I have so many great experiences traveling through various modes of transport. Trains, planes, the back of van, and long haul buses. While I love the actual travel part, I just can’t bear the waiting to leave part. I think this stems from the hours and hours I had to wait for my sister to finish her multitude of after school sports, so we could just go already. So as you can imagine, hanging around to get on flight at out of Joburg at OR Tambo International airport can be really annoying. These are some of my hacks that I use to keep me sane when I have a long wait at the airport.
Do Errands
I often find myself late getting to the airport because of my life admin. I need to go to the bank, do a sim swap, grab lunch, do my nails… all admin before I can leave for the airport. Now, I just leave home earlier and take my admin to the airport and do it there. Check in your bags, get your boarding pass and then do admin, without still worrying about getting to the airport. The banks there have full branches and are open till late, get a manicure before your flight, have lunch. All at the airport.
Get some work done
Bring your laptop, hop onto the free airport wi-fi and get some work done. Find a spot overlooking the runways as there is less foot traffic there and there are plugs between the chairs. If your credit card allows, check into the airport lounge for way better wi-fi and snacks (mine does not and that’s how I know where the plugs are!).
Arrive early
Arrive early and try where possible to take the train or get dropped off. If you do need to drive and are travelling more than 3 days, park in the long term parking. It’s a lot cheaper and as safe.
Make sure you don’t miss your flight with all this time saving. It’s easy to zone out and with airports now going silent, you do not want to be left stranded due to excessive planning.
This post is a collaboration with Travelstart. Opinions are my own.