Plane & Simple on Southwest

How to get through airport security in a zip!

The dreaded airport security line – it takes too long to get through, and the time you have to get your stuff all together is too short! Here are some of my recommendations:

Before you have your boarding pass screened:

- Have your ID ready to go. This is something easily done ahead of time and will save you a lot of time digging through your bag. It’ll also save other passengers getting frustrated because you’re backing up the line.

- Take off any small items on your body that you will have to take off when it’s your turn to have your bags & self screened while you’re waiting in line. Wallet, spare change, jewelry, belts, etc. Put these in a plastic bag or somewhere inside your bag so you can quickly access them after they’re screened.

- If you’re wearing a jacket, take it off and throw it over your arm so you won’t take any extra time taking it off (especially if it has tedious buttons). Also, if you’re wearing a hat they’re going to want to see that too. Take it off and throw it in your bag.

When in line to have your bags checked:

- If you’re like me and wear a belt buckle (or have any other item that is always being double checked by security), put it in a bin (instead of your bag) so airport security can easily look in the bin and see what it is.

- Wear easily removable shoes. I recommend slip on shoes or sandals. If you don’t want to wear these shoes for the rest of the day, have your desired pair of shoes in your suitcase so you can put those on after you get through security.

- Assume airport security will want to see your bottled liquids. Pull these out ahead of time and place them in a bin to prevent any unnecessary rescreening of your bag.

- Assume airport security will also need to see your boarding pass – so keep it in your pocket. If they need to see if after you’ve gone through the metal detector, you will have easy access to it. If they don’t need to see it, no harm done.

After your stuff is screened and you’re ready to go:

- Gather your items as best you can and head to the nearest chair to get yourself situated. There’s nothing worse than someone backing up the line because they insist on having everything together while it’s still on the baggage belt.

- If you do prefer to have all of your stuff situated before you leave the screening area, move your items to the end of the bag belt so that you’re not in the way of anyone else trying to get through security quickly.

That’s it! Getting through security quickly does take some practice – so don’t get frustrated if it takes a little longer than you expect. If your bag does have to get rescreened or if you have to be individually screened, don’t throw a hissy fit - they are just doing their job to ensure that all passengers will be safe on their flight.

***All ideas and recommendations are my own and not those of any airport, airline or TSA.***