The warmer months of the year definitely make for a more comfortable time to do anything really, particularly travelling, although if your destination will have you changing hemispheres, the different weather conditions you’re likely to experience need to be factored into your travel plans. The link may not be that obvious, but the comfort and convenience that comes with travelling during the warmer months has some relevance to airport security as well, which is something that’s generally a major cause for concern.
Between what are often deemed to be very necessary delays that come with stringent security checks and all the procedures that validate passengers passing through airports, there are some proactive steps every traveller can take to ensure the process is as painless as it can be. There’ll naturally be some pain associated with the process, but generally one just has to ensure they don’t raise any red flags with suspicious behaviour or unnecessary cues for officials to slow the process down even further.
Travel When It’s Warm
Well, we’ve perhaps already touched on it a bit, but where possible, try to travel while it’s warm. This does not necessarily mean you should travel during summer, but just when the weather is a bit friendlier. Obviously this is not always possible, but it just makes logical sense that you’ll have less clothing layers to have to shed when passing through airport security checkpoints when it’s warmer. I mean if all the people in the queue to pass through the airport security checkpoint have t-shirts on, things would flow much smoother and quicker than if everybody had layers upon layers of clothes under a huge winter jacket. Winter clothes are generally also just heavier and we tend to pack more in our luggage during winter, which further slows down security checks due to scans which must be conducted more thoroughly.
As mentioned however, it’s not always an option to travel during the warmer months, so that only really applies when appropriate.
Pack in Less than the Maximum Limits
If you’re allowed to travel with a maximum of two pieces of luggage each not weighing more than 23kg (general international airline standard for economy class), resist the urge to make full use of those maximums. Travellers somehow conspire to just add some holiday weight to their luggage, whether you’re buying souvenirs, gifts or you’re just bringing back some must-haves, you do not want to be stuck with paying extra luggage charges in addition to the added security checks the extra luggage will cause.
Categorise Your Luggage
A common mistake a lot of travellers make is just throwing everything into their bags and then plugging the holes with smaller items wherever they can find some additional space. Airlines often have guidelines which you’d do well to follow because they fall in line with airport security requirements. Put all liquids and perhaps other toiletries in sealable, transparent bags for example, so that you only have to pull them out in one place if required, otherwise any suspicious-looking items picked up in the luggage scan may cause even more unnecessary delays.