If you were anything like me this past Thanksgiving and tried to get away for the holiday, there was a good chance you spent quite a bit of time at the airport due to flight delays and cancellations. When trying to fly out for any trip, there is always the potential of delays due to the weather or other things like mechanical problems with the plane. I remember about 5 years ago I was stuck at the airport in Dallas for 5 hours due to the pilots not being able to find a log book that they needed. If you have ever had to sit through a long delay while waiting for a flight, I’m sure you’ve gone through a lot of different emotions from frustration to maybe even anger. With my experience in delaying with my fair share of flight delays, these are some things that I do that you might consider doing to keep you preoccupied.
Back in the days before the advancements in technology, if you dealt with a flight delay there wasn’t as much for you to do. Now a days with iPads and smartphones, at your finger tips you have access to a bunch of different things from games to books. When traveling most people already pack their tablets and cell phones with them in their carry-ons but it is also important to pack the chargers. If there is the chance of you being stuck at the airport for hours, there is the possibility that your batteries could run out and leave you with nothing to do. Having your charger can help make sure that your devices won’t die on you and you can use it throughout the delay.
With dealing with flight delays, another thing that I try to do is walk around the terminal. There is only so much sitting you can do before you start getting antsy. Walking around is a great way to keep you occupied as well as being able to get some exercise. I know most airport terminals don’t offer much to look at when you’re walking around but the main point of doing this is to move around. When doing this though make sure you listen for any updates on your flight and don’t walk to far from your gate as you need to make sure you are there to board the plane when it is ready.
When it comes to dealing with a flight delay, there really aren’t a lot of options for you to do to get out quicker as it’s out of your hands. The important thing is to take it in stride and not get to stressed over it as it will only make things worse. If you are interested, here are some more airport travel tips.