The key to a hassle-free travel experience is sufficient preparation, a process that begins way before you board your flight toward your destination. What happens from the moment you book your flight to the moment you step off the plane? There are numerous details to consider and tasks to complete. 

Even if you aren’t an inexperienced traveler, this can be daunting under circumstances whereby you are visiting a new city or embarking on a longer flight towards a different time zone.

Before a flight, prioritize preparing flight logistics from packing to airport navigation and ensuring in-flight comfort. In addition, plan for post-flight items like local transport and internet access to avoid delays upon landing. Remember to tackle home maintenance and plan for unexpected events.

If this sounds daunting to you, this article presents a rather foolproof pre-flight checklist comprising 27 must-dos and tips to ensure that things don’t go wrong before, during, or right after your flight. 

It’s designed to streamline the pre-flight process and help you navigate complexities with ease, wherever you’re headed. This would leave you with more time to focus on the excitement and anticipation of your trip.

Let me know if I missed any items that you think should be added to this list.

Understanding Flight Preparation: From Purchase to Boarding

First, you should set the stage for a stress-free and enjoyable travel experience. Flight preparation begins the moment you book your flight.

Flight preparation begins with selecting flight class and itinerary details, including add-ons like seat selection, extra luggage, or meals that can alter your flight experience. From organizing flight details to seamless airport navigation and boarding, you must be prepared for every step of the process.

However, these flight-specific preparations alone would not suffice. Conceptualize your pre-flight prep by thinking about your whole travel experience. 

Thus, the preparations should go beyond your flight itself. You must also understand and prepare for the following:

• Post-flight activities: After you land at your destination, you don’t want to waste time in the airport looking up local transportation options toward your Airbnb, or hastily buy an unideal SIM card for internet access.
• Maintenance at home and work: Think ahead about keeping things running in the domains of “home” and “work” while you’re away. Otherwise, your flight and travel experience will be disrupted.
• Contingencies: Before flying, you should get travel insurance, back up important documents digitally (including your passport and e-boarding pass), and consider sharing your accommodation details with trusted family members and friends. While emergencies might not happen, you must be prepared for unexpected scenarios.

Remember that your flight is just a vehicle — you have a trip to embark on upon arriving at your destination. Most logistics are best tackled before flying to ensure a successful trip.

Surviving Airport Navigation

Preparing yourself for airport day is a huge component of flight prep and a stressful experience for many travelers. 

In general, preparing for the airport entails strategic packing, familiarizing yourself with airport and airline regulations, and managing emotions and stress. Plan ahead to allow time for buying essentials and packing, thus mitigating problems and delays during security screenings and boarding.

While it’s possible to prepare for the airport the night before, especially for short flights to familiar destinations, airport preparations usually begin several days or even weeks in advance.

Here are examples of activities that must be done early: 

• Choosing appropriate travel bags or buying them — The wrong bags can make flight boarding or even airport and trip navigation a hassle.
• Creating a packing list
• Packing for unfamiliar destinations in different parts of the globe

Navigating through airports can be daunting, especially for inexperienced travelers or when visiting unfamiliar airports. Understanding the layout, amenities, and procedures can greatly enhance your airport experience and reduce stress.

If you need very specific tips for navigating airports, check out this guide for first-time or inexperienced flyers which details every stage of the process, from passing through airport security to completing the logistics of boarding your flight.

Using Pre-Flight Checklists Based on Specific Criteria

Let’s talk about checklists. If international travel is in your long-term plans and not just something you’d do a few times in your lifetime, you should use checklists. 

Checklists are a systematic way of getting things done. Not only would a checklist streamline your pre-flight prep, it ensures you do not miss anything significant. 

A checklist may be optional for organizing general tasks, but it is especially important for travel since you are dealing with critical items that could make or break your entire trip.

Pre-flight checklists are not one-size-fits-all. Depending on factors such as your travel experience, destination, and flight duration, your checklist may vary.

Here’s how to tailor your pre-flight checklist based on certain criteria, to meet your specific needs.

Criteria 1: Cities, countries, or regions you never visited

If you’re traveling to a new and unfamiliar city or region, there are extra items to consider before your flight.

Before flying, it would benefit you to familiarize yourself with the country’s airport and local transportation options, so that you know how to navigate upon landing.

Regarding apps, consider downloading country-specific apps for 1) communicating with locals/businesses and 2) critical services such as e-hailing apps for commute. Here’s an example of a popular tourist destination, Thailand, where apps like Bolt and LINE that you may not utilize anywhere else may gain you advantages when purchasing local services. We’ll explore more details below.

Download a language translation app if you do not already have one. 

