned items in your hand luggage can also help avoid any hassle and save some time.
- Fast track security queue – Many airports now offer a fast track security queue service for a small price. Can help you save a bunch of time.
Delayed flight
You’ve arrived early, have flown through the queue (pardon the pun) and you’re at the gate, and over the intercom you hear that your flight has been delayed. Not to worry, here are some simple ideas to help pass the time.
Our tips:
- Come prepared – The smart thing here is to have something to keep you or your children occupied. Time killers like books, music, ipads can go a long way. Want some recommendations on music? Here’s our youtube playlist for July to help kill some time.
- Accept delays and queues to be part of the whole experience – Yes it may be frustrating to hear you’re going to be delayed by a few more hours, but think about how gifted we are to be able to experience this luxury of travel in comparison to how long it used to take to travel these huge distances!
Actually flying
For many, the act of flying itself can be quite a nerve wracking prospect, not even to mention the feeling of being frazzled after all the hustle and bustle of the airport experience. Here are some ways to help you relax and unwind before or during your flight.
Our tips:
- Exercise the morning of flying – we’ve talked a lot on this blog about the benefits of exercise. Working up a sweat the morning of your flight, or even the night before, can help tucker your busy mind out just enough to help calm some jittery nerves during your flight.
- Try use the Pip – a quick session with the Loom and its’ new levels could help put you in that calm state of mind and help clear your head of the clutter from flying.