Steve Hart: How to overcome the fear of not flying

COMMENT

I thought I had left plenty of time to catch my flight from Beijing to Hong Kong. I arrived at the airport with two hours to spare - plenty of time to check in and get through passport control.

My journey was pre-September 11 and so normal rules of engagement were in place. But, unknown to me, Beijing Airport had a notorious reputation for its slow procedures.

The first problem was that there were no signs in English and few people were prepared to talk to me unless I waved some wonga round. Eventually someone showed me the Cathay Pacific desk which was hidden down some dark corridor beyond the sight of anyone without x-ray vision. I checked in, handed over my luggage and joined a queue at passport control. It was one of four lines that must have stretched at least 50m.

After a long and dull wait it seemed I had shuffled only a few metres when the call went out for my plane. I hesitated, but deep down I knew there was only one thing to do. I marched to the front of the queue as fellow passengers shouted all sorts of verbal abuse at me for queue jumping.

While the insults came thick and fast I showed my ticket to the passport lady (who didn't speak English). I pointed to the time printed on it, pointed to the clock and pointed to the boarding notice on the TV. She offered an understanding look, stamped my passport and I fled.

Even now I can still remember the face, hateful words and two-fingered gesture of a "butter-wouldn't-melt" looking American lady.

The Beijing incident flashed through my mind as I watched a TV programme called Airport the other night. The programme basically consisted of people arriving late at Britain's Luton Airport to board an easyJet flight.

I don't know where the entertainment value is, but apparently we like to watch the predictable arguments between easyJet's staff who know the rule book by heart and ticket holders who can't take no for an answer.

But you can see events such as this everyday, and without the commercial breaks, at any airport.

The problem of passengers arriving late is causing concern here as people turn up without tickets, with passports that are falling apart and unusable, or just too late to complete the formalities and board the plane.

Flight Centre's Shane Parlato says his firm has to help two to three stranded passengers a day at Auckland airport because they have missed their flights unnecessarily.

This not only leaves passengers upset and angry, but puts pressure on airlines and travel agents to find seats at a time when they are at a premium. It's a no-win situation.

Parlato says: "People are missing flights because of the simplest errors. There are a range of reasons, from arriving too late to forgetting their tickets. Sometimes they arrive with outstanding travel issues which could have been resolved had they got to the airport earlier."

Some people even miss their flights because they spend too long browsing in duty-free or misread the time on their ticket.

Now we are approaching one of the busiest times for air travel it is essential that travellers sort out any questions about their booking before leaving for the airport, to be crystal clear about check-in and departure times and to err on the side of caution by leaving plenty of time to get from home to the airport (assume there is going to be a traffic jam).

"Unfortunately in today's security-conscious environment, the Kiwi 'she'll be right' attitude won't wash when it comes to international travel," says Parlato.

If you are travelling overseas this summer, consider arriving at the airport three hours before your flight leaves. And, if by some remote chance, you were one of those people in the queues at Beijing ... sorry.