Gathering information on local customs can also help ease your journey. Saving a few popular places to visit on Google Maps can ease your journey upon arrival, especially for the first day.

Criteria 2: Mid or Long Haul Flights

For flights that are not short-haul, extra preparation will help. Certainly, long-haul flights (beyond six hours) are a different ball game and extra prep is essential.

Such additional steps can greatly increase your comfort and enjoyment onboard a longer flight:

• Preparing your sleeping environment 
• Preparing your flight attire
• Minimizing jet lag
• Planning meals

27 Pre-Flight Items to Complete Before Taking Off

Without further ado, let’s have a comprehensive breakdown of 27 pre-flight items to complete before taking off. 

They are sorted by timeline, such that the first few items on the list should typically be done first, before going further down the list.

While this list is designed to be as comprehensive as possible, not every item will be relevant to you — as alluded to in the sections above, not all journeys are alike. Using this checklist, ignore or remove the items that are not necessary for your next trip. 

1. Organize your flight details

Timeframe: Two months before your flight (this is the minimum window of time for advanced flight booking to get the best options and prices)

Once you book your flight, plan and organize your calendar. Do this immediately so you can conveniently view your flight and itinerary details at a glance. Alternatively, you can go back into your emails later to look for the details.

You should save these important details for flight check-in and navigation at the airport:

• flight number
• departure terminal
• booking reference number
• flight departure time

Avoid having to fumble about and looking up these details at the last minute. 

Based on these details, you should determine your targeted arrival time at the airport and mode of transport to the airport.

2. Create your packing list a month in advance

Timeframe: A month before your flight

Necessary for: Cities, countries, or regions you have never visited

Create a packing list a month in advance so that you do not have to scramble for last-minute purchases or forget important items later. Your packing list will alert you to items you have and do not have. A month would give you time to plan your purchases, refine your packing list, and fulfill your trip logistics.

If you’re traveling to a familiar country or region and already have a packing list set up, you won’t have to do this again. Simply reuse your old packing list, barring a few improvements or subtractions you might make especially if you are an overpacker (most travelers are).

Instead, reconsider your packing list if you are traveling under certain conditions, such as the following:

• You’re traveling to an unfamiliar city/region. For example, making adjustments to your default packing list is relevant to a Westerner traveling to Asia, or an Asian traveling to South America for the first time. 
• Check the weather. If you’ve planned on wearing flip flops and shorts but the weather at your destination is rainy, you will be underprepared and wet.
• If you are concerned about safety and security, you might need more time to invest in tools. You might want a more secure backpack or learn to pack more strategically to prevent theft.

You can look up packing lists and tips for your specific destination city online.

This article was originally published on unboundist.com. If it is now published on any other site, it was done without permission from the copyright owner.

3. Plan your itinerary

Timeframe: A month before your flight

Start planning your itinerary a month in advance. I like to do this early. This can ensure you make the most of your trip. At least do a rough sketch of 5-10 places you’ll visit by saving them on Google Maps and organizing them into the relevant day of your trip.

Don’t forget to make reservations, especially if you are meeting people for meals or events, or visiting landmarks with a fee incurred. Likewise, medical appointments should be secured in advance.

4. Choose the right travel bags

Timeframe: A month before your flight

You can skip this step if you already have a reliable carry-on bag and personal item that you do not plan on changing.

Otherwise, decide early on the bags you would bring on a trip. You do not want to scramble to purchase a bag at the last minute, or re-do your packing by shifting items from one bag to another due to indecisiveness. 

Your choice of bags depends on the purpose of your trip and your itinerary. Here are many types of bags to consider taking onboard a plane — ensure that you select bags with appropriate dimensions for air travel:

• A laptop backpack is a common choice for business travel.
• A tote or duffel bag can give more versatility for shopping.
• A rolling suitcase can offer extra ease and maneuverability.

5. Download essential travel apps

Timeframe: A month before your flight

When you are in the itinerary planning phase, you might as well download your travel apps early. 

Here is a list of apps that you should have ready on your smartphone whenever you travel. This list can spare you from inconveniences. I view most of these apps as essential, such as:

• Airline app for viewing your flight details
• Important third-party apps: If you booked your flight through a third party, download both the apps of the third-party platform and the airline you are flying with. Any changes or disruptions to your flight will often be reflected online.
• Important backups on your phone: Have important documents like your passport, visa, and e-boarding pass backed up digitally, both locally on your smartphone and on cloud storage (such as Google Drive, Dropbox, or iCloud) for convenient access.

