Although many of you are back to your regular travel habits, I have not been on a plane since Feb. 2020. But that's all going to change shortly (yikes!) because I have four work trips planned this coming semester, the first one is coming up in about a month. I'm not mentally ready!

For my first trip, I made sure to avoid all the itineraries with the 30 minute layovers, and I purchased seats and IIRC I'm in one of those main cabin groups so I'm not in the last boarding group (I'm hoping to avoid checking any bags). ETA - although I may have to check a bag for my second trip. Should I buy airtags?

ETA2: Should I pay to join something like TSA Precheck? I am probably going to be going to Japan soon as well, and before covid I was thinking I would join one of those for-pay services before my next Japan-trip. I wonder if I have time to do it before my first flight next month...

What else do I need to know? What has changed?

Is it really going to be as awful as every NYT and WaPo article make it seem?

I think TSA pre-check is worth it but my local airports are much more crowded than yours. So try to make an appointment but don't stress if you don't get to it in time.

Air travel was very bad in early summer but has gotten better, though very cold xmas weather caused problems this week.

You'll find almost no one wearing masks, I assume you're not going to do that. I wear a regular mask in the airport and an N95 on the plane. In general I try not to eat or drink on flights so I don't have to pull my mask down (I make exceptions on long-haul flights during the day). I will usually grab a bite in the airport before boarding and find an empty-ish gate area to pull my mask down and eat.

Ever since transplant I carry a sanitary wipe and clean off the hard surfaces around my seat - the fan adjustment, the tray latch, the seat recline button, the armrests, etc.

Honestly it should be ok unless you get unlucky. Assuming you can tolerate being on a tube with a bunch of unmasked people. FWIW the air filtering on planes has improved greatly since before covid.

Thanks Jon!!

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You'll find almost no one wearing masks

Yeah, I'm trying to mentally prepare myself for that!

By regular mask, do you mean a surgical mask? I believe my N95 (or KN95) has metal in it, so that can't be warn through security, right?

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it should be ok unless you get unlucky

For my first trip in January, I'll be going and returning on a weekday, so hopefully it will be more business travelers and there's not big holidays around there, so fingers crossed!

There are more people wearing masks in December than there were in September, so that’s something? I always wear my KF-94 mask while traveling, but I do drop it to eat in an airport restaurant (hoping tables aren’t too close together). And I’ll take sips and bites around it on a plane.

I love TSA Precheck! If you’re going to sign up for TSA Precheck, you may as well spend a little more and apply for Global Entry (includes precheck) if you’re going to be traveling out of the country. It gets you back in faster, for not much more money.

I don’t know if you’ll be able to get precheck/global entry processed quickly enough for your first trip? Kiddo let his Global Entry expire, so he had to apply all over again. He’s been waiting for the in-person interview since October? And his appointment is in March 2023. But that’s here in Portland; it may be less of a wait where you are.

I like a 1.5 hour layover, no rushing.

I really like having an Apple Air Tag in my luggage. It’s a bit over the top, but I always know where my luggage is.

If you’re main cabin and have a carry on bag and they run out of room, they’ll usually gate check for you at no charge, usually to your destination instead of make you pick it up on the jetway. I prefer that to paying $30 and having to wait for sure for my luggage.

Anyway, it all feels pretty normal, and nobody harrasses anybody for wearing/not wearing a mask. I definitely prefer to wear a mask!

@SK - I'm not sure if there's enough metal in an N95 to set off the detector but if so you can run it through the scanner. If you're worried carry a backup surgical mask to wear as you go through 'security theatre'.

Just to underscore what Jon said about disinfectant wipes--long before Covid I always got sick from flying. Horribly sick. Every single time.

The last time I flew was December of 2019 and I carried clorox disinfecting wipes and wiped down every surface I was to come in contact with around my seat. We were going on a ten-day vacation, taking four flights to get there, and no way in hell did I want to ruin it by getting sick.

It worked! I did not get sick.

