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Departure lounge

The departure lounge, especially the lounge you sit in when you are called to your gate, is generally full of loads of stressed out people who love to queue up and get even more stressed in confined spaces. If you have a booked seat and a long journey, staying away from the scrum, getting on last and at a gentle leisure is recommended. Well worth heading to the toilet last thing before you get on (avoid the early queues) and even checking out for empty business class seats as you get on last - always worth politely asking with a nice smile (you never know!).

Tips
- Keep your passport and boarding card in your money belt and with you at all times.
- Duty free is a great place to pick up cheap stuff. Plan this into your budget, but don’t buy unnecessary crap.
- A great place to find free papers often left around.
- Food and drink are extortionate in the airport, buy this stuff outside and bring in.
- Quite often the most uncomfortable places to sit (especially if delayed), so unless you know that they are comfortable, don’t go through too early. Always better to relax in a bar than to squirm on a plastic seat surrounded by stressed people.