Now that school holidays are officially underway, Gatwick airport have announced they have 400 new security staff starting ahead of the busy summer season.
Long queues have been adding to the stress at the start of people’s holidays, so the airport have also added a few helpful tips which you can do, to make airport security a much smoother process.
The top five items’ passengers most frequently forget to remove from hand luggage before screening, are toothpaste, Vaseline, cigarette lighters, inhalers and hand sanitiser.
In recent weeks, around 10,000 hand luggage items going through the scanner are currently rejected and need to be searched every day. This adds an average of five minutes to the time taken to pass through security.
Travel tips being promoted by Gatwick
1. Get Set for Security: Before reaching security, remove your laptop, tablet or similar electronic devices from your hand luggage to be inspected separately. Coats, jackets and belts should also be removed and remember, you can only take liquids in individual containers with a maximum capacity of 100ml on the plane. Each item should be removed from hand luggage and placed in a transparent, re-sealable plastic bag of not more than one litre capacity per passenger.
2. Check Travel Requirements: Double-check travel requirements to and from your chosen destination before you leave for the airport and make sure you have the correct documentation ready at check-in.
3. Arrive On Time: Passengers are advised to arrive at the airport as soon as check-in opens for their flight. Typically, this is 3 hours for long-haul and 2-2 ½ for short haul
4. Keep Travel Essentials Handy: Make sure your tickets and boarding pass, travel insurance, driving licence, currency and credit cards are safe but easily accessible, carry a charger for your smartphone and have your airline information ready.
5. Let’s Stay Friendly & take it easy: Let’s always treat others how we would like to be treated. Our teams are really going to great lengths to make your airport experience as pleasant as possible. Please be mindful to interact with them with kindness and courtesy. We are at your entire disposal and here to help!
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