A Guide To Travelling By Plane For The First Time

Travelling by plane can be exciting and also nerve-wracking at the same time so having these tips at your disposal will make your journey as smooth as possible, especially maneuvering your way around the airport.

1) Arrive at the airport in advance

At this point, a distinction must be made between domestic flights and international flights. If they travel within their country, it is enough that they are an hour and a half before boarding time since there is no need to do immigration or customs procedures, you just have to check in, dispatch the bags and go through a security check.

On the other hand, international trips require leaving the country legally then for the trip they will make abroad (whatever the destination may be) they must show up three hours before take-off time to check in and dispatch the bags, declare electronic items at Customs (if applicable) go through the security check and do the immigration procedures, etc.

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We are always in favor of arriving early as we never know what unforeseen events can happen on the road such as pickets, car accidents and traffic delays, wrong documentation, etc.

2) Check in

Many hear that word and do not know what it means. Quiet it is a very simple and fast process (it depends on the number of people in the line).

It is simply to give the present, the process where they are presented with their passport at the counter of the airline where they are going to travel. The person who attends them will take the documentation, weigh their bags and dispatch them.

In the case that they exceed the weight, it is the moment where they must distribute the weight among the hand luggage or pay the amount for the surplus.

In the case of traveling with minors without the two parents here, they must present the corresponding documentation.  In this article, we share:  What documentation is needed to fly with children and  5 tips for flying with children. The same if they travel with their pets.

Upon completion of this procedure they will receive a boarding pass, also called boarding pass with which they will be able to access the boarding sector. Quiet that the staff will indicate the boarding time and the door.

Another option, widely used (and we recommend doing) today is to check online (also called Web Check In), that is, submit your data through the website of the airline company.

Many of them already enable it from 48hs. before the flight and up to 2 hours before so they can do it quietly from their computer or cell phone and send them the boarding pass by mail in a PDF format (that should be printed and taken to the airport or scanned from their cell phone).

In many airlines, they also offer the option of auto check that is done through some machines in which you have to put the reservation data of the ticket or flight number, choose the seats and scan the documentation and the same machine prints the boarding pass. But remember that if you have to dispatch the bags you have to make the same line.

As an important fact: They will need the passport to make migrations, therefore they DO NOT keep it in any suitcase they are going to dispatch and always have it at hand.

3) Go through the security checkpoint

After checking in and before going to the departure lounge, you must go through the security checkpoint. There you must place your hand luggage in buckets on tape to pass through a scanner and you must go through a metal detector.

This process has nothing to do with customs and will not be checked if they carry undeclared electronic devices. They will check your luggage and some items that you are looking for cannot be loaded on the plane.

Remember to check if they have any sharp elements since they can be retained. These things must be dispatched in the bags that go to the warehouse.

Computers are usually made out of protective cases. Remember to take out the coins and metals from your pocket, belt, also watches, rings, chains and everything you have made of metal.

4) Go to the boarding area and carry out the Migration procedures

Once they pass the controls they access the boarding area where once they get there they will not be able to return outside. That is why it is recommended that if they need to wait for someone they stay on the other side. They are very strict about it.

It should be noted that in this area there are bathrooms, restaurants, confectionery and shops. Depending on the airport, the room will be different.

There are airports so large that we recommend you go directly to the boarding gate and wait there because there are many cases in which people get too entertained and the boarding gate is on the other side and end up running when they call them talking (typical movie scene).  In this post, we share the 5 best airports in the world.

In this area, they must go to the Migration Zone (in case it is a trip abroad, to travel within their own country they go directly to embark). There are usually very visible informational posters. You will see a zigzag row.

There they must do the paperwork to leave the country. They must present their passport and boarding pass, take a digital photo and register their fingerprints and seal their passport.

In some cases, they may be asked the reason for travel (tourism, work, health, etc.) and they will officially be in no country since they left one but did not yet enter any other.

5) Departure Hall

If the “Gate” was not mentioned on the boarding pass, check on the screens that appear in the room to which door you should go to board the plane (also be alert because if your flight is not delayed) they will communicate it by loudspeaker but they will put a warning on the monitors).

Keep in mind, as we mentioned that some airports have several meters and even kilometers between one door and another.

At this stage, it is possible that they see many people queuing in advance (many avalanches to have the first places to occupy the compartments of the plane).

The truth is that each passenger has an indicated seat and when the time is right, the staff will begin to get passengers in order of seats: first, those who travel first-class or Business, passengers with disabilities or pregnant women and then the seats from the further back forward.

This has a logical explanation that is so that the aisle is not locked while the other passengers store their hand luggage in the compartments of the plane.

6) Fly!

Once above the plane, they should leave their handbags or above, inside the drawers or under their seat. The hostesses will explain all the safety instructions and should pay attention to the measures such as putting on the seat belt and the seat upright at the time of takeoff and landing.

It is very likely that on international flights, before landing the hostesses, they will be given a paper that they must complete with their data as an affidavit of customs that they must present when they get off the plane.

7) Luggage delivery

Once the plane lands and depending on the airport they are in, they can disembark directly through a tunnel or the plane has landed and they have to go down the stairs to the runway, away from the building, and in that case, an internal bus will come which will take you to the airport door.

Then it is very easy. You have to follow the road, impossible to get lost, until you reach the luggage delivery tapes where the <a href=”https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/passenger-safety.html”>passenger</a> bags will begin to appear.

We recommend two tips: be very attentive to see on which tape it appears since it is very common that at the same time they may be disembarking other flights. This is where inconveniences of the lost luggage can occur or that they are changed without realizing it. The other tip is not to despair, they may take time to appear on the tape.

The luggage may take time to appear, do not despair, once you have the luggage the following will be customs and migrations.

8) Perform the Migration process

Again? Yes, but this time it is to enter the country. (Clarification: for flights within the same country they should not perform this step). The procedure is the same but to enter the country of destination.

This step is legally very important since no one can leave the airport without doing this procedure, therefore the only way out is through migration, there is no way to get lost. Do not forget to have your passport on hand that you will be asked again. And they can also ask you for the paper they gave you on the plane or to complete it at the window.

9) Customs upon return

For the return to their country, they will have an extra step that is one of the customs where they will review them if they bought something and they will have to pay or not the taxes of the product that are entering the country if they pass.

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