Understanding that weekly travel is not everyone’s day to day world, (and trust me, 4 months ago it wasn’t mine either) I am sure that the crazy weather that has been tearing through the country doesn’t really spike on a lot of people’s radar (well on the West Coast anyway). In the travel world, however, the large amount of electricity that accompanies this time of year when the seasons are changing can cause a pretty intense amount strife in getting from A to B.

For example, did you know that Dallas Fort Worth getting struck by lightning last week and shut the entire airport (one of the biggest hubs in the country no less) down for several hours? Now, that may not seem like a big deal, but it was to thousands of people who were stuck at the airport over night. Worse yet, were the those that were already in route with no other diversion possibilities that were forced to land at Dallas. With no gates available because planes weren’t admitted to take off,  hundreds of  people were stuck in the plane for hours upon hours in the emergency field with no guaranteed time of disembarking. Planes ran out of food, beverages, water and even toilet paper!

With the casual flier, the probability of this occurring is extremely low….but what if? Would you be prepared to deal with what thousands of people had to endure at Dallas? The key in these situations is preparation. I want to share a few good ideas with you as well as a couple NECESSARY ideas with you.

Good Ideas:

• Before any trip you take, purchase wet wipes for your carryon. You can get them in convenient travel packs which means they won’t take up a ton of space, they will make it through security just fine, they will last forever if you keep them sealed and you will find many other uses for them throughout your trip.
• Have several protein bars packed in your carryon. Again, they last forever and if you are stuck, you won’t go hungry.
• Bring an empty reusable bottle and fill it up once you make it through security. Flying causes dehydration in the first place, so you should be consuming plenty of water any way, which you can typically get it from a flight attendant at any time….except if they run out. This is your reserve bottle.  If your flight makes it all the way through with no issues, you will have this bottle to drink on the way to the hotel so that you can be fully rehydrated.

NECESSARY Ideas:

• FULLY charge your phone & computer before going to the airport and resist the urge to “play” Facebook/listen to music/text/talk/etc on them while you are waiting for your flight (unless you are plugged so that you don’t utilize any of the charge).  Although many planes are beginning to have outlets at the seats, it is still rare to come by. There are so many things that can go sideways between take off and arriving safely in your hotel, it is imperative to have both for emergency situations while on the road.
• Have a minimal reserve of CASH with you at all times. These days of using debit/credit cards exclusively (let’s face it, reward points matter) people are carrying cash less and less. It is absolutely imperative to have actual money on you in case you find yourself in a place where electricity is an issue so credit card machines are out or you are unexpectedly stuck in a remote town for a night and the cab you have to climb into does not take credit cards. Cash is still and will always be king.
• Make sure there is at least one person on the planet who knows your EXACT travel itinerary that is not traveling with you. Think of it as the Phone a Friend option…. you never know when you might need help from  someone who has access to the internet or who can supply other forms of emergency assistance when/if you get stranded.  Some of my colleagues (who are well into their 50s ) that have been on the road for over 20 years still send their mothers their weekly flight schedules! If seasoned pros are doing it…..you should too!

Hopefully you will never need to actually utilize any of these “emergency” tips….but if you do run into that “what if” situation, I promise these will put you in a much better position to mitigate the damages!