What are your pet hates whilst travelling through airports?

[DoooooWhoop]

Mine are as follows:

Having to walk through stinky perfume shops on the way to the gates.

In the queue for security why do people stand so close behind you? Forever getting bashed or they push in whilst you're trying to sort your stuff into the security trays.

Being called to the gate too early, and then having to sit for AGES and can't get to the toilets.

So humour is with your pet peeves at airports.

@FloweryName Yeah that maybe works if you pack at home and don't touch anything until you're in security. So if you and all your kids, none of you need your purse/car keys/hair brush/lipstick/house keys/bottle of water/tissue/medication/snacks/toys for four hours while you travel to the airport and go through bag drop, it's perfect.

Not being able to get anywhere to sit or any half decent food unless you go in the Lounges.

I love the perfumes and duty free, no cheaper but it's a ritual to pick the holiday perfumes.

Airport security is my pet hate no use of profiling to select who to search, so we often get picked out for "random" searches. Hint the mum with three bags and a screaming child isn't a likely candidate for anything remotely interesting!! Sure you want to go through my handbag and find the lipstick that I forgot about and likely predates DS be my guest. DS will just deafen you in the process god I'm glad he's older now!

Our local airport is one of the first to get the new scanners and it is amazing back to bag on the belt and away you go! Sooo much better, I can remember four years ago we went to the US they were checking guns quicker than it takes to get through a UK airport.

Agree with the posters saying people who seem never to have traveled before and are completely disorganised in the security queue. DO NOT WAIT until it’s your turn to start taking stuff out people.

the lack of charging points - never had a USB at an airport seat that actually worked. I think they’re all decorative.

Those people who line themselves and their entire family up around the baggage carousel You can see your own luggage doing laps but can't break through their impenetrable wall of children (who are too small to lift luggage off the carousel anyway)to get to it.

Besides everything else mentioned, the temperature, I always get so sweaty 😅

People who get to the trays unprepared then start faffing getting belts off, liquids out etc.

If they're small enough you can just hoick them onto the carousel. Gets them out the way and keeps them entertained - no screens!

Seating that is so uncomfortable it can only have been designed to discourage people from sitting for too long.

Don't they realise that's all we have to do once we're there!

At my local airport it's the loos or rather lack of them - only 3 ladies loos in each block and only 3 blocks, 2 of which were closed last time I was there, ok it wasn't a peak time but I don't appreciate a queue of 15 to use a toilet. I'm going away on my next holiday in 2 weeks and they better have fixed them in the last 6 months!

The noise, the people....

But you sort it at the entrance to security then,at the bit where they give out the plastic bags. How often do you need to give calpol in the security queue? And if you do it'll be even easier as it's in a bag in your hand.

I grab a handful of the clear plastic bags at security then, when I'm packing my hand luggage at home I put any liquids straight into the clear bag, so all I have to do is lift it out at security.

Having landed at Heathrow less than an hour ago after flying from Singapore, my pet peeve is people who try to board the plane before their boarding group is called. Also people who have enormous hardshell cases as carry-on. It may well be within the size limit but it takes up too much space in the lockers!

From last weeks nightmare 4.5 hour flight, the three vomiting children on our flight. They were sick all over the floor as we were in departures, and sick pretty much the whole journey. All pre-teens. The smell. The noise. And of course they were all seated within 3 rows of us. Nightmare. Why they were allowed to board is anyone’s guess.

We have the same husband.

Surely you sort this back out in the departures section before you get into the security line?

My method is:

1. Separate tiny handbag which fits a purse big enough for my passport and my phone in. Nothing else. Fits into rucksack for boarding.

1. Liquids in clear plastic bag at top of rucksack. If you need to get anything out that's not a liquid just remove the liquids bag and put it back. Alternatively if you need a liquid open liquid bag and reseal.

1. All electronics with batteries in their own bag within the rucksack for easy removal - again, remove and replace as required.

1. An outfit with no metal other than my watch so it can be easily removed and a quick walk through security.

The above makes both my day and everyone else's trip through security more pleasant and efficient.

People complaining that I've 'pushed in' because passport control need me through early as they need to get my wheelchair on board the plane so they can take off on time. I'd rather not be first on the plane and last off, I'd rather be able to stand in a queue with the rest of you, I'd rather my dc didn't have to here people complaining.

People complaining when it takes me longer to go through security (wheelchair and medication checks).

My wheelchair being taken to the luggage carousel and then Manchester Airport forgetting to send a wheelchair escort. Always Manchester.

I’ve always wished they would do miniature selections and smaller bottles at duty free.

The price of food.

Other people and their feral children. Most people seem completely unaware that there are other people around them.

Although we tend to book lounges nowadays

Yes to the stinky perfume shop and even worse if people spray themselves with them before boarding and force everyone near them to breathe them in for hours.

Not enough seats in the terminal so people mill around aimlessly.

No proper walkways through seating areas so you trip over people's legs and suitcases on your way to the gate.

I once got held up for an hour at immigration by a huge family who had filled out their landing cards, then the oldest man in the party (of around 25 adults and numerous children) had collected them all up and put them in a Sainsbury's bag, loose, with all the passports. They had to be emptied out and each one matched with the individual passports for every single person.
I was losing the will to live by the time they sorted it all out.

I don’t understand anyone who doesn’t get to the front of the security queue with their liquids in a plastic bag ready for the tray, whatever chaos they’ve been in on the way to the airport. There are so many opportunities to do this. You don’t need to be holding anything in your hand when you get to security other than the things that come out of your luggage; everything else can be in the bag, including passports, tickets, boarding passes.