16 Unwritten Rules for the Airport (that you're probably breaking)

Today we are diving into the thrilling world of the unwritten rules of airport travel. That's right, we have compiled a list of 16 essential unwritten rules that everybody should know. From how you board the plane, to picking up your bags at baggage claim, to how you charge your phone, and even where and how you sit in the airport. We have all the essential unwritten rules that you are going to want to know. Make sure you stick around till number 12, as most people are making this mistake and they don't even realize it. We are about to unveil the secrets that are going to turn you into a travel pro. Let's start talking about some of these unspoken guidelines. Unwritten rule number one, come prepared. Preparing yourself for the airport is a great way to not only set yourself up for success, but also set up those around you for success. This includes having things like your boarding pass, any sort of travel documents like passports ready to go. This also includes making sure you're dressed appropriately for TSA or security, making sure that you can have shoes that come on and off easily, making sure you have all of your liquids and electronics in the right places. These preparation steps can go a long way in making your process a lot smoother. So coming prepared for your travel day is an unwritten rule that should be taken very seriously, as well as just help you be more prepared for your travel day. Now, keep in mind, all of these unwritten rules are coming from my travel perspective. And to be honest, I've maybe had completely different travel experiences from you. So I would love to hear from you down in the comments if you feel there's any that should be added to this list, or even things that you maybe necessarily don't agree with. And that's a great part of this channel is we can go back and forth and learn from each other. So that way we are all more well rounded and better travelers. And all of these unwritten rules that I've included on this list are things that I feel can make anyone's travel day a bit more productive. And with that, are some of these my pet peeves? Of course. I got a little bit of heat in one of my other videos saying that all of these tips are just your pet peeves, which is not entirely true. And I mean, no disrespect if you do any of these things on this list. I just feel that if we limited some of these mistakes, everyone's travel day would be a little bit more enjoyable and a little bit more comfortable. But let's continue on with our unwritten rules. Unwritten rule number two, and that is put your empty trays away when you get through the security line. And as I was just talking, this one also does happen to be a pet peeve of mine. Right to jail, right away. But in general, I feel like this is a really easy step that we can all take to make the security process a lot smoother. You've probably seen this. If you've gone through security a number of times where at the end of the security line, you will find a bunch of empty trays, just kind of sitting there. Unfortunately, that kind of clogs up the working space for everybody else. That's trying to get through security as well as I feel like it's just a step that can easily be taken to clear the path for the next person behind you. Unwritten rule number three, don't touch other people's stuff. And this is just a good general rule for anywhere in the airport, but I feel that it mostly applies when going through security or this is where I've seen it done the most. And a lot of times it's done with good intentions in mind, but just keep in mind that most people don't feel comfortable with strangers touching their stuff, including myself. So the best thing that you can do is just do your part in getting your own stuff out of the way. You don't want to be responsible for lost or broken items of things that aren't yours. So it's best to just keep your hands on your own things. Unwritten rule number four, go to your gate first. And this one's kind of funny to me because in one of my other videos, I mentioned this very concept and so many people agreed with me that they go right from security right to their gate just to make sure that their gate is real. So I figured since so many people agreed with me, I would put it as an unwritten rule. And to be honest with you, it really just is a good practice to make sure that you know how far your gate is away and where it is. So that way, when it's time to board, you don't come across any surprises where you might miss your flight. So my recommendation would be get to that gate, make sure you know exactly where it is right when you're done with security. Unwritten rule number five, communicate nicely. And as we all know, travel can be a very stressful experience, not only for the travelers, but for the employees. And communicating clearly and nicely is a great way to ease some of that tension. One great example would be, say you're in a hurry and you need to get through security, you're running a little bit behind. Oftentimes, it can be a lot more productive to just communicate clearly and nicely with the people around you and most likely they'll let you ahead of them. Oftentimes, if you don't communicate or you seem very stressed out and anxious, as well as you're kind of maybe angry, a lot of times people are not as willing to work with you and they're going to put more of a wall up or a defense. It can be really productive for yourself and not only for those around you if you communicate nicely and calmly. Number six, avoid buying food at the airport. Now, I understand this is not entirely possible being that I eat at the airport myself, especially on some of those long international flights or long layovers, but you're going to save yourself a lot of money if you can avoid buying food at the airport as much as possible. Being that the prices are just way higher and it doesn't take a genius to figure that out. Restaurants are more expensive. Snacks are more expensive. Drinks are more expensive. Unwritten rule number seven, one seat in the waiting area. Awareness goes a long way with this one and to be honest with you, self-awareness goes a long way when you're traveling all the time. But specifically with this one, having some self-awareness can help you execute on this one really, really well. In general, you want to try to keep to yourself and try not to spread out too much in the waiting area being that everyone most likely is looking for a seat. So if you find the waiting area or the boarding zone to be particularly busy, ideally you keep to one seat. You're not spread across four seats with your bag and you're leaning on three of them. Now, I will admit there might be situations where taking up more than one seat would be totally fine. A good situation might be, hey, I'm super early to my flight and there's nobody around. But use your awareness when it comes to this rule being that oftentimes if it's really, really busy right before you board a flight, do your best to just keep to one seat so that way everyone has a place to sit as well as just relax before the flight. Unwritten rule number eight, be careful with the USB charging ports. Apparently this is something we have to watch out for now, which