this video is for those of you who are
going to be heading to the airport for
the first time or maybe this will be
your first time in a long time in either
case you might be feeling stressed or
anxious about going to the airport and
maybe even some jitters if this is going
to be your first time flying in an
airplane so in this video i'm going to
help relieve some of the stress and
anxiety for you by walking you through
the process of what to do from the time
you book your airline ticket to the time
you land at your destination let's go
dream vacations start here hey what's up
my name is ben if you're new here i
create videos that help you when
planning for your next vacation so if
you find this video helpful give it a
like and consider subscribing so let's
get into it i'm actually going to break
this video into four parts the first
part is what to do before you head to
the airport second part is what to do
when you arrive at the airport the third
part is how to get through tsa security
and the fourth and last part is what to
do for connecting flights and when you
reach your final destination so let's
start with part number one
what to do before you head to the
airport i'm assuming at this point
you've already bought your airline
ticket and are wondering what to do next
so once you bought your airline ticket a
good way to stay up to date with any
changes that should occur with your
flight is to sign up to receive
notifications from the airline now you
can either choose to receive those by
email or text i prefer text because they
come up right away on my phone and it's
a good way to keep up to date with any
day of changes that may occur like
delays gate changes and even
cancellations and i can easily miss
those notifications if they were just
sent to my email to receive
notifications you would just go to the
website of the airline you booked with
and enter your name and confirmation
code then you'll see an option to enter
your phone number or email to receive
notifications while you're in your
reservation depending on what airline
and class of ticket you booked you can
go ahead and choose your seats on the
plane if you haven't done so already the
next step would be to determine what
kind of baggage you're going to be
bringing now there are three types of
baggage you're allowed to bring the
first type of baggage is what's called a
carry-on bag this would be a small
suitcase that you would take onto the
plane with you and it has to be small
enough to fit in the overhead storage
compartment on the airplane there is a
size limit for the carry-on bag and that
would be 9 inches by 14 inches by 22
inches which would also include the
handles and wheels if you don't have a
carry-on bag i'll link to some options
in the video description below that fit
the carry-on bag dimensions so check
those out if you're interested the next
bag is what's called a personal item bag
this could be a purse or backpack
there's not a size limit for a personal
item bag but it does need to be able to
fit under the seat in front of you on
the airplane i use this laptop backpack
when i travel
it comfortably fits under the seat in
front of me with no issues i probably
wouldn't go too much bigger than this as
you started running into
fit issues and even comfort level
but just note that for both the carry-on
and personal item bag you're only
allowed one each per person so then
anything larger than a carry-on bag
would be by default a checked bag a
check bag simply means that your luggage
is too big to fit in the overhead
compartments of the plane and has to be
stored under the plane where it has a
dedicated area for storing luggage i'll
cover more in this in the next section
but just note if you decide to check a
bag you're probably going to have to pay
a fee to do so most likely 35 for the
first bag and 50 for a second bag unless
you're flying southwest airlines in
which case they do not charge for
checked bags also make sure you check on
the airline's website to see what their
weight and size limitations are for each
checked bag most airlines have a weight
limit of 50 pounds per bag
as far as what you're allowed to pack in
either checked or carry-on bag you can
check out another video i did that goes
into detail about what you're allowed to
pack in each bag you can find that video
in the show notes called tsa rules your
top 25 airport security questions
answered so once you have packed for
your trip within 24 hours of your flight
leaving you have the option to check in
for your flight online or through the
airlines app the benefit of doing this
is that if you're only taking a carry-on
and maybe a personal item with you you
can actually skip going to the airline's
counter when you first get to the
airport and instead you can head
straight to the security lines this will
save you some time as some airline check
encounters can be rather long
if you're flying southwest airlines it's
best to check in right at the 24-hour
mark because it will determine your
place online for boarding as southwest
does not do assigned seats checking in
is also how you get your boarding pass
to be able to get through security and
also on your flight
you can also choose to check in at the
airport and i'll cover that process in
the next section
so if you have decided to check in
