Traveler Shares 'Airport Secret' for Avoiding Long Wait to Be Picked Up

Tired of waiting forever at the airport's arrivals gate to finally catch your ride back home after your travels? One woman's handy travel hack might do the trick next time to avoid a long wait. The woman's "airport secret" was revealed in a viral TikTok video posted July 13 by Lindsay Mukaddam to her TikTok account @onegirlwandering, which has received a million views. "Come to the departures level if the arrival level is completely slammed with cars," Mukaddam says in the clip. Mukaddam, a 37-year-old travel content creator and writer based in Austin, Texas, told Newsweek: "I found out about this hack because the Austin airport actually has signs during busy travel times encouraging travelers to use both levels for pickups and drop-offs. Not everyone pays attention to this, but those who do listen to this advice have a shorter wait time."

The hack could be useful on your next trip as the demand for air travel continues to see strong growth in the post-pandemic era. The U.S. Transport Security Administration says 1,879,838 passengers passed through a TSA checkpoint on Tuesday, compared with 516,068 on the same day in 2020, the year when the COVID-19 pandemic began. Globally, traffic in May is reported to now be at 96.1 percent of May 2019 (pre-pandemic) levels, according to a report released in July by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Willie Walsh, the IATA's director general, said in the report: "We saw more good news in May. Planes were full, with the average load factors reaching 81.8 percent," and "international demand reached 90.8 percent of pre-pandemic levels." The report found that the total industry load factor increased by 81.8 percent, led by North American carriers at 86.3 percent. The TikTok video was captured at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. The footage shows Mukaddam wearing a backpack and standing next to some bags against the backdrop of an airport driveway. "Here is my airport secret," she says in the video. "Come to the departures level if the arrival level is completely slammed with cars because then the person who's picking you up can get up here with no issues and they don't have to wait in line." Mukaddam told Newsweek that "this trick isn't going to work at all airports" because some don't have two levels or separate areas for departures and arrivals. "Some days both levels are slammed, and unfortunately this trick won't work then. And obviously if there are any rules or laws at your airport saying to not use this hack, don't break those," she advised. Mukaddam said, "I hate waiting around in lines when I travel." She has deployed several other tricks to help avoid queues. Some of her other tips include using the Starbucks mobile app to order your coffee. "I actually do this while waiting in line for security, and I get to walk right up to the counter and grab my drink," she said. She continued: "If you don't have Global Entry [a U.S. Customs and Border Protection program], which I highly recommend and you can get for free as a benefit of many travel credit cards, download the Mobile Passport Control app to expedite your entry through U.S. customs. Not all airports support this, but the ones that do make it so much easier and faster to skip those long customs lines." Do you have a travel-related video or story to share? Let us know via life@newsweek.com and your story could be featured in Newsweek.

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