Needless to say, having your body and belongings scanned en route to the gate is nothing to look forward to. How tedious this process is varies by airport, but if anything, security continues to get tighter and having to disassemble yourself and your bag is here to stay. The Fast Track lines for First and Business Class won't save you. Trust us, we've tried. Since you have no choice but to cooperate here, you may as well do what you can to not let it put you in a bad mood.
Here are Travelle's tips for how to avoid getting your bag searched or your body patted down by airport security:
Travel With Docs In Hand
Keep your boarding pass and passport in one place so you don't lose them in a bottomless purse or have to search for your wallet to get your ID repeatedly. Smythson and Valextra make stylish passport cover and wallet travel sets which not only make great accessories, but will help you keep organized.
Follow The Family, Only If It's Your Own
Chances are, unless you are in the Fast Track lane, there will be a couple of lines to choose from once you pass the document check. Avoid standing behind groups and people traveling with children as they are likely to take longer.
An Organized Carry-On Is A Travel Essential
Compartmentalize. A complicated word for a very simple tip. Put anything that may cause drama in one centralized place. This way, if you have to take any of these things out of your bag, you can do so in 30 seconds. Never put issue-prone items in the main compartment of your carry-on bag until after you get through the security screening dance.
Leave The Side Pockets Of Your Carry-On Or A Separate Bag For:
1. Anything with a keyboard. Laptops always come out when going through airport security, and the same applies to tablets at some airports in Europe.
2. Anything liquid. The 3.4oz/100ml max is common knowledge, but some airports like London Heathrow will make you put anything that makes you look and smell good in clear plastic bags even if under the allowed size. Prep at home or else that lip gloss floating around your purse can get you searched.
3. Anything baby. While they won't scan the actual baby, the little one's liquid diet means formulas come out on the belt.
Keep Your Travel Style Simple
While it's good to have that scarf in your bag for when it gets chilly on the plane, chances are you will have to strip down when going through security. A jacket, blazer, sweater and scarf coming off and on may be fun under other circumstances, but maybe not when you're scrambling with a line of people behind you. Keep them in your bag for later if you can.
Save Those Hot Boots For Another Time
We're all about traveling in style, but you won't feel very fabulous sitting down on the floor and hopping around on one foot trying to yank your foot out your boots. Ash leather sneakers come off with the pull of a zipper and are one of Travelle's favorite travel essentials. While you don't have to go that far, make sure you pick shoes that won't take ages to lace up or pull off.
Keep Metals Off Your Body
Avoid bringing coins on board - they're heavy and cause more issues than they're worth. If you're wearing high end jewelry and accessories, you have nothing to worry about as luxury brands do the work for you and their products generally won't ring. When in doubt -- and you don't want to deal with taking your belt or watch off to get through airport security -- just wait to put them on after the screen.
Pre-Check The Boxes
Choose the acronym depending on where you travel the most. Whether it's TSA, Global Entry, SENTRI or Nexus, these programs will often help you skip the long line strut to your gate faster.
These should have you covered so you can relax and enjoy more time in the lounge, and less time watching your bag come apart.
Want more tips on airport survival? Here're Travelle's tips on how to rock the redeye.