online and now have received your
boarding pass the next thing you need to
do is make sure you have the proper
documentation before you head to the
airport if you're traveling within the
us all you'll need is your driver's
license however beginning on may 3rd
2023 your driver's license will need to
be real id compliant in order to fly
what is real id real id is a law that
was passed requiring all state drivers
license to beat certain security
standards so if your license is up for
renewal soon it might make sense for you
to get a real id compliant license so
you can continue to fly domestically
past the may 3rd 2023 deadline to see if
your driver's license is real id
compliant check for a star at the top of
your license if you don't have a
driver's license i'll list some other
ids that you can use listed in the video
description of this video if you're
traveling internationally all you'll
need is your passport to get through
security and make sure your passport is
not set to expire within six months as
most countries will not allow you to
enter the country if that is the case
also check the requirements for the
country you're going to to make sure you
don't need to be vaccinated or tested to
be able to enter once you have completed
these steps you're now ready to head to
the airport moving on to part number two
what to do once you arrive at the
airport now if this is going to be your
first time ever at an airport i will
warn you it can be a little chaotic
the first time you enter the airport
you're probably going to see a swarm of
people everywhere moving every whis
direction and you might start to feel
overwhelmed but don't worry i'm going to
walk you through the process of what to
do i would recommend getting to the
airport at least two hours before your
flight if you're going domestic and
three hours if you're flying
international if you don't need to check
a bag and have already checked in for
your flight and received your boarding
pass then you can actually skip ahead to
the next section of this video which is
how to go through airport security you
can hover over the scroll bar to see
what the next section begins or you can
find the time stamp for it located at
the bottom of the video description if
you're checking any bags the first thing
you want to do is find the airline
you're flying with at the departures in
ticketing area which is usually found on
the second floor of the airport once you
find your airline you have two options
you can use a kiosk to check your bags
print your boarding passes and check in
for your flight if you need to or you
can walk up to the counter to accomplish
these tasks with one of the airline
agents if you're going to be using the
kiosk you'll need to enter either your
confirmation number or swipe the credit
card you use to book your flight to be
able to pull up your reservation on the
screen once here you can choose how many
bags you want to check and then pay the
fee if required once you get paid you'll
be able to print your bag tags and
secure them to your check bags just
double check that the airport listed on
the bag tag is your final destination
then you'll just have to walk up your
bags to the airline counter where one of
the airline agents will weigh your bag
and then place them on the belt to be
loaded onto the plane if you're flying
internationally you'll most likely not
be able to use the kiosk and you'll have
to see one of the airline agents so they
can check your passport and other
requirements needed to enter the country
you're going to
once that is completed check your
boarding pass to see which terminal you
need to go to usually this is a letter
or number followed by the gate number so
for this example the terminal would be a
and the gate is two depending on the
airport there could be multiple
different terminals or just one or two
most likely the terminal you need to go
to is close by the airline checking area
you were just at so just look for the
signs directing you to the correct
terminal you will notice there are signs
everywhere in the airport so you should
be able to navigate through the airport
without getting lost so here we are part
three how to go through security once
you find the terminal this is a time
where you will not have to go through
tsa security screening here you may see
two or three different types of lines
one for general screening one for first
class and frequent flower programs with
the airline and one for tsa pre-tech
which is a program you can join that
allows you to get through security a lot
quicker check out the senate if you want
more information on that but for you
you'll most likely need to enter the
general screening lines which will
likely be the longest lines once in line
you want to make sure you have your
boarding pass and either your driver's
license or passport in hand when you
reach the tsa agent if your boarding
pass is on your phone there will be a
place for you to lay down your phone to
be scanned the tsa agent will look over
your id and then will allow you to enter
the screening area here's where things
could get confusing but i'm going to
walk you through this process step by
step first step is you're not going to
need your idea again so you can actually
tuck that away somewhere and as far as
your boarding pass you will need that
