Friday, March 21, 2008

The Pain of Getting Stranded at the Airport

You arrive at the airport 2 hours early for security. Airport security is such a big deal these days but the line at the security and immigration desk is a stretch of several hundred people. For some passengers their passports have to be photocopied.This means the clerk has to walk over to the copy machine and back each time. The machine is slow and the papers need to be changed. Glancing at the clock on the wall, you realise you are now within 20 minutes of missing your flight. You feel like running through the gate, but the mean looking security personnel stop you in your tracks. Patience, patience and more patience.

Now, it's your turn to go through the process. The security turn you inside out. You think they are finished but then they realise you have a new tooth paste wrapped in some shopping bags. This rouses their suspicion, so they now want to empty everything. Before you know it, they fish out the silver coated handcrafted figurine that was given to you as a birth day present. They want you to declare it to customs.You feel like breaking down and crying. You,uncharacteristically, yell at him that you are going to miss your flight. He lets you go.

So you barely get to the gate only to find that your flight is delayed 20 minutes. That stretches to an hour. Then 2 hours. Then three. No one giving you any information. Rumours start going around that they suspect a bomb on the plane, that there's a part missing and a new jet will be brought in. Surely, this is your second delay on this journey. You wonder whether your trip is jinxed.

You have been sleeping for 5 hours. Finally you see people and dogs on the tarmac heading to the plane. Off you go to join them. Is this scenario familiar? This is when you feel like owning a home at the airport. But because you can not have it, an under cover airport hotel is the nearest and the best option.

Undercover Hotels
We have all wished for it, haven't we? An hotel near the airport or a facility that will cut the risk or running around the underground, train or bus in your business suit looking bleary. Holiday Extras have one such product. This is where pre-booking an undercover hotel comes in handy.

There are three key reasons why undercover hotels are a great option. They are convenient, prices are lower than the advertised rates and they are mostly located very close to the airport. Undercover Hotels are available across key sites including Gatwick, Heathrow, Manchester as well as Glasgow, Stansted and East Midlands.

Pre-booking an airport hotel before you travel can save you pounds and ensure a good night's sleep. Under covered hotels are reasonably priced. Rates for much below market rates.The specific hotel you will be staying in remains a mystery untill you have made your booking, however all undercover hotels are between 3 and 4 star in quality. The rooms come with a15 days secure airport parking for those driving. This offer would certainly help travelers start a holiday with a smile.

You can avoid checking those distressed rates against a hotel's online rates while hoping that the airline will compensate you in some way for the delay and the consequent hotel bill, whether it be paying for a portion of the hotel room or offering some flight credits. It makes a crazy stressful holiday to travel and live rough at the airport when you would be comforted knowing there's a an under cover hotel at the airport for you to book at very low rates.

Airport Parking
If you are lucky to enough to drive to the airport rather than sleep at the airport, then you need a parking. When parking lots fill up, travelers can spend precious moments circling for parking, possibly missing their flights.The parking crunch isn't just affecting travelers catching a flight. It's a problem for the people picking them up, too.

When airport parking lots are filled up, drivers are forced to park off the airport. This forces them to take buses back to the terminal to meet arriving passengers. Airport hotels and airport hotels with parking are the right options if you want to avoid these inconveniences. It would a good idea to check and pre-book your parking if you are going to busy airports such as Gatwick airport and Heathrow airport. There are many options and rates that are worth looking at.


Source: http://www.therealarticles.com/Article/The-Pain-of-Getting-Stranded-at-the-Airport/140814

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