After over 20 years of traveling almost every week, give or take a year of COVID lockdown, keynote speaker and comedian Jan McInnis offers five insightful tips to help travelers keep their cool when flights are grounded and schedules are thrown off.

I spend a LOT of time waiting at airports. Most of the time, it's a scheduled layover but sometimes it's an unexpected delay. If you've never spent an afternoon in the BWI terminal or sitting on a plane on the DFW runway, then you may not realize the value of having a few essentials. A  neck pillow or eye shades are helpful when you're flying, but if most of your travel day isn't spent traveling, then there's a few other things I'd suggest.

Here's what I do to make the most of any delays.

Pack a multi-plug that allows for more than 1 laptop or phone to be charged will make you popular! If you're stuck in an airport with only ONE electrical outlet within a 100 yards, you can ask the person using it to share. It may not spur on a romance, but it'll allow you to get online to that dating site.

Have a granola bar handy . .. it may just keep you off the evening news! Even one that's been in your carryon for a year is better than being stuck on the runway for hours until you are HANGRY . . . and snapping at a flight attendant will make you famous . . . in a bad way.

Bring a credit card for ALL the major airlines to get out of there faster. I have one for every airline (the no fee version for most) because I get travel perks like free checked bags AND getting bumped to the head of the "fix it" line. These perks are available just for having the card even if I don't have "status" on that airline. Hey, I once saved me and my friends butts . . . literally . . . at the Hollywood bowl. They were giving out free seat cushions for those wooden benches IF you had a Delta Amex. I did.

Always get internet on the plane – even if you have to pay money for it! Once on a descent into Chicago, my plane was diverted to Indiana. We were SOOOO close to landing – just 2 more minutes - but the tower had gone down and we couldn't. While everyone on the plane was scrambling to get online, I had already booked a car for the 8-hour drive to my event outside Chicago. Arriving at 3 a.m. wasn't optimal, but I got there. Another time, we diverted from Chicago to Indiana because of weather. I, once again, booked a car and was only 30 minutes late to dinner with my client in Michigan. Having the internet open and ready lets you get the jump on your plan B.

Sit near the gate agent and eavesdrop. Okay, this isn't something you can BRING, but it's something you can DO. Sitting near the plane boarding door isn't helpful if there isn't a plane at the gate. But if you sit near the gate agent, you can hear him/her talking to other employees about flight status. You'll be in position to line up first BEFORE they make the announcement that the plane won't be taking off.  

BONUS TIP: When you have a layover is to try to book the layover in a city that is drivable to your destination. Three or four hours away means you can grab a car and go if you have to!

Here's to safe and on-time travel!

You can also read this article on Jan's Linkedin Page