again but not until it's time to board
the plane so what i usually do is store
them in my carry-on or personal item bag
the next step is you're going to want to
grab one or two bins to put your things
in here are the things that need to go
in the bins your shoes and it helps to
have slip-on shoes so you can get them
on and off easily your quart sized bag
of liquids and gels belts coats and
jackets watches and any electronic
devices larger than a cell phone so if
you have a laptop or tablet those will
need to be taken out of their cases and
placed in the bins for everything else
like wallets purses cell phone jewelry
coin chains keep those items in your
carry-on or personal item bag then
you'll need to place your bags and the
bins on the belt to be x-rayed if you
feel uncomfortable about leaving your
wallet or id in your bag you can
actually hold those in your hand as you
get screened and once you have
everything loaded into bins and place
your bags on the belt you'll not have to
be body scanned there's a full body
scanner that is used to screen you but
if you feel uncomfortable with that you
can opt out of it but then you would be
subject to a full hand pat down by a tsa
agent
once you have completed the body scan
you're now free to go and retrieve your
bags and items out of the bins then
after that you'll be free to head to the
gate once you find your gate you can now
relax until it's time to start the
boarding process which usually begins 30
minutes before departure there will be
plenty of shops and food options that
you can check out and anything you buy
in the secured area including food and
drinks can be brought onto the plane
i'll just be careful about certain foods
as they can smell up a plane quickly
once in the waiting area of your gate be
sure to listen for announcements about
your flight including any possible
delays or gate changes and for the start
of the boarding process when the
boarding process starts be sure to have
your boarding pass ready and be sure to
look at the boarding pass to see what
your boarding group and the science heat
number are and then listen for the gate
agent to call your group boarding number
once your group is called walk up to the
gate agent and present your boarding
pass and once it's been scanned you're
free to board the plane
once on the plane find your seat number
unless you're flying southwest airlines
in which case you can choose whichever
seat you want you can then place your
carry-on bag in one of the overhead bins
and once everyone is loaded the plane
will push back from the gate from here
the flight attendants will go over the
safety briefing for the flight and
prepare the flight for takeoff one tip i
have for you is that you're going to
experience pressure changes while on the
flight especially when the airplane is
descending yawning helps as well as
chewing some gum you can also bring an
empty water bottle that you can fill up
once past security that'll help keep
your ears from plugging up that brings
us to the last part what to do for
connecting flights and when arriving at
your final destination if you end up
having a connecting flight before
heading to your final destination the
good news is you won't have to go
through another security screening all
you need to do is check your
notifications to verify what gate you
need to go to next as gates do
frequently change you can also check the
departures board which are located
throughout the airport to verify the
next gate assignment for your next
flight depending on how close you booked
your connecting flight you'll probably
have time to grab something to eat or
drink and walk around a bit just make
sure you're back at the gate 30 minutes
before departure to start the boarding
process then once the plane has arrived
at your destination and you've gotten
off the plane your next step is to
retrieve your bags just look for the
signs that say baggage claim and head
that way once in the baggage claim area
you'll see multiple conveyor belt
carousels and each one should have a
number on it sometimes the flight
attendants will announce which baggage
carousel number you can find your
baggage on if they know otherwise
there's usually a baggage claim board
you can go find out which carousel
number your bag will be on all you have
to do is look for the flight number on
the board and next to it it'll have the
carousel number on it once you have your
bags you can head to the ground
transportation area where you'll find
designated areas for shuttles taxis and
uber and lift pickups if you're renting
a car you'll just follow the rental car
signs leading you to the rental area and
that will complete your trip if you have
any questions about anything i covered
in this video feel free to leave me a
comment i'm happy to answer any
questions that you have and be sure to
check out all the free resources down in
the video description that i put
together for you that'll go deeper in
some of the things i talked about as
well as give you the tools and
information you need to have a
successful trip make sure to give this
video like if this video was helpful to
you and consider subscribing to see more
of these type of videos thank you so
much for watching this one and i can't
wait to see you in a future video
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you