Please help - never flown before

[TweeBee]

DH's friend is getting married in Paris and we are excited to go, with the children. However none of us have ever been on a plane before. We are not scared of flying but we are very aware that we haven't a clue on what exactly happens when you get to the airport and that there will probably be loads of people who do know what to do and we don't want to get in the way!
I wish they did those first experiences books for adults!
Can anyone recommend a website or video or something we could watch or read to help us please? Or give us any tips?

Yes you can absolutely buy whatever liquids you want once you are "air side", so through security and into the area where you wait to find out what gate you need. (by looking at the screens, your flight comes up and will show you wbat gate to walk to).

Loads of shops and restaurants air side. If you are hand luggage only you could take no toiletries at all through security and buy them all air side assuming you can fit them in your bag.

Hiw I managed to get the word 'airport' 4 times into a very small paragraph is beyond me.

www.manchesterairport.co.uk/help/passenger-guides/first-time-flyers/

My tip for liquids in the hold is to give them a squeeze with the lid off before closing the lid, the pressure in the aircraft often makes them expand and they can leak.

Also you will need to go to the gate far earlier than you think, they like to board people early to allow for latecomers and to ensure they are ready to go on time. So sometimes you are going through security and then straight to the gate. As others have said watch the screens for the gate number and when it says go to gate head there!

Hope you have a good time

If you're going within Easyjet, make 100% sure your cabin bag is the correct size (it's on their website). If it's even a smidge over and doesn't fit in one of their size checker thingies, they'll happily charge you on the spot (somewhere between £40-£60 per bag, each way). I got stung once (own fault for not checking!!) and I'm a bit religious about it now.

How long are you going for? If just a few days, consider driving to the airport and leaving your car. If you book parking in advance you’ll pay around £70 depending on length of stay.
if you’re checking bags in, make sure your bag is under the size / weight restriction.
Check in is usually online and opens 24 hours or so before the flight. If you check in online, you just take your case to the bag drop.
Then once you’ve dropped your bags, you go through security. Your hand luggage goes into trays through a scanner and you also walk through a body scanner. You might get a body check which is nothing to worry about - just a quick pat down.
After security you’re in the departures lounge. Food and drink is expensive there! Check which gate you’re departing from on the boards. When you go to the departure gate, you might have another long wait. Cabin crew will call passengers up by category.
the flight to Paris will be very short.

Yes, you can take reusable water bottles.
Lots of airports have water fountains so if you want to have them in your hand luggage, you can fill them once you have gone past security.

Also with Easyjet check, double check and triple check the size of the carry on luggage bags you're allowed now as they have form for reducing the size and making you pay extra at the gate to put it in the hold...

And be prepared for food etc costing a lot if you eat at the airport (though that'll prepare you for Paris prices a bit!). At security they will ask you to put anything metal and electronic in the trays - keys, earrings, belts, phones, laptops, tablets, cameras etc. You can buy deodorant etc at Boots, water at Smiths or other outlets past security but do check their opening hours before you fly especially if your flight is very early or late (I was horrified at how little choice there was at Newcastle last time we had a flight out of there after 7.30pm but Manchester is a lot bigger and busier or certainly used to be).

You'll usually be asked to take jackets and even heavy cardigans off and put them in trays as well. I'm not sure about Manchester as it's years since I've flown from there but personally I try to wear slip on shoes if possible as I've often been asked to put boots in the trays as well. Some airport security has seats and even tables once you're through to give you a chance to sort yourself out, others are a bit more scrabbly.

Everything should be very well signed though and even smaller airports often have automatic passport and boarding pass scanners now and will often just let you scan the codes from your phone. Again, not sure about the Manchester setup.

Enjoy the experience, anyway, and the wedding!

Easyjet have a big presence at Manchester T1. The machines to print out your own tags for bag drop can be a bit hit and miss, but there are staff around so ask for help if you need it.
Manchester is very busy, and security can be slow, so I would recommend being there 3 hours before departure and making sure that you know exactly what to do 're carry on luggage.
Then make sure you keep an eye on departure boards, because it can be a bit of a walk to the gate.

Also screenshot the qr boarding passcode. Or take a photo of it with another phone. The Internet is great until it doesn't work.

Or with an iPhone you can add it to your wallet so it's accessible.

For your first trip I would also recommend printing the boarding passes as with 4 people having them on a phone is more of a faff at the checks.

You can’t really print them with EasyJet but they’re saved to the App which you can access if you’re not online.

I always take the DC's empty water bottles in hand luggage and then either buy water at duty free to fill them or when departing from a UK airport, go to Wetherspoons for a pre flight meal/drink and fill them up for free from the water fountain they provide - usually either at end of bar or next to coffee stuff.

@Changingplace really? But what about older people without smart phones who check in on a lap top? We use Ryanair more than EasyJet so I didn't know that, although do have a flight booked with them this year, without the kids though so I'm fine just using the app myself.

OP you can print them according to EasyJet and I would recommend it for a first time travelling family. The airlines and travel journalists recommended this to everyone who had to travel during the height of covid travel as phones do slow people down when they have multiple documents or codes to scan. Phone is fine but the paper boarding passes tucked into your passports will make things slightly easier for you IME.

www.easyjet.com/en/help/booking-and-check-in/check-in