is a little bit more of a recent issue. But unfortunately, people recently have been using USB ports, particularly in airports to introduce malware onto your phone. Honestly, I feel like this is something we shouldn't have to worry about, but unfortunately it is. So what I would do is I would recommend just using your classic charging block and your own USB cable and don't use those public USB charging ports as you might be putting your electronics at risk. It sucks that we have to worry about this, but it is something that you should be aware of when charging your device at the airport. If you're enjoying this video so far, give it a thumbs up as well as share this video with any of your friends or family that have made some of these unwritten rule mistakes. I think it's always kind of fun to make each other better travelers as well as kind of joke about it at the same time. Unwritten rule number nine, don't let strangers watch your bags. And this is very similar to what I was talking about before, but you want to make sure you have a good grasp on your things. Don't put that responsibility on somebody else. They could be an amazing person, but ultimately you want to be responsible for your things and don't put that in the hands of a stranger. If you need to use the bathroom and you're traveling solo, bring your stuff with you. Number 10, you are still responsible for your stuff even when you are sleeping. And honestly, I've heard so many stories of people getting stuff stolen while they've dozed off. And this is not just relating to airports. This is relating to travel in general. But especially when I decide I want to doze off at the airport, what I try to do is I try to make sure I'm in contact with everything that I own. So if I have my suitcase, I make sure it's between my legs. If I have my backpack, I usually put it or hug it on my lap. This is just a great way that if anyone were to try to steal something from me, I would know right away being that I would feel the movement. Millions of people get stuff stolen every single year and you falling asleep does not disregard you from that equation. And in fact, it maybe even increases the chances that you're going to get stuff stolen from you. Unwritten rule number 11, keep your volume low. And honestly, I feel like I shouldn't have to explain this one too much being that I feel like it is pretty obvious at this point and is something that everyone should be adopting. But this is something that honestly, I see people struggle with the most. You're playing music too loud, right to jail, right away. If you're playing on your phone, do your best to use headphones to listen to your music or even talk to your mom, right? Make sure that you're not having your conversation on speakerphone or even if you're just talking with somebody in person, try to keep your volume lower. Number 12, the less you can touch the better. And what I mean by this one is germs. As we know, airports are super, super germy and oftentimes people get sick when they travel because they come in contact with so many other people. And the best way to limit your contact with people is to not touch everything. This includes the railings on escalators or the door handles on bathrooms or even just touching the seats a lot. Do your best to keep your hands to yourself and try to not touch everything. You're definitely going to limit your exposure to germs if you can do that and that way hopefully stay a lot more healthy when traveling. Unwritten rule number 13, keep alcohol to a minimum. Now, I'm not saying you can't indulge in a couple of drinks, but I am saying that we should all be responsible as travelers for knowing our limits. This way, everybody around us can have a comfortable travel experience, including yourself. So making sure that you know your limits and know your alcohol tolerance, so that way you can still have a great travel day experience as well as it doesn't lead to any issues for yourself down the road when you get on the plane. Unwritten rule number 14, stick to your boarding zone. This is really important for the boarding efficiency. Whether you agree with your zone or not, it's a great way to speed up the process if you stick in your zone. I would also avoid crowding the boarding area. It can be really confusing for people if there's a bunch of people standing in the boarding area when they're not supposed to be. It also makes it hard for people that are actually supposed to be boarding to get through the crowd of people that are just waiting for their zone to be called. So it's best practice to stand really far away until your zone is called. Remember, some people also pay for the privilege to board first. And if you put yourself in their shoes and you paid for a spot to get on the plane first, and you have a bunch of other people that didn't pay that just get out of order and board, you might be a little frustrated. So if everyone could just stay in their zone, the whole process would be a lot smoother. Unwritten rule number 15, baggage claim etiquette. Now, this is a practice that I feel like a lot of people don't understand or don't even know. So I'm going to teach you right now. It is a good practice when you're waiting for your bags on the baggage carousel to stand way far back. Because in most cases, you can see your bag from afar. If you are standing right next to the baggage carousel, it can be really hard for other people to see their bags, as well as retrieve their bags. So it's best practice to stand maybe 10, 15, 20 feet away. Then when you see your bag, make your way to the front. If everyone did that, everyone would be able to see their bags as well as retrieve their bags a lot easier. Unwritten rule number 16, and this is more of a mindset rule, but I feel like if we all went in with this mindset, I feel like we would be able to face challenges that come with travel a lot better. And that is going in with the mindset and planning for the worst. Now, it's kind of a bleak and dreary mindset, but if you expect and plan for the worst, you are going to be a lot more prepared to handle each and every situation that comes about. I think oftentimes people get stressed and anxious and frustrated because they're unprepared for when something bad happens. So it's best practice to make sure that you're prepared and know all of the previous 15 rules that I just talked about, know how to pack your carry-on, know how to pack your toiletries. So that way you are 100% ready for if your flight gets delayed, if you get stopped at security, if you lose something, all of those situations will feel a lot more manageable if you go in with the understanding that it might happen. Thanks for watching this video. And I hope I gave you some things to think about as well as maybe some things to practice for your next trip to the airport. If you enjoyed this one though, I would highly encourage you watching the video we made about the 13 unwritten rules of air travel. It kind of picks up where we left off with this one, but gives you some tips and tricks for a smooth and efficient flight. If you enjoyed this one though, please, please, please give it a thumbs up as well as subscribe to our channel for more content like this. We will see you in the next video.