17 Things I Do Before a Flight: My Pre-Travel Checklist

Jo Roberts

15 September 2026

Home » 17 Things I Do Before a Flight: My Pre-Travel Checklist

Even though I’ve flown hundreds of times I still get pre-flight anxiety and have to check that everyone has their passport a few too many times before we set off for the airport.

If you’re anything like me and always panic you’ve forgotten something vital before a trip, I’ve written this handy pre-flight checklist to hopefully reassure you, help you organise everything from visas to family pets, and to know that you’ve got this!

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My Pre-Flight Checklist

1. Check my passport and travel documents

Never leave these till the last minute. I always check as soon as I book a flight that our passports are in date and meet the validity requirements for the country we’re visiting (usually with 6 months left from the end of the trip), and if we require any visas, ETA and ESTA, vaccination and entry requirements.

Passport validity – ensure your passport is valid for the whole trip and meets the entry requirements for your destination. Some countries require at least six months’ validity, so always check before you travel.
Blank pages if relevant – if you’ve run out of blank pages, you’ll need to renew your passport.
Visa/ETA/ESTA requirements – check entry requirements, and medical requirements.
Travel insurance – travel insurance is something I consider essential. I never travel anywhere without making sure my travel insurance fully covers my trip. You might need to add on extra cover for certain trips for example cruise cover or winter sports.
Driving licence and International Driving Permit if renting a car
Booking confirmations – have all your confirmations, including reference numbers, addresses and contact details, as well as instructions for arrival.

2. Check my flight details

Departure date – I know what you’re thinking! But I still check several times 😅
Departure time – check the airlines departure details, luggage check-in times, gate opening time. Ensure your arrival will get you there in plenty of time. We usually stay at the airport if there’s a risk of traffic delays.
Airport – some cities have more than one airport so check you have the right one!
Terminal – make sure you know which terminal you’re departing from.
Baggage allowance – if you’re over the luggage allowance, they always charge more at the airport, if you require extra, pay before you arrive.
Connection times if applicable – if you have a connecting flight, check how much time you’ll have between flights and whether you need to go through security, immigration or collect and re-check your luggage. My daughter had her luggage delayed by a day because she didn’t check this in South Africa.
Any airline emails or schedule changes – keep an eye on your inbox.

3. Check in on-line

When on-line check in opens – as soon as online check-in opens, I check us all in.
Downloading boarding passes – I’ll download all of our boarding passes onto my phone and, if possible, save them to my Apple Wallet. I also print them as a backup, just in case I have any problems getting online at the airport.
Checking allocated seats – if you’ve paid to choose your seats, this is also a good time to make sure everyone has the seats you expected.

4. Double check the luggage allowance

This is one I definitely don’t leave until we get to the airport!

Luggage allowance – annoyingly, airlines tend to have very different luggage allowances, particularly when it comes to cabin bags. Check the size and weight you’re allowed before you start packing, as getting to the airport and finding out your hand luggage is too big or too heavy can be a very expensive surprise – it recently cost my mum an extra 70 Euros!
Extra luggage – if we need extra luggage, I always add it before we get to the airport. It’s usually much cheaper than paying excess baggage charges at the airport.
What can and can’t go in hand luggage – I also check what we’re allowed to take in our hand luggage, particularly liquids, batteries and power banks. Liquid and security rules can vary for each airport you’re travelling through, including your return journey.

👉 See my smarter packing guide.

5. Check the weather at my destination

A few days before we travel, I check the weather forecast for where we’re going and pack accordingly.

I don’t just look at the temperature either. I check whether rain is expected, what the evenings will be like and whether there is likely to be much wind.

There’s nothing worse than packing for 25°C sunshine and arriving to find that it’s raining and 15°C!

I’ll then have a final look at the forecast before we leave and make any last-minute changes to what I’m wearing or taking in my hand luggage.

6. Plan how we’re getting to the airport

This is something I take seriously, particularly if we have an early morning flight. If we’re departing from London I always stay over the night before.

If we’re departing from our nearest airport, I check how long the journey should take and then allow extra time for traffic, parking and getting into the terminal.

If we’re driving, I’ll check the airport parking and make sure I know exactly where we need to go. If we’re getting a taxi, train or other public transport, I’ll check the times and have a backup plan if necessary.

For an important flight, I would much rather be sitting in the airport with a coffee than stuck in traffic wondering if we’re going to miss our flight!

7. Download all our travel documents

I like to have everything I might need easily accessible on my phone and printed off and in a handy folder before we leave home.

This includes:

Boarding passes
Hotel bookings
Airport parking confirmation
Car hire confirmation
Airport transfers
Excursions and tour bookings
Travel insurance details
Any important booking reference numbers

I make sure I have the address, contact details and check-in instructions for our first hotel handy. If we’re hiring a car, I’ll have the address of the car hire company ready too.

You never know when you’re going to arrive somewhere with no Wi-Fi or mobile signal, so having important information available offline can save a lot of grief. Whenever I’ve been sloppy and not had this to hand it’s always caused issues.

8. Download maps for our destination

Talking of being without Wi-Fi, I always download an offline map from Google Maps before I leave when the destination is supported.

Google Maps allows you to download areas to use offline, which is particularly handy when you first arrive somewhere.

I’ll usually make sure I can find:

The airport
Our accommodation
The car hire office
The town or city centre
Any important places we’re visiting

It might sound a little over the top, but when you’ve just landed somewhere unfamiliar and your phone decides it doesn’t fancy connecting to the internet, you’ll be glad you did it!

