{"id":6024,"date":"2019-07-03T13:07:42","date_gmt":"2019-07-03T13:07:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.battleface.com\/blog\/?p=6024"},"modified":"2019-12-19T11:28:46","modified_gmt":"2019-12-19T11:28:46","slug":"stay-safe-in-airports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.battleface.com\/blog\/stay-safe-in-airports\/","title":{"rendered":"7 Ways to stay safe in airports"},"content":{"rendered":"Approx read: <\/span> 2<\/span> mins<\/span><\/span>

The recent attack on Ataturk Airport in Istanbul left 43 dead and hundreds injured. This shocking event shut the airport down and inspired fear worldwide, all in a day\u2019s work for a terrorist.<\/h3>\n

Ataturk responded by doubling security and reopening as quickly as possible. Why? It\u2019s the gateway to everywhere.<\/p>\n

Ataturk is the third-largest airport in Europe, after Heathrow and Charles de Gaulle. It’s the 11th-busiest in the world, handling 61.8 million passengers annually. That’s nearly 168,000 flyers a day, not including support staff and grannies waving hankies at departing beloveds.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no such thing as a completely safe way to travel. We just have to go with acceptable risks.<\/p>\n

Every year, 10,000 people are involved in fatal car accidents. A whopping 19% of these victims are pedestrians.<\/p>\n

At 27 fatalities per day, the sidewalk is a lot more dangerous than the airport.<\/p>\n

Once off the pavement and inside the building, the most dangerous place in an airport is the ticketing and check-in area, where unscreened people without tickets are allowed to mill about with passengers. Where luggage piles up in security lines. Where people can carry around liquids totalling more than 100 millilitres. <\/em><\/p>\n

The safest thing a traveller can do is to get through this area and head to security as quickly as possible. Here are 7 things to think about before you fly:<\/h4>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

1. Check in online.<\/h3>\n

Make sure you have an offline copy of your boarding pass on your phone<\/a><\/span>. Or go old-school, and print it out.<\/p>\n

2. Look at a map of the airport.<\/h3>\n

Where do you need to go? Where could you go if there\u2019s a problem<\/a><\/span>?<\/p>\n

3. Check your flight status before you leave the house.<\/h3>\n

If the flight\u2019s delayed, eating Cheetos on the couch at home is safer and cheaper than hanging around the airport.<\/p>\n

4. Dress and pack smart.<\/h3>\n

Slip-on shoes, cloth belt, laptop near the top of your carry-on bag, so you don’t have to dig it out.\u00a0 Toiletries in the appropriate plastic bag on top. You don\u2019t need to check a bag: I promise<\/em> there are stores wherever you\u2019re headed. Packing light gets you away from baggage claim, which is often unsecured and chaotic, with unattended bags everywhere.<\/p>\n

5. If you fly a lot, join a trusted traveller programme.<\/h3>\n

For not that much, these groups can offer expedited security or the short line at customs. The trade-off? A fee and a background check. But before you shell out the simolians, check that the airports you frequent use the programme.<\/p>\n

6. Get supplemental travel medical insurance.<\/h3>\n

You’ll need it if you travel to a place under government travel advisories. That nifty package that comes with your credit card won\u2019t work if you\u2019re in a terrorist attack in a country under advisory.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

7. Once you’re in, get away from the screening area ASAP.<\/h3>\n

If something awful happens, that space turns into a cattle chute. Don\u2019t worry, you won\u2019t miss anything, the shop right next to your gate sells the same overpriced perfume and tacky gewgaws.<\/p>\n

Now relax. The terror isn’t over, but it’s familiar: screaming babies, sneezing adults and armrest-hoggers. Bon voyage!<\/p>\n

Image courtesy of Photographer: Mark Hodson\u00a0 http:\/\/www.101holidays.co.uk\/<\/a><\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s no such thing as a completely safe way to travel. We just have to go with acceptable risks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":37,"featured_media":12108,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"video","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1064,298],"tags":[602,671,1212],"class_list":["post-6024","post","type-post","status-publish","format-video","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-solo-travel","category-travel-tips","tag-stay-safe","tag-stay-safe-in-airports","tag-travel-safety-tips","post_format-post-format-video"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.battleface.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6024","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.battleface.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.battleface.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.battleface.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/37"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.battleface.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6024"}],"version-history":[{"count":26,"href":"https:\/\/www.battleface.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6024\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12117,"href":"https:\/\/www.battleface.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6024\/revisions\/12117"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.battleface.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12108"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.battleface.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6024"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.battleface.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6024"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.battleface.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6024"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}