9 Airport Mistakes You Should NEVER Make (most travelers don't know)

I always go to the bathroom before the plane. I never miss the plane.

I disagree with your suggestion to skip the bathrooms nearest your gate. The ONLY time that an airplane bathroom will be cleaner is on an early morning flight. After that the airplane bathrooms are clearly not cleaned because they all smell like an outhouse. They get restocked with toilet paper and hand towel but they are absolutely disgusting!

I always followed your rule of printing out my boarding pass at home. The one time I didn't, (my high tech son convinced me to just "put it in your phones wallet") was when we were at a connecting flight at O'Hare to Spain and the QR code didn't work. When the TSA agent asked us if we were flying Iberia Air and we told her we were indeed, she told us, "Yeah, Iberia's QR codes havn't been working since the summer." We had to RUN to the Iberia counter and get tickets printed. Never again!

I'm old. I print everything. My schedule, my ticket, my Visa, the hotels, reservations. And I have to admit when I go up to the airline counter and I spread out all my paperwork, you can really see them appreciate it.

The habit of looking back to ensure you’re not leaving things behind is a good one. I even do it at the grocery store as I finish checking out and leaving.

At the age of 5, in 1952, I flew across county from Los Angeles to New York City, unaccompanied, with two plane changes. You wandered out onto the field, climbed the staris into the plane and you were good to go. 2026 rates a disaster experience. The following is the current procedure: 1. Plan to arrive at the airport 4 hours before departure. 2. Take a cell phone charger, pad, pen and a book, an empty water bottle, slipons for your shoes, and small bills. 3. Go to the nearest bathroom upon arrival at the airport, go again when you finally arrive in the gate area, go again before boarding. If it is going to be a long flight, go to the bathroom before food served. Understand that the airline bathroom will have urine on the floor after people have eaten. 4. Get on last. Otherwise you will experience jostling/shoving/people dropping suitcases on you. Your carryon will go with the crew. Get off last. All the jostling/shoving/people dropping suitcases on you, starts all over. Remember, all the bags arrive at crousel long after the plane has landed. Stand back and let other people swing their bags against each other.

I do a mental trick like the Japanese do to ensure I have not missed anything on airplanes and hotel rooms. I point my finger at each location that I want to look. It works incredibly well.

I still won't get a paper ticket, but what I do it take a screenshot of my boarding pass so if the internet or the airline app is glitchy or not working, I still have a backup. I also found that with the screenshot version, it was easier to make the QR code larger when the scanner was having issues.

It's hard to arrive earlier for a flight. When the place where you have to check your baggage won't let you do that until 2 hours before your flight. I have even contacted the airlines to ask them why we can't check in before 2 hours but that's their rule. So by the time you check your baggage. You're already below the 2-hour mark and still have to go through security

I check in online plus I print an ticket just in case something happens to my phone

If I need the restroom, I need the restroom. And I will do whatever I have to do to manage it. On a recent road trip, well after dark, there was not a roadside restroom to be found. We parked the car and I made use of the bushes. I would have gladly used an airport (or airplane) facility instead but there wasn't one to be had.

It seems that a 3-hour flight now becomes a 5-hour flight, travelling for pleasure will become more stressful that fun.

I always research an online airport map before I travel to the airport. I can get an idea of the layout of terminal & gate locations but confirm once you are actually at the airport for possible gate reassignment.

A few days ago, I was actually thinking about the danger of leaving stuff behind at the TSA security check. Then I had an idea. My Grandma and I have SO many of those pre-printed address labels given to us by a certain helpful company (seriously...I have like, 4 or 5 sheets and she's got probably double mine due to longer membership), and we don't send mail out too often. I could just use some of these stickers on some of my items (namely my electronics). It tags the items with the name of the owner, and I get to use up some of these stickers!

I always check in online as soon as possible in advance. Then I put a copy of my boarding pass in the phone wallet. When I get to the airport I print out a copy using a kiosk. I have, effectively, 3 copies of my boarding pass: one in the airline’s app, one in the wallet, and a paper copy. The first thing I do at the airport, after printing my boarding pass, is check the gate assignment. Unfortunately you have to keep checking because the gate assignment often changes. Fortunately, most airline apps are good at notifying you when the gate changes. I also use flighty to get notifications. Sometimes I get triple notifications, a text from the airline, a notification from the airline app, and a notification from flighty. I’d rather have too many notifications than not know. This also applies to boarding time. I get multiple notifications for that, too.

I never travel without a small battery backup device — just in case my phone's battery runs out. (But always remember to recharge it first thing when you get to your destination!)

Never put loose items in the bins. All items should be secured in zip pockets of a jacket or vest

Another great video Megan! I always check-in on line, but also print the paper copy.

Not only do I print a boarding pass but I’m also sure to be logged into the airline’s app with notifications turned on. I’ve often gotten a message that the gate has been changed before the people who are on the gate I’m already waiting at make any announcements.

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