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How To Reduce Stress At The Airport
Do you know how cool my parents are? My parents are so cool that they thought it would be a great idea to wait to put braces on my face until midway through my senior year of high school. They paid for them in full, so when I left the state for college, I still had to return home every six weeks to get my braces adjusted.
That meant I spent a lot of time in both the John Wayne and Sky Harbor airports. So if anyone knows how stressful it can be to fly--even if the flight only takes fifty minutes from gate to gate--it's me.
So let me give you a few tips on how to actively reduce your stress when it's time to fly--especially since most of you probably fly when you're actually taking a vacation!
The first piece of advice I can give is this: no matter how experienced you are at flying or how familiar you are with the airport, arrive at the recommended two hours before departure. This will allow you to see whether or not your flight is scheduled to arrive on time before going through the gate.
If, for whatever reason it isn't, being early can sometimes get you bumped up to an earlier flight or allow you to spend more time with loved ones or get some affordable food outside of the airport (as airport food is so expensive!).
Be sure to be up to date on all airport regulations, and decide before you get there exactly what you are checking--if anything--and what you are carrying on.
When you are going through security, make sure to take off your shoes and remove your laptop from its case as soon as you are able. You might even consider wearing shoes specifically for their ease of removal, like sandals, loafers, or slippers. This helps you to get through much quicker.
Get hydrated, especially if you are going to be on a longer flight. Many flights offer complimentary drinks, but only one small plastic cup. You are going to get very thirsty, and few things make a flight more miserable than daydreaming about a public drinking fountain calling your name from the other side.
Make sure all electronic devices you plan on using are fully-charged--even your cellular phone. Once you need to make calls on the other side, you won't have to worry about trying to find a payphone and some quarters.
While you wait, you may be tempted to use noise-cancelling headphones and take a nap. While these will be handy later--in the cabin--it isn't a good idea to whip them out yet. Instead, try a music player, but keep it quiet enough to hear crucial announcements about your flight. There's nothing worse than a gate change that you don't find out about until it's too late!
Now, did you know that your plane's cabin has special noise control technology implemented to keep the roar of the engines from making you deaf?
However, if your flight is filled with coughing kids and screaming babies, that doesn't help much. So you should take along with you both a travel pillow and some noise-cancelling earphones, as mentioned earlier. After takeoff, put your seat back and just tune the whole world out.
About the Author NVH Technologies - Midwest (http://www.nvhtechnologies.com/)is a production supplier of active and adaptive noise and vibration control solutions that reduce noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH) for our customers and their products. Art Gib is a freelance writer.
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