Hurry Up and Wait

Airplane travel these days is nothing but line after line. Each one involves hurrying up...only to wait.

Recently my wife and I traveled to Washington, DC to participate in a ScienceFest at Howard University . The trip was well worth it. The program we helped coordinate (there were 6 group leaders overall) and teach in reached a group of middle school kids and really excited them about science.

But for the trip home, we once again realized that airplane travel these days is simply not fun!

Let me explain.

The rental car drop-off at Dulles airport (IAD), Virginia went smoothly enough, as did the short (5-minute) shuttle bus ride to the terminal. But this isn't always the case; sometimes, we find there is a wait for a shuttle bus ride and/or there is a line-up at the car return aisle.

Airline check-in involved a small line because our airline had only one gate agent on duty. Nearby, there were waits in several other airline check-in lines. Again, at busy times and at busy airports, it is possible to have lengthy check-in waits (especially for international flights that involve larger aircraft).

Then came the arrival at security. There was a corral near the down escalator with a long line. After a 5 to 10 minute wait, several dozens of us were allowed down the escalator. There we joined a Disney-theme park style line that ran for several meandering rows. The line moved, but it still took 15 minutes to navigate. At the end of the line, there were 4 TSA staff checking identification and boarding documents.

Once we cleared this hurdle, we had our choice of about 8 to 10 lines in order to actually go through screening. You guessed it; we picked the wrong line. But then, again, doesn't everyone?

Repacking, we then headed to the terminal shuttle bus, where we boarded and waited almost five minutes for its departure.

We arrived at our designated mid-field terminal and had to walk past about 20 gates to reach our Southwest Airlines departure gate.

Finally, it was time to board and we had to line up again.

This scenario of lining up to pass one check point, only to line up anew to pass the next, is fast becoming the norm for almost any type of travel.

You need to get to the airport earlier and earlier to avoid getting caught in any surprise line-up (either on the highway and/or at the airport).

But the problem is worse at some airports than at others. Dulles is trying to fix what was really horrific a few years ago. Baltimore's BWI Airport is notorious for long lines for the first flights of the day, both at airline check-in areas and at TSA Security. San Diego Airport routinely had TSA security lines that extended the entire length of the overhead concourse leading to the shuttle bus pick-up lanes. Even smaller airports, because of their lack of security system space, can have longer lines (Norfolk, VA, for example).

The best bet is to bring along a newspaper, a crossword puzzle book, or simply a book to read. Oh, and wear comfortable, easy-to-remove shoes, pack the jacket and sweater and be sure you don't have any liquids in your carry on items. The person behind you will thank you a lot.

Oh, and once we arrived in Fort Myers, Florida, we could have had a wait to get our bags. Fortunately, on this day, Southwest was in its usual speedy mode. For those of you traveling on other airlines, I'm sorry!