A Trip News

Waiting game … Santa won’t bring you a faster trip. Photo: AP
You can keep your sanity as holiday madness hits, writes Jane E. Fraser.
If ever there was a test of travellers’ collective patience, it is the Christmas travel season.
Queues run long, planes fly full, roads back up and frustrations boil over as hundreds of thousands of people get on the move.
But don’t let your journey spoil the festive season (leave that job to your relatives).
By planning ahead you can travel without drama and arrive with your Christmas spirit still intact.
ARRIVE EARLY
If you are going to fly during the Christmas holiday period, plan to arrive at the airport much earlier than you normally would, as the check-in queues can be long.
Last time I flew from Sydney Airport at Christmas time, my husband dropped me off to stand in the queue and I was still there when he returned from putting the car in the long-term car park.
Ideally, you should check in online before leaving home, so you only need to drop your bags - there will still be a queue but hopefully a faster one.
It is better to have time to get a coffee or buy some holiday reading than arrive in a rush and hit the panic button when you see the queues.
MIND OVER MATTER
The most important thing to pack when travelling at any time is your sense of humour.
When you embrace the old saying of having the serenity to accept what you cannot change, travelling becomes a lot less stressful and hiccups are more easily overcome.
Remember that everyone is trying to go somewhere and the airline staff are doing their best to make it happen. I once listened to a woman complain the whole time she was in the airport queue and all the way through the flight. Her attitude did not help her get there any faster.
EXPECT DELAYS
Whether you are travelling by air, road or train, expecting to arrive on time is a little optimistic in the peak Christmas season.
Don’t make any plans for when you first arrive - the rellies can wait - and make sure you have a phone number for your accommodation in case you need to check in after hours.
BOOKINGS, BOOKINGS
If you plan to park at the airport or use a shuttle bus or other transfer service, book it now.
Many airport car parks fill up at Christmas time and transfer services are running at capacity. The same applies at your destination, where anything other than a taxi should be booked in advance.
LIGHTEN THE LOAD
There was a time when you could walk on a plane with almost anything tucked under your arm.
But with increased security and high fuel prices, airlines can be expected to be much tougher on luggage this year, including carry-on luggage.
If you plan to buy any large toys or unusual gifts that need to be carried on as hand luggage, it might pay to think again.
You could be forced to put the items in the luggage hold and pray they arrive in one piece.
Keep checked baggage to under 20kilograms (or 32kilograms on most Qantas flights) to avoid paying excess-baggage charges and save some room for any heavy or bulky presents you are given.
PACK SMART
Do not put any valuable gifts in your checked luggage if you can avoid it.
Bags and their contents can disappear for many reasons, particularly at peak travel times, and you could arrive without your gifts.
Each passenger can take up to sevenkilograms with them, so think carefully about what you carry and what you pack.
It pays to have travel insurance for domestic trips as well as international flights and to keep receipts for gifts that you do pack in your checked luggage.
To avoid extra delays, be careful not to pack any prohibited items such as scissors and pocket knives in your carry-on luggage.
Sydney Airport continues to confiscate about 10,000 items a month and passengers carrying these items delay themselves and everyone else.
THE SILLY SEASON
Sydney Airport says the Friday before Christmas, December 19, is likely to be the busiest day for air travel, given the demand for flights.
Last year, 1.85million passengers passed through the domestic terminals in December, while just under 1million passengers passed through the international terminal.
A spokesman for the airport says the weekend after New Year’s Day, January 3 and 4, is also likely to be very busy. “We advise passengers to allow extra time to get to the airport and catch their flights over the holiday period,” he says. “Allowing extra time will make travelling a lot less stressful in the event that there are traffic or other delays.”