Air travel can be exhausting even for a fit adult and believe it or not, after the heroic incident of 9/11, airport security, service limitations and special requirements and expensive airfares have made life worse. situation. Fortunately, there are certain things that make traveling for older travelers easy and hassle-free. However, to use all of them, one must know some of the best travel tips for senior travelers or people who organize frequent trips for their parents and elders in the family. So, here we are, walking you through the best tips to keep in mind before planning a trip for seniors anywhere in the world:
1. Know your rights
To ensure smooth and healthy transit during and before the flight, senior citizens, especially those over 75 years of age, have some special rights. Elderly passengers can request assistance at the airport to accompany their luggage and wheelchair if they have difficulty walking. Additionally, TSA security screening has been made easier for seniors with a few variations that help seniors get clean easily while keeping the flow of security at its best. Seniors who have medical devices implanted have a different screening process to keep the process safe as well as make security clearance easy for seniors. In addition, many airlines now give seniors priority boarding only after a simple request to avoid problems during regular flight boarding.
2. Look for nonstop flights
A long flight with various distances and plane/airport changes is enough to make a normal healthy adult cranky and out of comfort. And when it comes to a senior traveler who has difficulty sitting properly, walking a bit more, or requires assistance even with walking or climbing stairs, he will be traveling on non-stop flights. Transit via non-stop flights relieves the pressure on the body and mind of an elderly person and gives them the peace of mind to avoid any extra effort during their trip. Using nonstop flights will also help avoid regional jets. Navigating through the airport and through security checkpoints can be difficult for older travelers. Therefore, it is strongly recommended to use non-stop flights as much as possible.
3. Look for discount travel deals for seniors
To encourage seniors to enjoy their lives more and explore global destinations, both airlines and travel agencies have started offering significant discounts on senior travel. Finding these discounts may seem like a difficult task, but once you understand the concept, not only can you enjoy great savings, but you can also understand the special benefits that come with these types of reservations. Subscribing to special offers from airlines and travel agencies will give you a head start in understanding the best deals and suitable destinations based on your preferences, travel trends, and seasonal conditions.
4. Organize all necessary assistance
Airports and airlines these days have become more careful to pamper seniors and have outlined a wide range of additional benefits for older travelers. If you are a senior yourself or a senior member of your family who is planning air travel, make sure you do everything that may be necessary on the trip and inform the airline immediately to arrange those requirements. . Most of the assistance like wheelchair, oxygen tanks, escort guide, priority check-in and others are mostly available at no extra cost and all you need is to make your request during booking or a few days before. departure (according to airline policies) to obtain the required assistance on time.
5. Carry the essentials in your hand luggage
Both the TSA and the airline have been giving seniors the freedom to carry their medications and other supplies in their carry-on luggage as long as they are prescribed by a licensed physician and are safe to keep in such delicate conditions during flight. . If you have your elders flying to some destination and you are afraid of losing luggage at the airport or have a hunch that you need first aid during the flight, always pack your necessary medications, underwear, toothbrush, travel documents and more. in carry-on baggage to keep them safe and secure even after facing some serious baggage issues and immediately report the situation to the airline.
Although, in recent times, airlines and airport authorities have been on the lookout to make a regular passenger’s journey much more pleasant and bring new reforms to keep travel affordable and convenient, but if you have or are a senior passenger, the requirement of those benefits is even more important. Therefore, it is really an important factor to know the best tips to make your trip or the trip of an elderly passenger as pleasant, healthy and convenient as possible. So the next time you’re accompanying your elders on a vacation or simple trip to another part of the world/country/state, make sure they know all the travel tips for the entire trip without a hitch.