Photo: Marius Dobilas/Shutterstock

9 Flight Attendant Tips to Survive This Year's Hectic Flight Delays

Travel Airports + Flying
by Olivia Harden Jun 27, 2022

If you’ve been looking forward to your summer travel plans, unfortunately, flying can more stressful than it was even in pre-pandemic times. Getting through security is one thing, then there’s the shortage of pilots, and the available ones are showing rising signs of pilot fatigue. To help navigate your travel planes, a flight attendant named Kate, who goes by @kateeya_ on Twitter, provided some tips to make sure you make it to your destination. And you might not like some of them.

Flight attendant tips during 2022’s hectic travel season

  1. If your destination is less than seven hours away, consider driving
  2. Take advantage of your airline’s app to have the most up-to-date information and avoid long lines at agent desks
  3. Fly a day or two early so you have time to regroup if something goes wrong.
  4. Book earlier flights to avoid summer thunderstorms
  5. Make sure your layovers are at least three hours
  6. Staffing issues along with fatigued crews means that some delays are just inevitable. Flying staff are only legally allowed to work up to 16 hours. Back up crews are not likely to be available. Try to be patient.
  7. Don’t be that drunk passenger
  8. Get trip insurance, and pack smart
  9. And finally, be nice!

Flying might be a little bit more taxing now than it has been in the past, but with a little patience, skill, and a bit of luck, hopefully you’ll be at your destination eventually.

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