Travel Week in Review – May 26th, 2023

The upcoming three-day Memorial Day weekend, sometimes known as the unofficial jumpstart to the busy summer travel season, is less than a week away. But before passengers can jet off to their holiday destinations, they might be in for long queues at the airport as the American Automobile Association predicts more than 42 million Americans will be traveling in some form of transport or another. Read More…

Every frequent traveler has seen passengers rolling their massive carry-ons and lugging equally large bags and backpacks onto the plane as their “personal item.” So exactly how big can your carry-on and personal items be? The general rule about personal item size is that your bag must fit under the seat in front of you, though some airlines do specify maximum dimensions. Meanwhile, airlines have a wide variety of carry-on size restrictions. Many airlines, especially outside of the U.S., also have weight limits. Read More…

Walking through airport security without my shoes on makes me feel exposed. It’s like everyone knows my Global Entry application has been held up in DC for six months. Hopefully, you at least applied for TSA PreCheck long before travel demand made a mess of everything. TSA has announced an update to its TSA PreCheck program, granting teenagers aged 13-17 the ability to accompany their enrolled parents or guardians through expedited security screening. Teenagers can now join their parents or guardians. Read More…

A passenger walks up to an airport security checkpoint, slips an ID card into a slot, and looks into a camera atop a small screen. The screen flashes “Photo Complete,” and the person walks through — all without having to hand over their identification to the TSA officer sitting behind the screen. It’s all part of a pilot project by the Transportation Security Administration to assess the use of facial recognition technology at a number of airports. Read More…

Tracking your flight is much easier if you’re flying with United Airlines and using an iPhone. The Chicago-based carrier became the first U.S. airline to enable Live Activities on its iPhone app on Monday. Live Activities is a feature that lives on your lock screen and is essentially an up-to-date notification that keeps you informed of what’s going on (without needing to open a separate app). In United’s implementation, travelers can see an up-to-the-second flight status tracker on their home screen. Read More…