Whether you are someone who regularly travels on an airplane for business, enjoys little city breaks on your own, or else has a huge and pre-planned family holiday booked, getting through customs at the airport is one of the major stresses of airplane travel.
So, to relieve some of those stresses, here are six tips to make your trip through customs as quick and efficient as it possibly can be.
Avoid Taking Food & Drink
It may well be true to say that, in the past, you have managed to take your pre-made at-home sandwich through customs and been able to eat it in the departure lounge.
However, these days, the rules on taking consumables through customs, especially in the United States and the United Kingdom, have somewhat become stricter and as a result, you should throw away any food or drink before arriving at customs.
Leave All Electronic Devices Outside of Your Bag
The problem with airport security and specifically the people who work in the customs area is that they are bound by the terms of their job to have to repeat the same thing over and over.
Therefore, even if you have heard one or more of the airport staff tell you to remove any electronic devices from your hand luggage, you may well either disregard the statement because you are concentrating on something else or else think that certain items are exempt.
Whether you have just ordered a brand-new e-cigarette kit from the reputable redjuice.co.uk, are holding your smartphone in your hand, or have your Bluetooth headphones around your neck, you should remove everything remotely electronic and place it in the tray.
Be Prepared to Answer Questions
You often meet people who say that, for some bizarre reason, they are always the ones who are pulled out of the queue at customs to be thoroughly searched and even interviewed.
However, just because this has never happened to you in the past, by no means results in you never having to do this, so always have in the forefront of your mind your reasons for taking the trip and the name of the place where you are staying for the duration. Just in case, also make sure that your booking confirmations of not just your flight but your accommodation on any connecting flights are proverbially to hand.
Travel as Light as Possible
Finally, perhaps the most effective way of ensuring that your trip through the security section of the airport and into customs is as quick and simple as possible is to travel as light as you can.
If you are going away for a business trip, it is more than likely that you will need your laptop and related accessories with you on the flight, but if you were only thinking of taking your computer to watch movies and listen to music, you should download all such entertainment onto your much smaller smartphone instead. This will make things much easier in the long run.
