Everyone you’ll see at the airport flew for the first time once. If it’s your turn to take your own maiden voyage and you’re on your own, how will you know how to get from point A to point B?
The ranks of regular airline passengers are growing all the time. Airlines for America reports that in 2025, about 26% of young adults aged 18 to 24 had yet to take their first flight.
If you’re about to fly alone for the first time—or someone you love is about to do that—we’ve put together this simple checklist to guide new passengers through the core procedures of using a commercial airline at the airport for a typical flight.
The process is not hard or scary, and there will be people who can answer questions once you’re at the airport. Just take it step by step.
Before the day of your flight
We’ll assume you already booked a ticket, which can be purchased on the airlines’ websites, and that you purchased a seat assignment in advance to make things go smoother. If you still need a seat assignment, you’ll be given one at the airport.
☐ Make a note of the confirmation code assigned to your ticket in the airline’s receipts to you. That’s how you and your ticket will be identified from now on. The code is usually a combination of six numbers and/or uppercase letters. Airlines sometimes call this a “confirmation number” even though it may contain letters.
☐ Plan what luggage to take. Each airline posts on its website the maximum size and weight allowed, usually in a section labeled “Bags” or “Baggage.” You can carry a small amount of stuff yourself, but not much. Your airline posts those limits in the same place. You can use your confirmation to sign into your reservation and pay to check your luggage so you won’t have to carry it onto the plane with you, if that’s what you want to do.
☐ Pack. Consult the Transportation Security Administration’s list of items you may not bring. It’s a long list, but the biggest headline is you can’t carry beverages or liquids through airport security. You have to place forbidden carry-on items in checked baggage and be separated from them while you’re at the airport and in flight.
☐ Request special assistance if needed. If you use a wheelchair, are flying with a pet, or have any other special requirements (most passengers don’t), make those requests with the airline at least a day ahead of your flight using your confirmation and last name.
☐ Order your special meal. Most domestic flights don’t give you meals anymore, but if your flight does and you want a special type of food (i.e., vegetarian, halal, kosher, etc.), use your confirmation and last name to add those requests to your reservation. Special meals don’t usually cost extra.
24 hours before your flight
☐ Check in. Exactly 1 day before takeoff, airlines open flights for check-in. Airlines want you to confirm that you still intend to fly; otherwise they could potentially give your seat to someone else. Use your confirmation and last name to check in via the airline website or app, and follow the instructions to give any information requested. This is when you obtain your boarding pass. Add that mobile ticket to your phone.
☐ Check with the airline about possible delays. Airlines have sections on their websites where you can check live flight status.
At the airport for your flight
☐ Get there at least 2 hours before the scheduled flight time. Most airlines recommend showing up at least 2 hours before scheduled departure for a domestic flight and 3 hours before an international trip. If your flight is delayed a bit, it’s still a good idea to go to the airport as if the flight were still leaving on time because the airlines sometimes change their minds about announced delays.
☐ Keep your ID handy. It will be requested several times over the next few minutes. The TSA has a web page listing acceptable forms of ID for airports.
☐ First stop: check-in. The airline check-in desks are at the front of the airport in the big area marked Departures or Ticketing. Find your airline. Check in with a human agent at the counter or use the electronic kiosk (usually positioned nearby) with your confirmation code. This is where you can print a paper copy of your boarding pass if you’re not using the mobile version (you can use both if you want).
☐ Drop off your checked bag. If you are checking luggage, go to that check-in desk to drop your bag(s) off with staff. You’ll have to do this part even if you used the electronic kiosk for the first steps of your check-in. If you’re carrying your luggage (remember: no bottles full of liquid) and checking nothing, you won’t need to do this step.
☐ Find your gate number. It’s either on your ticket or you can find it listed by flight on the screens in the departures area.
☐ Head toward your gate. Follow the airport signs to your gate number.
☐ Go through security. Before you get to your gate, you have to pass through TSA inspection. You’ll need your ID again for this. Get in line, read the signs about how to prepare your luggage for inspection, and listen to instructions from TSA agents. They don’t like it if you take photos in this area. Click here for more tips about going through TSA security checkpoints.