You won’t have to do this again if you have set up all your essential travel apps on previous international trips in the past. if you are flying with the same airlines and using the same accommodation booking platform every time (such as Airbnb for Agoda), this can be a one-off task. 

6. Download country-specific apps

Useful for: Cities, countries, or regions that you have never visited

In contrast to the travel apps discussed above, this second set of apps is country-specific. They are apps that are widely used in the country or region you are visiting, that you may not utilize in your home country.

These are usually optional before a flight. If you are short on time, you can download these apps after you arrive at your destination. If you do, there are often cost and/or convenience benefits, saving you potentially time and money.

A general example is that if you are visiting the region of Southeast Asia for the first time, rather than Uber, you would want to download the e-hailing app Grab which is widely used throughout Southeast Asian cities. This could save you money and offer an alternative to flagging taxis and other modes of local transport. 

• A country-specific app would be the e-hailing app Bolt in Thailand, which isn’t utilized in any other Southeast Asian city. It can offer cheaper prices, and having Bolt as an option in addition to Grab can help you find a ride quicker. 
• For more convenience and options, you can also download communication apps like LINE to connect with locals and businesses.

7. Gather information on local transportation

Useful for: Cities, countries, or regions that you have never visited

While planning your itinerary, research transportation options at your destination, such as public transit, rental cars, or rideshare services, to navigate efficiently.

If you are making last-minute preparations, here’s a tip: Do this before boarding a plane while you have WiFi, so you can immediately hop on local transport upon landing. Make use of the waiting time before boarding to work on urgent logistics and itinerary-related matters!

8. Make home maintenance arrangements

Timeframe: A month before your flight (or less)

Make home maintenance arrangements for the duration you are away. Some of you may have less maintenance work to do than others. Here are some examples:

• Reschedule regular monthly housekeeping
• Arrange for someone’s help to water your plants
• Arrange for someone to take care of your pets

Don’t neglect this step. Keep things going smoothly back home to avoid dealing with problems when you return from your trip.

9. Pack

Timeframe: A month before your flight (or less)

Depending on your level of travel experience and where you are headed, you might choose to pack as late as the night before, or as early as a month in advance.

If you’re packing weeks in advance, not everything can be packed at once; prepare your bags in multiple stages.

Obtain medications and prescriptions from your doctor in advance.

Unless you have a clean set of clothes already set aside for travel, you may have to plan and do laundry several days before your flight. Put that date in your calendar.

Prepare your bathroom bag as per the liquids rule for a smooth airport security screening. It holds your toiletries and personal care items. Here are quick tips on strategically preparing your bathroom bag for time efficiency and organization.

10. Prepare your sleeping environment for a flight

Essential for: Long-haul flights and flights during the nightime

Timeframe: A week or less before your flight

Optimizing your sleeping environment on a long-haul flight can significantly enhance your comfort and restfulness during the journey.

Briefly, here are some things you should do:

• Pack sleep essentials like a travel pillow, blanket, and eye mask
• Prepare comfortable clothing that keeps you warm during the night and allows for freedom of movement and relaxation (avoid tight or restrictive clothing). Examples are a comfortable top and loose-fitting pants or leggings and a jacket.
• Adjust your sleep schedule in the days leading up to your flight to align with the time zone of your destination. This can help minimize the effects of jet lag and make it easier to fall asleep during the flight.

11. Prepare your flight attire

Essential for: Long-haul flights

Timeframe: A week or less before your flight

While you might be able to get away with dressing inadequately on a short-haul flight, you must dress for utmost comfort for a longer flight.

Here are some quick ideas to guide your preparation:

• Layering: Dress in layers so you can adjust your clothing to the temperature on the plane. Temperatures can vary throughout the flight.
• Compression socks: Consider wearing compression socks for better circulation and reduced risk of swelling or discomfort, since you will be sitting for extended periods on longer flights.
• Sleep attire: See above.

12. Take measures to minimize jet lag

Essential for: Long-haul flights

Timeframe: A week or less before your flight

When traveling to a different time zone via a mid-to-long haul flight, it would benefit you to take steps toward mitigating jet lag before flying. Here are some tips to help you prepare:

• Adjust your sleep schedule: To align your sleeping patterns with the time zone of your destination, gradually adjust your sleep schedule in the days leading up to your flight. It could mean progressively sleeping and waking an hour earlier or later each day.
• Hydrate: Stay hydrated before your flight by drinking plenty of water. Avoid caffeine and alcohol, which can contribute to dehydration and disrupt sleep patterns.
• Consider Supplements: Various supplements may be useful for some travelers, such as magnesium or melatonin for regulating sleep. (Disclaimer: Consult with a healthcare professional.)

