Airport check in times

There's no weight restriction either on the smaller Ryanair carry on bag, which means you can stuff all your heavier bits in - Kindle, books, IPad, jewellery, even shoes. I invested in a cute little spotty bag on Amazon that has the maximum capacity allowed, to take full advantage of it, by googling "Ryanair second bag".

Now you can get a digital boarding card which is stored on your phone and you just put it on the barcode reader as you go through. Worked like a charm much to my surprise and relief as my printer wasn't working.

LesleyC - Ryanair now allow you to take a handbag (35 x 20 x 20cm)on board too so no need to put your handbag in the carry-on case. I have just been to Spain to visit the family and have to take masses of 'stuff' with me for them. Decathlon sell a small rucsac which is the right size and held a Christmas cake, bike bits (don't ask!), my lunch, book, camera and anything else I could get in. The carry-on case had a patchwork quilt, books for the boys and all my clothes and on this occasion I didn't need my 'Ryanair jacket' - the one with more pockets than jacket.

The zip-up bag has to hold no more than 1 litre
And no more than 100ml in any one bottle or container

Leeds/Bradford airport is small compared to Heathrow/Gatwick/Birmingham and their ilk so security checks queues don't tend to be very long. Ryanair will allow you to carry on your handluggage so no bag drop and if you check in online that will speed things up too so 2 hours would probably be more than enough.

Dublin airport is big though, so give yourself plenty of time on the return journey.

JBF one of the destinations from London City Airport is Belfast City Airport or George Best Belfast City Airport as it is officially called . You should try it some time! We have just said goodbye to English visitors who visited N.Ireland for the first time and were delighted with the countryside and Belfast. Helps to have locals to guide you though!! And good weather.

The zip-up bag has to hold no more than 1 litre. I have a small M&S zipped bag, completely transparent which I tried out with a litre and it was just right. I've never had any disagreement about it from the security staff at Manchester.

area !

We had to pay £1 for a set of 4 plastic bags at Birmingham Airport
Very reasonable, Belleringer
They were £1 for one at Bristol - I only had handwash with me which had cost 99p (and I forgot it in my handbag) so it got confiscated.

You can buy a plastic bag with a little zip in some stationers.
And in the duty free areqa you can often get a free bottle of water if you buy a newspaper (The Times, I think, but you can always throw it away if you object to it ).

I keep a roll of freezer bags from pound shop in my suitcase for this purpose so liquids and gels are ready before I leave home. As long as they are clear, resealable and the right size you don't need to use the airport ones. Solid stuff like lippie and stick deodorant need not go in.

Crikey! They're free at Heathrow and Gatwick. They haven't brought a charge in for those have they?!

Btw I never put my lippie in the plastic bag!

If you have lipstick or anything else in your hand luggage that needs to go in a plastic bag when you go through security - take your own. We had to pay £1 for a set of 4 plastic bags at Birmingham Airport. Why would anyone need 4 - or is it just another way of getting money out of you?

Hi wildrose. I also think you only need to arrive an hour before boarding since you only have hand-luggage. However, as it is an earlyish flight and I don't know how long your journey to the airport is, you probably will be awake half the night worrying, so may as well get there in good time. Don't know what the shopping is like there but I'm sure you could pick up a paper or anything from Boots (if there is one) to pass any spare time. One tip regarding bottled water is to take an empty water bottle to fill at your destination, and ask for water on board. Every airline I've used will give out free water in a cup, even Easyjet & Ryanair! Have a good trip x

We usually fly from Manchester Airport (horrible place) We always get to the airport ridiculously early. Take a book to read, a picnic to eat while you wait (thus avoiding awful airline/airport food) and time will pass fairly quickly. We use rucksacks as hand luggage with as little as possible in them so they can be stashed under the seat rather than put in overhead locker. Gripe- why does bottled water cost so much in the departure lounge? Answer:Of course, they can charge what they like because you can't take your own eco-friendly refillable water bottles through security! Wear a bra without wiring so you don't set off the alarm and put everything that you would otherwise have to put in that resealable plastic bag that never stays sealed, in your suitcase. (You can go without retouching your make up for a few hours)

When we flew to Greece I was astounded at the number of people in the departure lounge who were drinking alcohol with breakfast. No wonder so many people cause problems on board through drunkenness if they're already half-cut before leaving the airport!

Beer LesleyC? We were on an early BA flight and were served breakfast. People were having wine and G&T with their bacon and eggs. The stewardess said it was because they were free and that they had to limit them to one!

I have flown many times from LBA to Dublin and the airport has improved hugely. There is no need to arrive hours before as you will be checked in on line. You will need to slot your carry-on into the cage to measure it and they are strict about only 1 piece so a handbag will have to go inside. I agree that if you are nervous it would be better to arrive over an hour early, but 2 hours is too long. Don't be surprised by all the holiday makers drinking beer at that time in the morning!

It's certainly a bit scary travelling alone but think how grown up you will feel!! I also allow plenty of time being an anxious about timing but I really wanted to say how important it is to get your toiletries sorted out into small bottles and tubs etc and keep it handy so you're not having to faff about in security.

Yes, definitely get there two hours before your flight, wildrose. I'm a bit paranoid about possible hold-ups on the way, so I'd probably give it 2.5 hours.

Galen - Gary the Gardener looks very nice.

On Ryanair, priority booking means that your hand luggage will not go in the hold. I am aware that some people might think that it's not fair, but just saying! [ smile]

x

Some people do take liberties with what they put in overhead. And they insist on putting bags in lengthways on when sideways would take less room.

(I meant airports/airlines in general - why people like to be at front of boarding queue)

That happened to us, our hand luggage was taken off us just before boarding and put in the hold by Ryanair a well-known airline

I was quite worried because it did not have a padlock on it and had medication and jewellery in it.
So put a padlock on it, it may not go into the locker above you.

Yes pittcity but sometimes there's just not enough room in the overhead lockers, and then some hand baggage has to go in the hold.

We would arrive 2 hrs before the flight time. If you only carry hand luggage the you go through passport control quickly, boarding pass is scanned automatically and then luggage and you proceed through security. Usually quite quick at that time in the morning.

Gates usually appear on the digital list ( displayed all over the airport ) about an hour before the fight. If you have booked priority seating, then you get to go on first. The gate often closes 30 mins before take off time.

All airports vary, but as Leeds Bradford is a regional airport it should be all quite straight forward. Enjoy your trip.

X

JBF they allow you a small case and a handbag each, but this is monitored closely and we handed our cases over at the gate to be put in the hold. That way we did not have to worry about the overhead locker or pay for checked baggage and it was labelled priority so came off first and was waiting by the time we got through passport control.
You can fly all over the UK and Europe and even to JFK! bit.ly/1G1oCRj