How to avoid a travel nightmare when flying over the holidays

HEBRON, Ky. — CVG is expecting nearly a half million travelers over the holidays. It will be busy, so you want to ensure you’re prepared.

Flying during the holidays is quite the beast. While flight cancellations and delays may be out of your hands, there are some things you can control to improve your experience.

Here’s your pre-flight checklist of what to do ahead of time to make sure it’s smooth sailing come travel day.

“Almost everything somebody can do to make their day easier when traveling is actually done before you even get to the airport,” said Monica Bowen, a travel agent with Travel Byrds.

Bowen shared her best advice for a stress-free holiday travel experience.
 
“I think one thing to know and to really think about during this peak travel time is that baggage and trip delays are way more common,” Bowen said.

Stress-free travel starts with strategic packing. Bowen said you should keep items like a change of clothes, a toothbrush and medication in your carry-on.

“That way if your bag is delayed, you’re not completely left stranded,” she said

Before you head out, make sure you have flight notifications activated on your airline’s app on your phone.

“If you have your alerts on, you’ll instantly know, OK, my gate changed, OK, my flights delayed 10 minutes, different things like that,” Bowen said.

Bowen said you should plan your parking ahead of time too.

It’s $22 a day to park in the CVG terminal lot.

Or you could park down the road at CVG’s ValuPark for $11 a day or the economy lot for $9 a day. There’s a 24/7 shuttle that will take you to the airport.

You can make going through security seamless, she said, “if you have Clear or global entry … synced days before you leave.”

You may want to wait to wrap your gifts. Otherwise, TSA may unwrap them if an officer needs to inspect them.

“If you’re bringing presents, bring them unwrapped,” CVG Director of Communications Mindy Kershner said. “You can bring your wrapping paper with you and wrap at your destination, or we do have some free gift-wrapping opportunities in the concourses.”

Federal refund rules should help eliminate some of the financial stresses of cancellations.
 
“It’s an instant stress relief, right? You know now that you’re not gonna have to get on an 800 number with an airline and sit for hours, it’s gonna be automatically refunded for you,” Bowen said.

Make sure you give yourself plenty of time. You want to be walking through the doors at the airport two hours before your flight — especially during peak holiday travel.

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