How to Avoid The Dreaded Airport Tribulations

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How to Avoid The Dreaded Airport Tribulations - By: Patrick Omari, Posted on: 2008-03-06

You are back from a long weekend visiting in-laws, and you start to feel a strange sensation in your stomach like childish butterflies of excitement before boarding a plane. First you are excited as you pack. Then, when the taxi to the airport comes for you, you have a moment of reflection; you feel like you want to go without actually physically leaving. It is not always because of the sentimental or familial attraction of the people and places that you are leaving behind. No,It is something stranger.

Oh boy, don't get me started on travel-phobia. Don't get me wrong however; I enjoy travelling and it wouldn't be as interesting if every trip went smoothly. It would be refreshing to believe one of those dreaded travel disasters isn't likely to strike your next trip. I think you probably get the basic gist of what I am saying here.

The airport 'fun' sometimes start at check-in when your name fails to appear on the system. Initially they will be patient trying to figure out whether you are a stowaway or a genuine but unfortunate passenger. For a while they will handle you with soft gloves, however, once they realise it is taking a while and that they can't explain the letter "z" in your surname, irritation creeps in. If the guy is rude he might practically accuse you of pretending to have a valid ticket. The next natural thing is to ask you to step aside - yes, move out of line. Eventually when they realise that your name was miss-typed by the data entry clerk, or whatever they are called, you have missed your flight.

So you get bumped to a later flight. When you get to your next connection airport, you learn you have missed your connection and will have to wait until morning for the next flight. By this time, you are tired, hungry, and scared because you didn't plan or anticipate this. So you decide to spend the night on the airport floor instead of paying for a taxi to a hotel you have not booked. Pressure is on you because you don't want to miss the next flight. It is in such circumstances your jacket becomes a duvet and your suite case a pillow. Painfully you realise that you are lacking the most basic travel kits.You wish you had taken seriously the often overlooked Holiday Checklist.

Sometimes, troubles don't come singly and just when you think you have seen the worst, then comes a shocker. You try getting on nearly a dozen flights having missed your connection, but every one of them is full. So you are forced to spend another 6 hours or even another night on an airport bench.

By the time you get to your home town, you are a complete wreck. As you step out of the train, the snow on the road sends a chill down your spine. At that time, even if you are not religious, you pray that your car doesn't break down on your way home. A home you should have been in two days ago. These horror stories are the reasons why some smart entrepreneurs have come up with airport hotels. If you are travelling through Heathrow, it is worth your time checking these wide range of airport hotels.

Heathrow Airport Hotels
Traveling through a large, busy airport can be exciting to some travelers or a bad experience for first timers. Heathrow airport has been built with all facilities to make it a modern airport without horror stories for those passing through. Located 20 miles (32km) to the west of London, Heathrow (LHR) is one of the world's busiest international airports. Heathrow has got four terminals and a fifth is under construction. Heathrow Airport's new Terminal 5 opens on 27 March 2008.

The Department of Transport consulted the public and other special interests sectors before building this 5th terminal. This is a consultation on ways in which Heathrow airport could be developed over the next 20 years or more is an impressive master plan. The reports on the outcome of work since the Air Transport White Paper in 2003 describes how additional runway capacity might be provided, its likely impacts and how they might be addressed. To make sure everything is working efficiently before the grand opening, there have been volunteer trials taking place since September 2007. There are fantastic airport hotels facilities around Heathrow airport with easy access to central London.

Article Source: http://www.girlarticles.com

Pat is a travel consultant currently doing research and writing about Heathrow Airport Hotels. - Pre-book Heathrow Airport Hotels with Holiday Extras and save money on Airport Hotels at Heathrow Airport.