Air Travel

From LoveToKnow Travel

A

C

D

D cont.

E

I

O

P

R

S


Air travel is the way to get around the country and the world in the 21st century. Dozens of domestic airlines and hundreds of international carriers whisk passengers to the farthest points around the globe. No longer reserved for the elite, air travel is safe, convenient, and one of the few services that has actually decreased with inflation over the last twenty-five years. Say that about car travel!

Security

Airport security has become a fact of life. Plan on arriving at the airport at least an hour and a half prior to your flight for domestic flights and two and a half hours in advance of an overseas flight. All passengers are required to be screened thoroughly by airport security personnel. This means that you must place all of your carry-on items through the security X-ray device as well as remove your shoes and walk through the security scanner. Make sure that you don’t have any prohibited items on your person or in your carry-on bags. These can be as innocent as a wine corkscrew or a small pocketknife, even cuticle scissors. Randomly selected individuals are also selected for a more complete search. If you are chosen, it is wise to cooperate calmly or risk missing your flight.

Overseas Air Travel

Overseas air travel requires that you carefully check the documentation requirements of the countries you plan to visit. Most countries require that you carry a valid passport. Those that don’t currently require a passport, such as Canada and many Caribbean countries, will soon change their requirements. Besides, a passport is always the best form of identification. Many counties, such as Australia, Russia, and many eastern European countries, require tourists to obtain a visa in order to enter the country. A visa is an official document stamped directly into your passport permitting you entry into the issuing country for a specified period of time. You will be required to show your documentation when you check in for your flight. Passengers without the proper documents will be denied boarding.

Customs

All passengers returning from a foreign country must pass through US customs. This can be somewhat casual, as when crossing the Canadian border, or very formal, as when arriving at New York’s Kennedy airport. You will be handed a customs form to complete prior to meeting with a customs official. This form asks basic personal information, what you purchased while overseas, and if you have any restricted items with you. Prohibited and restricted items include plant materials and seeds, live animals, animal products (like sausage, cheese, etc.), and copyrighted and trademarked items (legitimate items are ok; pirated items are not.) Basically, US citizens are permitted to bring back $800 worth of items from overseas every 30 days without being subject to duty. This allowance increases to $1600 if the traveler has visited a US possession, such as the US Virgin Islands, Guam, or American Samoa. Additional restrictions apply to alcoholic beverages and tobacco products. As these regulations change frequently, it is wise to check the current policies before you travel.

Retrieved from "http://travel.lovetoknow.com/wiki/Category:Air_Travel"

 

Travel Categories
LoveToKnow Tools