Travel gripes

Travelling is one of my favourite things in the entire world, and this blog is usually full of positive things about discovering the world. However the process of getting to your final destination is not always fun. My reason for saying that? Airports….and a few travel gripes about them.

Queuing is sometimes said to be a British trait, and I can’t think of a place where you will spend more time in several different queues than at airports. There is the queue for check-in. If you’ve checked in online, then you may still have one at the bag drop. Hand luggage only? Well fast forward to the queue at security. Once you’ve passed through there, you’ll find another one at the gate - why do people insist on queueing to get on the flight - you’ve got a seat, just wait until your row is called….the plane will not leave without you!

Security is paramount these days, with so many scary things going on in the world, and I don’t have a problem going through the process if it means we’ll all travel more safely. What I do take issue with is that security person we’ve all come across who clearly feels more important than the rest. On a recent flight I had one lady in security put a tray in front of me for my hand luggage case - fine. She then said I needed to put my handbag in another one - fine. However I think the 3rd tray for my shoes; a 4th tray for my liquids, and a 5th tray for my laptop was a little excessive. As a result of that she created another queue at the security belt as I waited for my 5 trays to come through. Overkill? I think so!

My final gripe of the day is my biggest bug bear of all, and it takes place when collecting luggage at your destination. Whenever possible I fly with hand luggage only - there is nothing more satisfying than just walking out of the airport knowing you can start your holiday there and then without the tiresome wait for bags. I do appreciate though, that there are times when travelling with a case is necessary, and this is where my complaint comes in. When standing by the luggage carousel…now think about it people…..the yellow line is there for a reason. If you stand one inch from the carousel, no one else can see past you, and then everyone creeps forward. If you stand back behind the line - WE CAN ALL SEE OUR BAGS COMING! I’d love to install an electric fence, to shock those who stand beyond the line - an extreme measure, but for the rest of you laughing when you’re reading this and thinking it drives you mad too, not a bad idea either right?

What drives you nuts when you’re travelling? If you have something you’d like to add to the list, then feel free to add it in the comments section below! Rant over - back to the joys of travel!