Only plane-spotters enjoy going to the airport. For the likes of the rest of us, airports mean nothing but stress and anxiety. As flying gets cheaper, more and more people are using airports, making it more of a stressful environment. What’s the best way to avoid unnecessary stress when you to go the airport?

See if you can check in online

By far the simplest way of saving time and effort is to check in online and print your boarding pass yourself. This lets you evade those long lines at the check in desk.It also entitles you to use the fast-track bag-drop. Most of the major airlines now allow you to check in online, so visit the website before you head off to check.

Less is more

The fewer bags you pack, the less stress you will have to endure. For a start, dragging a load of bags to the airport can be stressful in itself. You’ll likely have to walk some distance to get to your train/taxi/bus, so remember that when you pack. Packing less baggage will let you move around far more easily.

Fly with hand baggage

One of the other ways of saving a great deal of time at the airport is by just taking hand luggage. If you do this and check in online, you’ll get through the airport in half the time it would conventionally have taken.Even for international flights you can arrive 1 1/2 hours before departure. (Compare with 3 hours for checking in at the airport and checking in luggage).

Splash out on lounge access

Did you think business lounge access was only available for business class passengers? Think again. Find the best lounge option by searching through Google for the airport you’re going to plus the word ‘lounge’.You can usually buy a 2 hour ticket to one of these for around $20.

Not only will the lounge give you free coffee and tea, but more importantly give you a bit of peace and quiet before you set off.Best of all, you’ll be away from the stress of the airport.

Custom calendar

Are you a frequent traveller?Why not take a look at our Custom calendar which includes the holiday dates of over 200 counries. Planning a trip becomes much more easy, and you’ll be able to avoid major holidays and national events.

Tags: airport, holidays, international, travel, travel tips, travelling

This entry was posted on Monday, January 4th, 2010 at 1:13 am and is filed under Travel and Leisure. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.