Your best friend is getting married in the Bahamas. You’ve managed to locate your lost or stolen U S passport and your bags are all packed and ready to go. The only thing is, you’ve never flown before. You’ve seen the horror stories about plane food and being strip searched at security. Just the thought of being miles in the air makes you want to throw up. Well, there is absolutely nothing to be worried about. Here are a few tips that should ease your mind.

The first and most important thing you can do is to just relax. Get yourself in a frame of mind where you can think rationally. Flying is extremely safe; driving your car is more dangerous than flying. Flying seems so scary only because all you hear about are dramatic stories covering crazy plane crashes.

- A bee sting is more likely to kill you than a plane crash.
- If you spend everyday on a plane, it will take almost 20,000 years before you would get in a crash.
- A pilot goes through as much training as a doctor does.
 - Everything on a plan has a back-up system, along with three autopilots and three computers.
- The airplane goes through 12 hours of inspection and maintenance for every hour they’re in their air.
- Airplanes fly only in designated flyways that are ten miles wide. No other airplane can fly through it.

See? There’s nothing to worry about. Now let’s go on to some specifics that you need to remember for your flight. When packing your bag, you need to decide whether you want to check it or carry it on with you. If you are going on a long trip and have a lot to bring, consider checking it. Having to stuff everything you need into a small bag to bring it on with you would only be more of a hassle. The TSA recommends that you arrive at least two hours before your flight in order to allow enough time for delays associated with checking your bags, getting a boarding pass, getting through security, and finding your terminal.

Try to arrange for a friend to drop you off at the airport. This saves you the hassle of parking. Upon entering the terminal, look for the front desk of your airline. There should be tons of them in a row. This is the location where you will check in, receive your boarding pass, and then check your luggage.

Next is security. Make sure you have your boarding pass, ID, and passport out. Wait in the line, and when you get to the x-ray machine, take off your shoes, take your laptop out of its bag, and put your purse or backpack on the conveyor belt. You will be prompted into a metal detector, and once you pass through that, you’re finished.

So now that you have an idea of how safe flying actually is and what you actually need to do, you can prepare for your trip (bring your pasports), and who knows, maybe even a little fun! Don’t forget to replace your lost or stolen U S passports, grab your three ounce or under toiletries, and some bubblegum for take-off and landing, and get ready to fly.

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