Top Tips for Stress Free Flying

Mummy says… I love flying ad recently flew from Gatwick Airport to Geneva, Switzerland. I was flying alone – as in without my children, which is very rare indeed! I got to thinking about travelling and have out together some top tips for stress free flying for you…

1. Book into the Aspire lounge at Gatwick Airport. It was a cool, peaceful lounge with hot pasta and soup dishes, a range of savoury and sweet snacks and a wide range of hot and cold drinks. It had its own toilets and really was an oasis of calm in a hectic, hot, noisy airport. Check your bank account / credit card as some offer this as a perk and you can have guests too.  It was the perfect relaxing start to my holiday.
2. Use a Meet n Greet – I used Bubble, booked via FHR. They met me at the departures entrance, took the car and parked it for me – having it ready for my return when I called them after I have landed and collected my luggage. This was SO stress free, I can;t recommend a service like this enough.
3. Check the weight of your suitcase at the airport. For £1 you can weigh your case at a machine so you know before you try and check your bag in whether you are within your limit. Hand luggage usually has no weight limit (only a strict size limit) so weighing your hold luggage can save the stress of guessing if you are over the limit.
4. Check in online and print your boarding pass. Some airlines offer an app which you use as your boarding pass, and some airlines charge you if you do not check in online prior to arriving at the airport. I checked my own luggage in at the airport  with EasyJet using an automated system and it was the quickest check in I have had!
5. Take a suitcase or bag on wheels as your hand luggage (making sure it is within the allowed sizes) – it is so much easier to move around instead of carrying it.
6. Wait to buy drinks flight side as you will have to dispose of it before going through security.
7. Head to your departure gate when boarding is announced, but wait until the queue to board has died down before joining to board the plane. You have your seat number so no need to scramble to get on! Be aware though that if the hand luggage lockers are full, you will have to put yours in the hold.
8. Book a hotel near the airport for the night before you fly if you have a distance to travel to get to the airport. It only takes one accident or incident on the motorway to spark huge delays and soaring stress levels!

Are you jetting off anywhere in 2018? If so, I hope my top tips for stress free flying will help you.