Red Cross Travel

This is an article that talks about several aspects of how to pick your clothing when you are going to travel by airplane.

We all have different preferences regarding air travel and clothing. While some prefer to wear business suits, others will swear by jeans, and others will prefer to go even more informal and comfortable, wearing something as simple as sweat pants. However, airport security is getting tighter and air travel rules have been changing a lot in the past few years. You might be wondering about the importance of your clothing at the airport. Well, for most cases it is not.

Usually, a heavy emphasis is placed on comfort. We were always told to avoid ichy or tight clothing, especially on long flights. Not only that, but also bringing a change of clothes in the carry-on baggage, which can also help in the case of missing the checked luggage. Thinking beforehand about your clothes is important, even if you are traveling for business — always remember the possibility of changing clothes in airport bathrooms.

Comfort, many times, is related to sweat pants and a comfortable top, or a t-shirt. What you may not have thought is that these clothes are also very good in terms of airport security as well, especially at the security checkpoints. The reason why is that most sweat pants do not have any metal items. In other words, in average you enter and leave these screening checkpoints faster than most travelers, because they will have metal accessories on.

As for clothing accessories, you will notice that a variety of items will set off metal detectors at airports, which is why security staff will often ask you to take off your jewelry. Once it is removed and places in a plastic bin, it will be scanned along with your carry-on luggage. This is the usual procedure for rings or necklaces, but earrings are usually kept on. Belts with metal buckets very often set off airport metal detectors, which is why you usually need to remove the belt at the airport. For that reason, a large number of airports have requested that you remove your belts before entering the metal detectors. If you feel uncomfortable removing your jewelry or belt, you should not wear these items at all.

You will also have to remove your shoes and have them scanned by an x-ray machine, along with your carry-on luggage. It used to be a random procedure, but now all passengers need to follow it. Because of that, I advise you to wear something that you can take off and put back on easily.

Regarding liquids, the only liquids permitted on board are toiletries up to 100ml per bottle. If you are bringing a bigger bottle, even if it is empty, you will be asked to dispose of it. Most manufacturers, though, are already producing bottles that are equivalent to, or smaller than 100ml of volume.

There are no rules about how you should look like. Finding a proper balance between comfort and style is completely up to you.