Airports are notoriously painful. The Los Angeles International Airport, in particular, has a reputation of being slow, tedious, and crowded! While lines and delays may be inevitable on some days, making a typical flight at LAX is not as difficult as it is reputed to be. No matter where in the world you are headed, it's actually not too hard to make it through in no time at all! My personal record for making it from the USC campus to my GATE is under 18 minutes! While my record time only applies to LAX, I could make it through any airport unconscionably fast using my dad's airport system:
1. Do some research!
First of all, you need to know exactly what terminal and gate you are going to in order to avoid having to take a train or a bus. Additionally, every airport and every terminal has a different system, so if you really need to make it through fast, prepare in advance to make sure you know the ways in which you can bypass a line or two! Some airports have separate lines for families with children, some simply have lines that tend to go faster than others! Either way, it is important to know in advance what you are getting into.
2. Uber, never drive
Trying to deal with airport parking is a rookie mistake. They charge astronomical parking rates or force you to park ridiculously far away and take a shuttle. While you might be a faster driver than any chauffer out there, getting dropped off shaves precious minutes off of your airport time. To reduce this amount even more, I would suggest scheduling an Uber in advance so that a driver will be ready to pick you up exactly when you need them to!
3. Take a carryon-no checked bags except for skycap!
Having to wait in the line to check bags is time consuming in itself, without even factoring in the many delays that figuring out how to check the bag can create! Not only does this save you time, but it also allows you to be later to the airport! To check a bag, you are typically required to be at the airport at least 45 minutes before your flight takes off. By using this system, you could get to the airport 20 minutes before your flight leaves and be totally fine! However, if your trip details require you to take a bag, be sure to use skycap outside of the airport, as they will check your bag no matter how late you are for your flight!
4. Most importantly-CLEAR CLEAR CLEAR
This is the real trick to avoiding spending your whole day at the airport. CLEAR Is a service that basically lets you skip the security line. You walk up to a kiosk, scan your fingerprint and boarding pass, and a CLEAR employee will escort you past the entire security line. Having both this and TSA Pre-Check cuts the time I spend in security on a busy day from 20 minutes to less than 2 minutes. While it does require an annual fee, CLEAR offers a three-month free trial that is ABSOLUTELY worth it.
Good luck and bon voyage:)
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