13. Buy travel insurance

Timeframe: A week or less before your flight

No one likes to prepare for contingencies, but it’s generally a good idea to buy travel insurance. 

Since travel exposes you to a variety of events beyond your control, travel insurance offers peace of mind knowing that you’re protected against unexpected events and emergencies that may arise.

Travel insurance is different from flight insurance that is often overpriced by airlines as an ‘add-on’ item. It involves more than flight insurance. You should buy one that provides adequate coverage and review the policy limits, deductibles, and exclusions carefully to understand what is covered and what is not:

• You’ll want a policy that covers a range of situations, including trip cancellation or interruption, emergency medical expenses, evacuation and repatriation, and protection against theft or loss of personal belongings. 
• Ideally, it should entirely cover your baggage, electronics, gear, and important travel documents like your passport or driver’s license. 
• Some policies may even provide coverage for lost or stolen money.

14. Purchase an internet plan for connectivity upon arrival

Timeframe: A week or less before your flight

Upon arrival, it’s nice to have an internet plan ready for connectivity upon arrival. Without it, you are not only losing valuable time on your trip, but also risking having to purchase an unideal internet plan at the airport.

With an internet plan ready to go, you can immediately contact your loved ones upon arrival or use it for an e-hailing service to find a ride to your accommodation.

You can purchase either a travel eSIM or a mobile data plan before leaving for your flight.

15. Prepare arrival logistics

Timeframe: A week or less before your flight

Ensure that all aspects of your arrival at your destination are well-planned and organized. This includes any additional logistics – you may need to research the country arrival requirements for travelers if it’s not your first flight there.

For instance, you might need to fill in an arrival card. It is a document required by many countries for incoming travelers, including information such as your personal and passport details, flight details, the purpose of your visit, and your medical condition. 

Know and plan early to avoid being taken aback or delayed upon arriving in a foreign country.

16. Check in online

Timeframe: 24-48 hours before your flight

Online check-in allows you to skip the check-in counter or kiosk at airports. Upon successful check-in, it provides you with an e-boarding pass that you could save and show the airline staff for boarding.

Online-check in also enables you to check your flight status, so as to confirm the departure time and any potential delays or changes.

If you want to select your seats, many airlines offer seat selection for free during online check-in. Thus, do not wait till the last minute, as the seats you want may have been selected by other passengers. 

This is also time to purchase any extra add-ons like extra baggage should you really need it, which can help you save on expensive baggage fees when you buy it last-minute at the airport.

17. Save digital copies of important documents

Timeframe: 24-48 hours before your flight

Saving digital copies of your important travel documents is another contingency task that is critical. It ensures access to essential information in case of loss, theft, or emergencies while traveling.

Should you lose any of these physical items, your e-copy can be a lifesaver. Prioritize saving digital copies of your passport, flight itinerary, and e-boarding pass. The steps are so simple and quick that it’s silly to not do them:

• Use a scanner or smartphone app to create digital copies of important documents such as your passport, driver’s license, travel insurance policy, visa, and flight itinerary.
• Upload your digital documents to a cloud storage service such as Google Drive, Dropbox, or iCloud.
• Email the digital copies of your important documents to yourself or even a trusted friend or family member for additional backup. 
• Even better, apply passport protection to the digital copies of your documents using strong, unique passwords.
• Store these digital copies offline, so that you can easily access them while traveling on your phone or laptop, even without an internet connection.

18. Familiarize yourself with the airport’s layout and amenities

Timeframe: A week or less before your flight

Specific criteria: Useful for cities, countries, or regions that you have never visited

Especially if you’re visiting an airport for the first time or a foreign airport, familiarizing yourself with the airport’s layout and amenities can be very useful for navigating smoothly. 

• Visit the airport’s official website or download its mobile app if there is one available. If available online, acccess info about its terminal maps, amenities, and services. 
• Take a look at the layout including location of check-in counters, security checkpoints, gates, and other amenities like restrooms and shops. 
• Review the airport security procedures and regulations. 
• Learn about local transportation options that can help travelers get to their accommodations, like public transit, airport shuttles, or rental cars.

19. Share emergency information

Timeframe: Anytime before your flight

It’s a good idea to share information about your whereabouts with a family member or close friend for emergency purposes. 

Examples of such info includes your flight number and flight time, as well as your accommodation address and contact information

20. Charge your devices

Timeframe: The night before your flight

Finally, as you approach the day of your flight, charge your devices, especially your smartphone. Charge it the night before while you sleep. This will ensure it is kept powered on at the airport.

