While cheaptravel options such as cheap airplane tickets, discount hotel rooms, and cheap vacation packages, havemade travel affordable to the masses, waiting in airport security lines canseem interminable.
The following are ways to speed up your time in airportsecurity lines, according to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA):
Arriveat your airport two hours prior to a domestic flight and three hours before aninternational one. Take into accountother factors that could justify arriving even earlier. Parking lots at airports are often packed,particularly immediately prior to holidays, return lines to drop off rentalcars may be longer than usual, and just navigating past large crowds could slowyou down.
Useyour time in security checkpoint lines wisely. While waiting, empty your pockets and place any loose items into yourcarry-on bag. This saves time becauseyou will not have to place small stuff in a TSA bin and then have to empty iton the other side. Get your boardingpass and identification out. Make allelectronics larger than a cellphone easily accessible, since new securityprocedures require travelers to place them in a bin with nothing around them.
If youwill be traveling with gifts, do not wrap them with wrapping paper andtape. While not illegal, doing so couldcause delays. If your bag is flaggedduring X-ray screening, officers will need to thoroughly check all items inyour bag which will mean unwrapping any presents you have. TSA suggest that you pack gifts in gift bagsor boxes. Remember snow globes containliquid, so if you are transporting one, make certain it contains no more than3.4 liquid ounces.
Travelingwith food in carry-on bags is OK so long as the food item is solid, likecookies, a pie, or a ham. However, foodthat is spreadable or pourable, must contain no more than 3.4 liquid ounces. A good rule of thumb to remember is that foodthat can spill, spread, spray, pump, or be poured it should be packed in yourchecked bag.
Do notpack prohibited items in your carry-on. While this seems like common sense, the TSA daily finds banned itemsthat passengers claim they mistakenly left in their carry-on bag orpocket. Guns, box cutters, corkscrewsand cigar cutters are often found when carry-on bags go through security.
Thoughyou cannot bring bottled water through security, you can drink it while in lineand then refill the bottle on the other side, saving yourself a couple ofdollars.
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