When it comes to packing for the Christmas holidays, you’ll likely be saving a considerable amount of room for the presents.
But if you’re needing to fly to get to wherever your family live, there’s one huge mistake you risk making if you’re not careful – and that’s wrapping the presents ahead of time.
While it’s not technically verboten to include pre-wrapped gifts in either your hold luggage or carry-on, you might not want to waste your time carefully adorning them with ribbons and gift tags as, if the security agents need to see what’s inside, they’ll be undoing all your hard work.
Heathrow Airport is currently preparing for its busiest Christmas ever, anticipating that passenger traffic on Christmas Day alone will skyrocket by 21% compared with last year’s figures.
But as per its website, it’s best to leave the present wrapping until you’ve arrived at your final destination – as you could risk undoing all your hard work.
‘Passengers are advised that it would be better to leave wrapping gifts until they land at their destination,’ Heathrow’s website reads.
‘Although wrapping is not disallowed, hold and cabin luggage may have to be searched by hand, and gifts would then need to be unwrapped. Passengers are also reminded not to carry wrapped items on behalf of other people.’
And if you’re thinking of keeping it homemade this year, any jams and chutneys lovingly prepared by hand still need to remain within the 100ml limit.
Likewise, bottles of wine or champagne should be packed in hold luggage, while passengers have been reminded to ‘take care’ with novelty gifts. The rules of hold and carry-on luggage alike aren’t waived in the name of festive spirit.
Ryanair has previously issued an even stronger word of warning for anyone who’s been super organised with their Christmas wrapping.
‘Don’t spend hours intricately wrapping gifts to carry in your hand luggage. Wrapped gifts may be opened, searched and screened by airport security staff,’ the advice on its website reads.
All’s not lost though – as there are simple solutions beyond leaving the wrapping until the last minute.
‘Positioning’ is the underrated travel hack that could save you hundreds on long-haul flights
When booking a long-haul trip, it’s only natural to look at flights from your nearest airports.
But an underrated travel hack proves that adding your own DIY stopover via an airport on route could save a considerable amount of cash.
‘Positioning flights’ is the lesser-known travel tip and it involves taking a flight from your home airport to a bigger international one for your onward journey.
Essentially, it gets you ‘positioned’ where you need to be for your final destination.
Typically, major travel hubs and airports get the best deals and this is where positioning flights come into their own.
A good way to go about it is to think about which major airports you can cheaply fly to from your home airport and then use this as your starting point when exploring positioning flights to save on international routes.
‘Do take a gift bag that can be folded and packed flat or save your expert wrapping skills until you arrive at your destination,’ the airline continues.
You’ll also want to take care to wrap fragile gifts inside bubble wrap, and then again inside a soft item of clothing.
After all, you wouldn’t want the ceramic teapot you bought for your grandma to end up in multiple tiny pieces.
‘Don’t forget, Christmas is about giving AND receiving. Pack a collapsible/foldable shopping bag in your suitcase for stowing all those gifts you’ll take home on your return journey,’ Ryanair adds.
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