We also are flying in February for the first time since Covid. We got our TSA Pre-check numbers, so glad to hear they are worthwhile. Will be following this thread to see what everyone recommends. Thanks SK!

I wore a kn95 mask through the metal detector and it was fine. TSA pre- check is great, you don’t have to take your shoes off and you don’t have to take your liquids out.

(d) All of the above

Lately we’ve seen sniffer dogs at the airport, and if the dogs are there the only thing you have to do in the security line is take your laptop out of your carry on bag. You don’t have to empty your pockets - in fact there aren’t any bins to put things in even if you want to. Slick!

Not so slick is Spirit’s new check in system. They’ve demolished all of the counters where the ticket agents used to be and replaced them with a row of machines that are supposed to do the same thing. Brave New World!

Only problem is that they don’t work very well and 20% of them don’t work at all at any given time. To help with that problem, each machine has an attendant to help you convince the machine to do what it’s supposed to do. The interface is not intuitive, neither one of the readers (license, ticket) work reliably, the camera is set up to take pictures of people between 5’ and 5’-6 tall and any variation from the norm (overweight bag, passport won’t stay open) halts the entire process.

For $25 you can use the old system with a live attendant - worth doing if you’re in the slightest hurry.

The next time you visit your state’s Dept. of Motor Vehicles to replace your expiring state driver’s license, consider getting a “Real ID. License”. You’ll have to present some additional IDs to get this type of license such as a passport. I have a Real ID. driver’s license and it has a star in the upper right corner. If you don’t get a Real ID. license, then you’ll have to present a passport each time you board a flight even if it’s a domestic flight. Read what your state’s DMV handbook says about Real IDs before you visit their office. (Because of the long lines at DMV offices, it’s a hassle if you forget to bring something and have to make a return visit).


Starting May 7, 2025, every state and territory resident will need to present a REAL ID compliant license/ID, or another acceptable form of identification, for accessing federal facilities, entering nuclear power plants, and boarding commercial aircraft.

Thanks for all the comments everyone!

Pique, thanks for the reminder about wipes. I never had a habit of doing that when flying pre-covid, but now is definitely the time to make it part of my SOP!

QL, I actually already have a real ID, so that's one less thing to worry about!

I am definitely going to see if we can do TSA-pre/global entry.

I would avoid bunching up with people if I wanted to minimize Covid exposure. So don’t rush up with the hoard when your group is called. Board last, when you can enter when the gateway is empty and aisle is clear. You may have to gate check your bag, though.

I would wait at an empty gate, not your gate. I would use the bathroom down by baggage claim or some other area that is less congested and avoid the packed restrooms near your gate.

And if I really get stuck with a super long layover, I spend the time in the international wing. Often much less crowded, better food, fewer kids. Whether that is an option depends on the airport, but sometimes there’s a walkway.

Regarding pre check, you can sometimes do the forms online and then finish as a walk in. There was no wait when I did it, but pick a day and time when things are a bit slower.

That said, I wouldn’t stress too much, as there is much outside of your control.

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I would wait at an empty gate, not your gate

I did that once. Seemed like a good idea but it didn’t work out.

What happened was they made a gate change and I didn’t hear the announcement because I was sitting at another gate.

I missed my flight.

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Originally posted by Steve Miller:

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I would wait at an empty gate, not your gate

I did that once. Seemed like a good idea but it didn’t work out.

What happened was they made a gate change and I didn’t hear the announcement because I was sitting at another gate.

I missed my flight.

We did this once and almost missed our flight. They called for us on the PA! We ran!

I just noticed this thread and really hoped you were not caught up in the Southwest Airlines holiday meltdown. I'm glad to see you're simply being proactive about upcoming flights.

I can't offer any practical advice because I have been deliberately avoiding flying since before the pandemic. The aggravation factor had become more than I wanted to tolerate. Our primary long-distance travel had become to see my daughter who lives in North Carolina and my son in Georgia. Combining visits to both yields two travel days of reasonable duration by highway and that is what we usually did. I don't know if or when I may fly again.

Big Al