AIRPORT COURTESY RULES YOU MAY NOT BE AWARE OF

Flying can be stressful. A lot of people feel overwhelmed by the airport lines, check points, crowds and flight protocols. I feel that way at times, but I also feel very fortunate to have Portland International Airport as my main flight hub. It is consistently ranked as one of the top airports in America. As someone who flies out of it at least once a month, I have to agree. But there are certain airports and certain flying situations that make my stress levels rise and my blood boil. Some of these things are uncontrollable – like a flight being delayed or long lines at TSA. But some things stem from my fellow travelers.

What follows is a list of common mistakes I see other travelers make consistently when I fly. I think the airport, airport lines and entire plane flights could be more enjoyable for everyone if people could do a couple of the things as follows. I’d also like to clarify that I don’t think most people are trying to be thoughtless or discourteous, I think they just don’t know any better. Which brings us to some common airport courtesy tips to make yourself a more enjoyable traveler:

1: Have your ID and ticket ready once you get to the airport…and the TSA checkpoint. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve been in a long line, and when the person in front of me finally gets to the TSA agent, they think that is their opportunity to look for their ID in their wallet. DON’T DO THIS. I always put my ID and ticket in my pocket while I’m in line, so I can pull them out easily when it’s my turn at the front. Not being ready really annoys the TSA agents and holds up the line for the people behind you. Take an extra 10 seconds as you’re walking to the line to pull out your ID and ticket ahead of time.

2: Don’t bring liquids over 3oz in your carry-on. I really feel that I shouldn’t have to say this one since it’s been a rule for over 10 years, and yet almost every time I’m at the airport, I see someone look surprised when the TSA agent tells them that they can’t bring their Fiji water through the check point. Also, be familiar with your own airport’s guidelines on how to display your liquids 3oz and under. Portland airport doesn’t normally require passengers to take out their liquids and put them in a separate bin for carry-ons – but they do require you to take out your lap top. Every airport is a little bit different.

3: Push it! Push it real good! When your bags get through TSA security, instead of putting on your belt, sweater, and shoes right where your bag came out – push your bag down to the end of the conveyor belt so that the people behind you can quickly grab their things. Don’t hold up the entire line because you’re too lazy to push your bags down a few feet.

4. Don’t stand and block the walk section of the moving walkways. You want to cruise to your gate without having to take a step? Fine by me! But please don’t stand next to your friend and block the walk section of the walkway. It usually specifies on the walkway which side is which.

4: Once you’re on the plane, if you have a jacket – DO NOT PUT IT in the overhead bin! Seriously, in this day and age, it’s not ok to assume there will be overhead bin space for your jacket. A lot of people only carry-on and don’t check bags, so overhead space is precious. IF you wait until everyone around you has put their larger carry-ons in the overhead bin, chances are there still will be space for your jacket, but don’t take up valuable space. Same goes for your little purse or briefcase.

6: When the plane lands, unless you have a tight connecting flight or extreme diarrhea, please do not stand up immediately after the plane lands, block the aisle and try to move past people in front of you. It’s going to save you like, what? 2 minutes of waiting time? It’s incredibly rude. I remarked this to someone once who said, “Yeah, but what if you’re tired of being on the plane?” I replied, “You think you’re the only person who’s tired of being on the plane?”

The answer, of course, is no. Everyone wants to get off the plane and get to their destination as fast as possible and you are not special. So get your stuff and stop blocking the aisle. If you try to weasel your way past me, I will purposely block you and then walk really, really slow just to make you more frustrated. Yeah, I’m a feisty flyer.

So those are some of the main things that I see almost every time I fly. I’m sure those who fly regularly can think of others as well. A lot of these airport courtesy mistakes could be avoided if people came to the airport to fly with three simple rules in mind:

• 1. Be prepared.

• 2. Be aware of your surroundings.

• 3. Don’t be selfish.

Heck, if we all tried to do that a little more at the airport, we may not have as many super long lines or flight delays. I’m not saying those things would never happen, but they might not happen as frequently. So let’s all do our best to make airport travel as easy on our fellow travelers as we would want it to be for us. A little selflessness can go a long way!