Never Use This TikTok Travel “hack”
A “travel hack” is currently being circulated on TikTok promising to get you securely to the front of the line when you board your flight and/or let you through to the TSA security line. I’m not going to share the video because it’s rubbish, but this is how it works: you pretend to be hurt, even say you need a wheelchair. The airline is not going to call you a liar; they will put you in a wheelchair and put you at the front of the line so that you can pre-seat and use the entire piece of hand luggage. Sometimes they also push you past that long line of guards. This is what is known as the asshole move.
Pretending you need wheelchair accessibility is great for you, but not for the people who actually need the wheelchair you’re sitting in, and not for the people you just jumped in front of. If you take advantage of others like this, you are a bad person.
But apparently there are a lot of bad people out there. Fake injury has become so popular that Heathrow Airport CEO John Holland-Kay has cited it as one of the reasons Heathrow has become such a travel nightmare of late.
“Demand for passengers needing wheelchair support has been greater than before the pandemic. This is partly due to people using wheelchair support to get through the airport quickly, ” Holland-Kay told the London Broadcast Company . “This is absolutely wrong. We need to protect this for the people who need help the most,” he added.
I usually disagree with executives who blame consumers for their company’s problems, but in this case I’m making an exception, even if part of the problem is undoubtedly the continued lack of workers willing to accept the low wages they seem to be paying. . airports-assistant-disabled. Whatever the reason, it’s very bad when more than 20 disabled passengers get stuck at the airport gate in one day, as reportedly happened recently at Heathrow Airport .
How to get through airport security ethically faster
There are ways you can speed up your journey through that dreaded TSA checkpoint on your next vacation without having to be a complete bastard.
- Download and use the MyTSA App : This app will keep you up to date on possible delays, weather conditions and security line waiting times.
- Book an early flight : With an early departure, you are less likely to have long waits at security and your flight is less likely to be delayed.
- Dress appropriately and tidy up your hand luggage: it’s amateur hour to show up with prohibited items in your hand luggage or hard-to-remove shoes.
- Have ID and Tickets/Boarding Pass Ready: The number of people who seem surprised when asked to show their boarding passes and ID at security is unbelievable.
- Enroll in TSA Pre-Check, Global Entry or Clear programs : TSA PreCheck allows you to sit down without removing your shoes, belt and light jacket. Global Entry provides faster entry into the US for low-risk international travelers. Clear allows registered travelers to quickly verify their identity through contactless biometric security kiosks. All these programs cost money, but they save you time.
- Be patient : Once you’ve cleared the TSA and are waiting to board your flight, simply accept that you’re in Group B and that the plane will depart at the same time, whether you’re the first or last to board it.
Check out this article for more tips on how to bypass security as quickly as possible.