9. Check my phone and charge everything

The night before a flight, I make sure everything that needs charging is actually charged:

Phone
iPad/tablet
Kindle
Smartwatch
Camera
Headphones
Power bank

Check you have all the charging cables you need and the correct plug adaptor. My phone is probably one of the most important things I take travelling because it holds boarding passes, maps, bookings, travel information and, of course, the camera!

10. Check my phone roaming and data

Before travelling abroad, I check what my mobile phone plan allows me to use at our destination. I use ID so I get free roaming in the EU but for everywhere else I download an e-SIM from Saily.

If I need an eSIM or extra data, I sort it out before we go rather than trying to work it out after landing.

👉 Decide which e-SIM is best for your trip.

11. Sort out money and bank cards

Check debit / credit cards – I check that we have the cards we need and that they’re working before we travel.
Tell bank if necessary – my bank requires me to inform them when I’m travelling abroad, so I always do this before we go.
Check overseas fees – see whether your bank charges for using cards abroad.
Take a small amount of local currency if useful – check whether you’ll need any cash in the local currency. I don’t like carrying lots of cash, but I usually like to have a small amount with us, particularly if we’re arriving late at night or heading somewhere where cards might not be accepted everywhere.
Don’t keep all money / cards together – I also keep our cards and money in more than one place when travelling, rather than putting everything in the same wallet.
Have an emergency payment method – occasionally a card won’t work, so I like having more than one payment method available.

12. Check my travel insurance

Travel insurance is one of those things you hope you’ll never need, but I wouldn’t travel without it.

I check that our policy covers the whole trip and that we’ve added any extra cover we might need.

For example, you may need additional cover for winter sports, cruises or certain activities.

I also make sure I know where to find the policy details and emergency contact number. There’s not much point having insurance if you can’t find the details when you actually need them!

👉 See my guide to travel insurance here.

13. Sort out medication and our little essentials

If you’re taking prescription medication abroad, check whether your destination has any restrictions and whether you need to carry a copy of your prescription or a doctor’s letter.

Regular medication – any medication we need goes into our hand luggage rather than our checked suitcase.
Prescriptions – I also make sure I have any prescriptions, glasses, contact lenses and other things that would be difficult to replace at short notice.
Basic toiletries – I always think about what I would really need if my suitcase disappeared for a couple of days. Those are the things I want with me on the plane.

14. Sort out the house, pets and anything else at home

Before we go away, there is always a ridiculous number of things to remember at home!

Doors and windows – make sure the doors and windows are locked.
Cancel deliveries – I cancel the milkman and groceries. If I can’t avoid a delivery, I ask a neighbour to pick it up from my doorstep.
Household items – I empty the bins, fridge, washing machine, and dishwasher, I adjust heating, turn off most plug sockets and check anything else that needs doing before we leave.

And, of course, if we’re travelling as a family, there are the pets to organise too.

Pet arrangements – I make sure everyone knows who is looking after them, when they need feeding and anything else they need while we’re away.

15. Pack my hand luggage carefully

I always make sure my hand luggage contains the things I absolutely don’t want to lose.

My essentials are:

Passport
Boarding pass
Phone
Wallet and bank cards
Medication
Glasses
Chargers
Power bank
Headphones
Travel documents
Any valuables
A few basic toiletries
Something to read or watch

If I’m checking a suitcase into the hold, I’ll also put a change of underwear and basic clothes in my hand luggage if I have room.

It might not be the most exciting packing tip, but if your suitcase decides to have its own little holiday without you, you’ll be very pleased you did!

16. Do one final luggage check

Once everything is packed, I do a final check of our cases.

I weigh the suitcases if we have a weight allowance and check that nobody has accidentally put something in their hand luggage that isn’t allowed.

Then I go through my pre travel check list one more time.

Passport? Check.

Boarding passes? Check.

Phone? Check.

Wallet? Check.

Suitcases? Check.

And then I check the passports again… because apparently once isn’t enough!

17. Check the flight one last time before we leave

My final job before we set off for the airport is to check the flight again.

I check the departure time, terminal and flight status and make sure there haven’t been any last-minute changes or messages from the airline.

Then I make sure everyone has their passport, bags and phones and we’re finally ready to go.

And despite having checked everything approximately 47 times, I’ll probably still ask everyone in the car:

“Has everyone got their passport?”

Because that’s just what you do when you’re the person who organised the holiday!

My final pre-flight check list

If you’re anything like me, sometimes you just want a simple list you can tick off rather than reading through an entire article.

So here’s my quick pre-flight check list:

☐ Passport and travel documents
☐ Visa/ETA/ESTA checked
☐ Travel insurance
☐ Flight details checked
☐ Online check-in completed
☐ Boarding passes downloaded
☐ Luggage allowance checked
☐ Bags packed and weighed
☐ Airport parking/transport arranged
☐ Hotel and travel bookings downloaded
☐ Offline maps downloaded
☐ Phone and devices charged
☐ Roaming/eSIM sorted
☐ Bank cards checked
☐ Medication packed in hand luggage
☐ House sorted
☐ Pets/house sitter organised
☐ Flight checked before leaving home

Final thoughts

I know this might seem like a lot of things to check before a flight, but most of them only take a few minutes and doing them in advance makes travel day so much less stressful.

I’ve travelled enough times to know that things can and do go wrong, but being organised means you’re much better prepared when they do.

So, next time you’re sitting at home wondering what to do before a flight, grab this checklist, work your way through it and then go and enjoy your holiday.

And yes, you can still check your passport one more time. I won’t judge!

Yes please!

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