I was reading the below news and was able to correlate to the check-in experiences my colleagues had shared. A few were first time travellers and a few seasoned travellers. Summarised the problems with a few personas below:

Over 1,200 hours wasted daily confiscating cigarette lighters, perfume sprays, power banks

Meenu, an IT executive, who took her first international trip a few years back said, she was very anxious while preparing for her trip. She had reached out to her friend Kiru, who had experience of travelling to a few countries. Meenu had saved the below instructions shared on WhatsApp, by her friend:

********************

*Check-in*

1. Get into airport, find your airlines counter from signboard. 
2. Get in to the respective queue (Business/Economy & Web check-in/Counter check-in.)
3. Drop the check-in bag. It will be weighed. Should be under weight of the limit. Collect your boarding pass. Make sure you collect back your passport after verification. 
4. Collect the Immigration form. It will be distributed by your airline staff in front of the counter (mostly when you are entering in the counter or you might need to collect it in front of the immigration location.)
5. You will be pointed to the immigration area.

*Immigration*

1. Fill the immigration form. Its good to have a pen always with you.
2. Get into the immigration queue. One at a time in the immigration counter even if you are going as a family except kids who can join mom/dad.
3. You will be interviewed and photographed and will be the exit approval from India.
   • Note: Have your travel documents in a file or folder handy as you need to produce respective ones as they ask for verification. Sometimes your office ID card too.
4. Collect your passport & boarding pass back.
5. You will be pointed to security check counter.

*Security check*

1. Separate counters for each gender.
2. Get into appropriate counter. Take out the items to be scanned individually- laptop, tablet, phone, jacket, belt, watch, shoes & toiletry (depends on the airport). Basically no steel. Empty your pockets. You will be provided with trays to place these items. Place these trays and your bags on the running belt to scan and give your passport & boarding pass to the staff at this place.
   • Note: Your carry-on bags should not have any pointed materials like knife, scissor so on. No lighters. No water. No liquids more than 150ml of each. 
3. Get into the scanner.
4. If you are beeped, then you will be inspected separately again.
5. Else, collect all you stuff. Re-pack and wear back your shoes and you are free now to find your gate.

*Getting to Gate*

1. Check your boarding pass to see gate number. 
2. Watch out for sign board and walk to your respective gate.
   • Note: When you are in transit and taking connecting flight, periodically check the flight information board to confirm there is no flight time or gate change.
3. Once you reach your gate, confirm once with the screen over there that your destination and flight number is correct and you are at the right place to board.
4. Be here, max by 45 mins early to your flight timing. Eg: Flight time: 8.45AM, Boarding time: 8.15AM, You should be at gate: 8.00AM.

*Shopping*

1. If you have enough time for boarding, you can roam around or chill out or do some shopping.
2. If done, get back to your gate and rest until your boarding starts. 

*Boarding*

1. Get into the boarding queue as per instructions provided by the airline staff over there.
2. Your boarding pass will be scanned and torn apart. You will carry your part of it.
3. Walk into the flight belt. Keep your pass in hand as there will be staffs to assist you and they will ask for it.
4. Note your seat number from the pass.
5. Step into the aircraft. Air hostess will greet you, acknowledge and get in. Sometimes they will ask your seat number to route you to the right pathway.
6. Find your seat and get settled. Drop your bag in the cabin. 
7. Take things which you wanted with you like tablet, book to read or MP3 player or neck pillow…etc.
8. Put your gadgets in airplane mode or switch it off.
9. Now, you are set to fly.

********************

Leka, a leisure traveller who had flown abroad a few times, said she once took a Swiss keychain which had her house keys. The security officer who screened her bag adviced she can put that in her checked in baggage, as it is not allowed in the cabin luggage since the keychain had small knife, screwdriver…etc. But she was anxious to go and see if the baggage was still there in the check-in counter. So she just removed the keys alone and discarded the Swiss keychain at the security desk itself.

Mani, a first time air traveller, works for finance company, and was asked to attend a training in another city. The ticket was booked and shared by his office travel desk. The ticket had mentioned, baggage of 15 kgs allowed. Mani was not clear from the ticket if he can take a check-in baggage or is it only cabin baggage that is allowed? What is the ideal size of cabin baggage? Will they allow small trolley as cabin luggage…etc. He also made his family member wait at airport till he boarded the flight, just in case he needs some support. Mani said he didn’t have weighing scale at home and felt if there was a weighing scale outside the airport entrance, he can give back excess items to his family and avoid the hassle due to overweight baggage.

