Air Travel Necessities for 2011

If you're planning to travel by air in 2011, you won't want to forget these travel necessities. Some of these products, you probably couldn't imagine needing just months ago. But, changing air travel conditions have turned yesterday's "You've gotta be kidding me" product into today's absolute must have.

First up among travel necessities for 2011 is Rocky Flats Gear. These radiation shielding privacy garments are not a joke but real underwear designed to get you through airport scanners with minimal embarrassment and exposure to damaging radiation. The Transportation Security Administration has come under increasing criticism at home and abroad for it's security excesses, but to date invasive screenings continue. And despite TSA assurances that body scans cannot be saved or stored, astute readers of TSA's denials point out that the Request for Proposals for the machines requires image storing capability. Protective undergarments will spare you from tedious research to figure out the tech specs of the scanners at the airports you plan to pass through.

Knee defenders have been around for quite some time. But with airlines cutting costs wherever they can, leg room faces the neverending squeeze. What the adjustable knee defender does is clip onto the seat in front of you to keep it from reclining to the point that it crashes into your knees. Seller of the knee defender, Gadget Duck, assures its customers that the Federal Aviation Administration has given the device the nod as long as it isn't used during take-off and landing.

Flying with pets has become so prevalent that the number of flying pets annually has topped 2 million, according to the U.S. Dept. of Transportation. For flying pets, Dry Fur travel pads for the pet carrier promise to absorb pet mishaps- urine or water bowl spills- so the pet remains dry during flight. The disposable pet carrier inserts are designed to remain in place during use and be thrown away afterward.

A resurgence of bedbugs has led municipal, state and federal officials to convene bedbug summits in 2010 the hopes of eradicating the little pests. Meanwhile, the pests have demonstrated that they are no longer content to hide in bedding but have moved on to a variety of public locales including your favorite airline. If you want to minimize the risk of picking up bedbugs in your luggage while flying, there are two products that might interest air travelers in 2011: bedbug luggage liners and travel pillow encasements. Bedbug luggage liners and travel pillow encasements are made of microfiber impermeable fabric with special zippers to keep bedbugs out.

Check out these travel necessities before heading to the airport in 2011.