by L Schroeder

Created on: February 27, 2007   Last Updated: October 31, 2008

Fear of flying should be changed to fear of getting through the airport. For the most part, once travellers actually finish the hours of waiting in lines and being humiliated through security, the actual flight is the least trivial detail.

First getting to the airport is turning into a nightmare. Most airports are on the outskirts of cities so it takes hours of enduring traffic to get there.

Check-in represents another problem. You have to wait in a huge line to check bags. Even if the airline you're using has internet check-in, you still have to wait in line to check your bags. And if the airline has a kiosk to self check-in, you wait in line to use that.

Security is the biggest nightmare. Not only do you have to take off your jacket, your shoes, your belt, and remove every metal thing from your pockets, you have to pack your allowable liquids into a ziplock bag for the whole world to see.

And even once you get past security, you still have to endure waiting in line to board. Even if people has assigned seats they still crowd the gate area.

And once inside the gate there will be a line in the plane because someone in front of you is taking their sweet time cramming their luggage into the overhead bin.

Once you finally make it to your small seat you will be reminded that you will have to pay for a meal, pay for headphone, pay for a blanket and pillow.

After you've endured all these horrendous obstacles just to get on the plane, the actual flight in the air is the least of your worries.

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