☐ After clearing security, find your gate. Make sure the correct flight number and time are listed on the signs and info screens. Don’t worry if there’s not any airline staff at your gate yet, because they tend to show up shortly before boarding time. Boarding time is usually 30–45 minutes before the departure time. As a newbie, you should be at the gate for both. You will only hear your gate’s specific announcements when you’re near your gate—not throughout the entire airport.
☐ Buy drinks, snacks, etc. Use this time to gather everything you need to entertain yourself in a seat for a few hours of flying. Sorry about the high airport prices.
☐ Near boarding time, use the restroom. It can be a pain to get up during the flight, so try to take care of business ahead of time.
Boarding your flight
☐ Listen for your group number. Airlines board customers in batches. Your group number will be listed on your ticket, or the gate agent can tell you the group you belong to. It’s considered rude to line up before your group is called.
☐ Board the plane. It’s usually slow going. Everyone is wrestling with their stuff.
☐ Look for your seat number. As you walk down the aisle of the plane, you’ll find seat numbers displayed on a rail at eye level directly over each row. The seat row is a number, and the seat location is a letter—A is usually a window seat. Take care that you find the correct number and letter to match your boarding pass, or things can get confusing for everyone.
☐ Before sitting, stash your bigger bag in an overhead bin. Try not to use an overhead bin behind your seat if you can help it, because that makes getting off the plane take longer. The fight attendant can tell you the best way to position your bag. Your smaller item can be placed under the seat in front of yours, where your feet also go.
☐ Listen to the fight attendant’s safety instructions. This happens on every flight after everyone is on board and seated but before the actual take-off. Crew members will explain how the in-flight rules work, where the exits and lavatories (toilets) are, and how to operate your seat belt.
During the flight
☐ Sit. Fasten your seat belt. Keep it on the whole time whenever you’re seated. If there’s ever a moment when you’re anxious, look at the fight crew. If they’re relaxed, you can breathe easy, too.
☐ Only stand up when allowed. Look for the overhead illuminated indicators to see when standing is permitted. You are never allowed to get up when the plane is rolling on the ground (i.e., taxiing).
☐ Only use the flight attendant call button for urgent concerns—not for food and drink orders. The flight attendants will make their rounds, including when and if it’s time for refreshments, so for most requests, passengers can just flag down crew members as they pass.
☐ If you use the bathroom, leave it tidy for the person after you. You can wash your hands in the lavatory sink, but don’t drink the water. Flight attendants will give you drinkable water.
After landing
☐ Listen for your baggage claim location. Flight attendants usually announce the number of the baggage claim area for passengers who checked bags. If you don’t hear that announcement, you will still be able to find the relevant info on airport screens either when you get off the plane after landing or in the baggage claim area itself.
☐ Make sure you have everything. Check the seat pocket, the overhead bin, etc. You won’t be allowed back on the plane if you forget something.
☐ Wait your turn to exit. Passengers exit row by row to disembark the plane and enter the destination airport. Stay seated until your row is about to go. When other passengers have to race to catch a connecting flight, crew members may ask you to wait for those folks to depart first.
☐ If you checked baggage and have no more flights, follow the airport’s signs to baggage claim. Once there, wait until your flight’s baggage begins arriving. Keep an eye out for your luggage. When you find it, you can grab it and go—you’re done!
☐ If you didn’t check baggage and you have no more flights, you’re done. You can exit the airport by following the signs, which may say “Ground Transportation.” You won’t be allowed back into the airport after that.
☐ International flights will send you through additional checkpoints. But these will be obvious and well-staffed to answer your questions, and they require no special preparation aside from having your passport ready.
Making flight connections
☐ If you have a connecting flight after your first flight, use the information screens at the airport to find the right gate. Then repeat the boarding process you followed before. Your checked baggage will automatically find its own way to your next flight unless you have been specifically informed otherwise by staff. Getting to your next flight might require passing through security again, but probably not.