• You may need it for critical services, such as communication and tracking your flight status. 
• You may need it to access digital copies of important travel documents like your passport and e-boarding pass (saved in your smartphone using the steps above)

You do not want your phone’s battery to die. While you may carry a power bank or charge your phone at one of the airport’s USB charging stations, this can still inconvenience you, especially if you have a dozen of other details to concern yourself with on airport day. 

21. Plan your meals

Timeframe: The night before or the day of your flight

Necessary for: Mid-haul and long-haul flights

Have a plan for your meals. This matters more for mid to long-haul flights. For short flights, you can grab something light and eat within minutes, and eat again when you touch down within a few short hours. 

If you don’t have a plan, you could scramble and make some poor last-minute decisions. You might eat too little and be left hungry on a flight. On the flip side, you might eat too much of the wrong foods and experience bloatedness (and fart more on the plane) or dehydration caused by excessive coffee or alcohol.

Eat a meal before your flight to avoid spending on expensive food in the airport and on the plane.

Pack snacks to fend off hunger on a plane (unless you’re not allowed to bring your own food onto the plane on certain budget airlines).

22. Final home preparation and maintenance

Timeframe: The night before or the day of your flight

It’s finally the day of your flight. Before leaving for the airport, you need to ensure that certain things are in place. 

Here, we are not talking about making arrangements for the time you’re away — it may be too late at this point. Rather, this is about the things you do right before you leave for the airport, so that you do not come back to a messy or dirty home and regret it.

• Clear your perishables from your fridge and kitchen before leaving. 
• Take out the trash. 
• Water your plants. 
• Wash your dirty dishes in the sink. 
• Do laundry before you fly to avoid a huge pile-up after the trip. 
• Change your bedsheets. 
• Unplug appliances like TVs and microwaves that could use energy just by being plugged in.

23. Weigh your bags before heading out

Timeframe: The day of your flight

Finally, you have finished charging up all electronics and are ready to go. Place them along with your empty water bottle into your travel bags.

How do you weigh your bags? 

• Step on the weighing scale without your bags. 
• Then, step on the weighing scale with the bags you’re taking with you (i.e. your personal item and carry-on). 
• Subtract the two numbers, and the difference would be the combined weight of your travel bags.

It’s rather easy to exceed the default 7kg or 10kg baggage limit if you are an overpacker – explore tips to avoid overpacking here. If you’re over the limit, you can adjust by removing unnecessary items.

To save time and frustration, get a sense in advance which the non-essential items are in your packing list that can be removed, compared to the essentials (the weight you cannot possibly get rid off). This allows you to be efficient should you have to eliminate any items.

Tip: If you have heavier clothes like a jacket, you can choose to wear them at the airport, so the weight gets removed from your bags. Additionally, you might be able to keep a few smaller items into your pockets.

24. Double-check your essentials and head to the airport

Timeframe: The day of your flight

Double check your essentials and go. The most important items for a flight are your passport, boarding pass, and smartphone. However, do not forget your wallet and keys. 

The above five are must-have items you should bring onboard your flight. These items are so important and losing them will ruin your trip. 

If you are the careless type, it’s a good idea to check these items, every single time you get up and move from one point to another in the airport.

25. Navigate the airport

Timeframe: The day of your flight

Now that you have arrived at the airport, navigate it smoothly. For first-time flyers, airport navigation (along with flight boarding logistics) are a major source of stress. Navigating the airport can be complex depending on the airport and whether you have visited it.

In summary, do the following:

• Arrival at the right terminal
• Check in and print your boarding pass
• Navigate immigration
• Complete security screening
• Refill your water bottle
• Proceed to the boarding gate on time
• Await boarding instructions and board the flight

For more details on how to navigate the airport smoothly, read this guide which details every single aspect you must know.

26. Download in-flight content

Timeframe: The day of your flight

Download content locally to your smartphone for in-flight productivity and entertainment when offline. This is content available without the use of the internet. 

How important this is depends on the type of content you want to download, the duration of your flight, and the availability of in-flight TV entertainment. If you have more time, do this the night before your flight, but it’s fine to maximize the waiting time before boarding to download content as well.

For a short flight, I can work on my itinerary offline on Google Docs the entire flight, so I don’t really need a lot of entertainment. Besides planning, I read downloaded ebooks and blog articles. This allows me to download the items I need quickly while waiting at the boarding gate.

27. Prepare materials for trip documentation

Timeframe: The day of your flight

Lastly, prepare materials for documenting your trips. This can include documentation templates and platforms for storing your documents (like uploading photos to Google Drive or WordPress).

Most people document their trips. Don’t waste time thinking of how to do it when you’re at your destination — prepare beforehand.