Muthu, a senior citizen was travelling to another city by flight for the first time. He was initially confused if he should carry a printed ticket or he can just show the ticket from mobile. Later, he also struggled to navigate the airport security procedures. His son was constantly guiding him on phone, till he boarded the plane and once again after he landed. What if there was voice based instructions on phone, travellers can listen to and navigate the airport security check without feeling stressed? The passenger was not clear on when and how to purchase from duty free. Can purchases from duty free be carried into cabin even if it is change of multiple flights? Can he purchase gold from a foreign country and what documents he needs and how much tax will be charged for that? The passenger had heard stories of lost luggage and panicked when his luggage was not in sight for long in the luggage belt.

Suggested Solutions

The above examples show that the travellers, who were predominantly first time travellers, didn’t have sufficient information or awareness on air travel safety.

While reading “The Design of Everyday Things” by Don Norman, I learnt how the author had analysed accidents and inferred whether kitchen stove or nuclear power plant, automobile or aircraft, thermostat or computer, the same problems were present. In all cases, design faults led to human error.

How Might We design effective interventions to nudge passengers adhere to safety?

• What if the ticket clearly states or airline company designs effective advance nudges through phone messages/notifications, that would help travellers be aware of travel safety, prepare well in advance and which in turn can increase the passengers’ probability of adherence to safety?
  • What is allowed in hand baggage?
  • What is banned in hand baggage?
  • What is allowed in checked-in baggage?
  • What is banned in checked-in baggage?
• What if regulatory agencies like The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), country specific regulators like The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), The Transportation Security Administration (TSA), The International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the airline companies designs and maintains a common webpage with detailed guides like the one above Meenu had received, which can then be shared as links or QR codes in the tickets/boarding pass?
• What if the emailed tickets have 3 links/QR codes viz. ICAO safety guidelines, DGCA safety guidelines and Airline Company/Aircraft specific safety guidelines or to make it simpler for passengers, 1 common page with all safety guidelines?
• What if airports have safety rules and relevant QR codes displayed at prominent places, that would nudge passengers and make it easier for them to follow the rules?
• What if there is a common FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) section for all air travellers, which they can search and look for specific answers, in case they are not sure of the process?
• What if there is a repository of unruly passenger behaviours and what actions were taken or be taken in case of such behaviours, so that passengers are aware and behave politely?
• What if the passengers are clearly aware of what to do and what not to do inside the aircraft?
• What if the passengers have clear information on what to do in case of missing luggage?
• What if the passengers are clearly aware of how to properly discard wastes inside the aircraft so that each aircraft can save some time in cleaning, which compounds to a huge time saved for all aircrafts and trips?
• What if there are weighing scales placed outside airports’ entry gates? Many first time travellers have family or friends accompanying them to airport. In case their baggage is overweight, they can give back not so important things and avoid the hassle of overweight baggage charges.
• What if the ticket mentions the size/volume of cabin baggage as the luggage cabins might differ in sizes based on the aircraft types. Ex. Length, Width & Height, so that the users can plan and pack accordingly.

Besides, the users tend to follow rules better if they are also given the reason/why. How Might We explain why the users are required to follow certain rules?

• Ex. The reason why seats are told to be kept upright and tray tables have to be closed while take-off/landing is to allow the passengers to move out of their seats in case of an emergency evacuation. In the case of an emergency evacuation, if the seats are reclined or if the tray tables are kept open, it would hinder the movement of the passengers to the aisle and escape the aircraft, hence wasting valuable time during the evacuation process. – Source: Quora.
• Ex. The reason window shades are required to be kept open is to get a visual of the outside environment, especially engines. In case a fire breaks out in any of the engines, the passengers can notify the flight attendants, who will, in turn, bring it to the pilot’s attention and the required emergency procedure can be followed. – Source: Quora.

Implementing some of these and enabling passengers with proper information, can reduce anxiety, increase satisfaction, and foster a positive relationship with air passengers, besides saving valuable time.

References & a wealth of resources:

Over 1,200 hours wasted daily confiscating cigarette lighters, perfume sprays, power banks
What Can I Bring? All | Transportation Security Administration
New Study: The Top 3 Mistakes That Are Slowing You Down at Airport Security 
13 Things That Totally Annoy TSA Agents 
15 Things Smart Travelers Always Do Before a Flight 
I’ve Been to 30 Countries and These Are the Travel Mistakes I’ll Never Make Again 
10 things airport passengers should stop wasting money on, according to a former flight attendant

PS: For the past one month, talking to friends and writing has been therapy for me.
HBR: To Cope with Stress, Try Learning Something New

Readers, please leave a note on the difficulties you had faced during air travel and what could have improved your situation? Thank you.