Airport Tips & Tricks

What it is really like to travel now.

Arrival

We arrived at the airport with 2.5 hours to spare. Way too early! I would say 2 hours would have been more than enough time. Checking in was easy. You are not required to wear a mask until you get to security. About half of the airport passengers had masks on and all airport employees are required to wear masks. We used the kiosk to print baggage tags, then took the bags to the desk. Over-weight again…I even have a scale at home to check my bag, but was rushed and forgot. So, I was slapped with a $75 overage fee- haha, a sense of normalcy!

Airport Cleanliness

The airport itself is clean clean clean. You won’t find dirty bathrooms or overflowing trash bins.
There are plexiglass petitions at cashier stations. I noticed more hand sanitizing stations throughout the airport as well.

Airport Dining

Restaurants are still not completely open and there were no dine-in options. Takeout was the only option in the Southwest terminal. Kids enjoyed grilled cheese sandwiches and fries from Coney Island. My husband and I opted for healthy snacks in the news store, I wish I had known this ahead of time as I would have packed healthy food from home.

Security

Security was easy and very much like before, remove electronics, food, shoes, etc. However, I did notice some new security measures.   When we approached TSA, we were told that each of us must hold our own boarding pass. Both of my children were asked to identify their parents. I found this strange. So I asked the agent why, she shared that this new rule was mandated to help prevent human trafficking. So glad, that more measures are taken to protect innocent children.

I was also randomly selected after passing through the TSA security pass through. They asked for a laptop or a phone. I handed them my cell phone and they wiped it on all sides and placed in their machine to screen it. Totally different than the random pat-downs, we are used to.

Boarding

Passengers are respectful and keep a distance. They do not congregate. Once boarding begins, only 10 people can stand in line to board. And 6 feet apart marked by stickers on the floor. The jet bridge only had 5-10 people at a time.  Although our plane was at the “new” capacity, there was more room than normal due to the “empty” middle seat requirement. On Southwest, this rule will apply through July 2020. I didn’t hear anyone coughing, partly due to the change/cancellation policies in place. Currently, there is no penalty for changing your flight if you are sick, or for any other reason.

In Flight

Purchase water/beverages and snacks ahead of time as there is no typical beverage and food service allowed.  We were offered pretzels and a small bottled water.  You cannot congregate near the restrooms.

Future Travel

We spoke to a police officer for 15 min. He shared that Spirit Airlines has been operating only 8 flights per day out of DTW. Next week they move to 28 flights per day, so travel is ramping up again.

Overall, we felt safe and secure traveling again.  More to come about our experience at our resort in Vail, Colorado:  The Ritz Carlton Residence Vail.