{"id":17332,"date":"2015-12-15T09:35:06","date_gmt":"2015-12-15T14:35:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.tripcentral.ca\/blog\/?p=17332"},"modified":"2020-06-22T16:26:40","modified_gmt":"2020-06-22T20:26:40","slug":"holiday-airport-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tripcentral.ca\/blog\/holiday-airport-tips\/","title":{"rendered":"How to survive the stress of holiday airport travel"},"content":{"rendered":"

Travelling home for Christmas or going on vacation during Christmas week doesn\u2019t always reflect the merriest time of the year. With the busiest flying day of the year the Friday before Christmas, airports around the world are expected to see a huge growth in travellers. Last December, Toronto\u2019s Pearson airport<\/a> saw over 3-million travellers pass through its gates with holiday airport travel, and with approximately 100,000 passengers arriving and departing from Pearson every day, that number can go up to 150,000 each day during the Christmas period.<\/p>\n

How then can you get through the airport security and gates without any extra holiday stress? We have your holiday airport survival guide. Everything you need to know on how to survive the airport at Christmas:<\/p>\n

\"Avoid<\/a><\/p>\n

1. Pre-book your seats<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Choose to pre-book your seats when you book your flight. Busy holiday travel periods means flights are usually full, and if you wait until the last minute, you might not find enough seats together to sit with your family. Online advanced seat selection is offered by most airlines, and is often complimentary. Remember, if you don\u2019t opt to pre-book your seats, you can do so 24 hours in advance of your flight during online check-in<\/a>, or up to 2 hours before your flight.<\/p>\n

2.<\/strong>Track your flight<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Be prepared for your holiday travel before you even head to the airport. Track your flight through airline apps, websites, or third-party sites to make sure your flight is on time. With unpleasant weather and a huge volume of air traffic around Christmas, flight delays and cancellations are a not so cheery reality. If your flight is delayed, you won\u2019t be hanging around the airport for longer than necessary, meaning a cut-down on stress and impatience (and expensive airport snack food!), so when it is time for you to fly, you\u2019re still calm. Checking your flight online beforehand also gives you plenty of time for seat selection and printing your boarding pass to cut down on another airport line.<\/p>\n

\"Avoid<\/a><\/p>\n

3. Get there early<\/strong><\/h3>\n

An increase in holiday airport traffic means longer lines at baggage check, security, and boarding. Arrive at the airport early, so you\u2019re not running between gates or cutting it close for your boarding call. It\u2019s recommended arriving at the airport three hours before your flight \u2013 yes, we mean for flights within Canada \u2013 at Christmastime to ensure you\u2019re not rushed. If you have any special requests, like flying with a pet, disabilities, or small children, you might want to arrive earlier to avoid hiccups. Don\u2019t slow down security lines further: make sure your carry-on is packed appropriately following carry-on baggage restrictions<\/a>, and have your boarding pass and passport ready when you reach the front of the security line.<\/p>\n

4. Consider a stopover hotel<\/strong><\/h3>\n

If you\u2019re flying out of an airport outside of your city or town, consider a stopover hotel<\/a> the night before your flight. Eliminate the need for an early morning alarm clock and don\u2019t risk driving in inclement weather while rushed. Stopover hotels include parking, so you don\u2019t have to worry about asking a favour of a friend to drop you off before the sun rises, or worry about airport parking.<\/p>\n

\"Avoid<\/a><\/p>\n

5. Don\u2019t wrap Christmas gifts<\/strong><\/h3>\n

If you\u2019re packing Christmas gifts to take home for Christmas morning, don\u2019t wrap them before you fly. This goes for carry-on baggage primarily, but we recommend this tip for your checked luggage, as well. For carry-on luggage, the transportation authority will need to see what you have packed and that means ripping off the shiny paper and undoing bows if you\u2019ve already done your wrapping. You don\u2019t want time \u2013 and pretty paper \u2013 to go to waste, and you definitely don\u2019t want your travel partner to see their Christmas surprise. Save the wrapping for when you land, packing gifts between other items so they\u2019re hidden from snooping eyes. Some airports do have gift wrapping stations between gates once you\u2019re through security so you can get to work like Santa\u2019s elves before you board.<\/p>\n

6. Prepare for delays<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Expecting delays from weather or overbooked flights will make it easier to handle when and if it does happen. Prepare for the worst and hope for the best is often advice given for holiday airport survival. For flights with connections, build buffer times into your schedule so one flight delay won\u2019t sabotage your whole trip. Make sure any medications, snacks, and necessary items are packed in your carry-on baggage in case of long flight delays, to cut down on costs of purchases at the airport.<\/p>\n

\"Avoid<\/a><\/p>\n

7. Travel early or late<\/strong><\/h3>\n

If you haven\u2019t booked your holiday travel yet and are planning on a very last minute ticket, try and look for flight times that leave early in the morning or late at night, or mid-week rather than heavy travel days like Thursdays through the weekend. \u00a0These flight times often mean fewer people at the airport, so shorter lines, and an easier time finding your way through the airport. Opting to travel on Christmas Day, or New Year\u2019s Eve itself can also sometimes mean cheaper flights and avoiding long lines and large crowds (you might even be treated special by airport staff when you\u2019re spending Christmas morning in the airport. Turkey dinner can wait anyways!)<\/p>\n

8. Don\u2019t forget travel insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Travel insurance is an important part of every trip, but especially at Christmas when expensive presents in lost baggage might be on the line. With weather being more unpredictable in the winter months than the rest of the year, and the high-stress of the holidays already on travellers\u2019 minds, insurance is a must for anyone travelling. Travel insurance goes beyond out-of-province or out-of-country medical insurance, but can cover flight cancellations, baggage loss or damage, schedule changes, and other issues, depending on the type of insurance you buy. Find out about all kinds of travel insurance here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Some airports across the country are adding some Christmas spirit to your airport wait with special programming. Toronto Pearson\u2019s airport will host Mrs. Clause from December 17 through 24, offering story time for the children in both terminals, art exhibits in terminal 1, and an interactive kiosk where kids can speak to Santa live from the North Pole. Vancouver International Airport will host a variety of classical musical performances, while the Calgary airport is home to four arcades to keep the kids busy (or for mom and dad to relive their glory days). Keep your eyes peeled for other special holiday activities before you fly out!<\/p>\n

No matter where you\u2019re travelling \u2013 whether it\u2019s on a Caribbean vacation<\/a> to avoid the cold weather, or flying home to be with family, tripcentral.ca wishes you a Happy Holidays and safe flight!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Travelling home for Christmas or going on vacation during Christmas week doesn\u2019t always reflect the merriest time of the year. With the busiest flying day of the year the Friday before Christmas, airports around the world are expected to see a huge growth in travellers. Last December, Toronto\u2019s Pearson airport saw over 3-million travellers pass […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":279,"featured_media":17339,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":""},"categories":[3551,3553,3541],"tags":[],"modified_by":"Amanda Stancati","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tripcentral.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17332"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tripcentral.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tripcentral.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tripcentral.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/279"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tripcentral.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17332"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.tripcentral.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17332\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21938,"href":"https:\/\/www.tripcentral.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17332\/revisions\/21938"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tripcentral.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17339"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tripcentral.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17332"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tripcentral.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17332"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tripcentral.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17332"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}