Have there been any significant changes to flying as a passenger compared to 10 years ago?

Question

in mid December of this year, I'll be flying for the first time in around 10 years, from Deurne (Antwerp International, ANR) to Alicante (ALC) using Tui Fly, with assisted travel because of my autism. Last time I flew was in 2012 on a comparable trajectory (Brussels to Alicante), which was an entirely different time before the global COVID-19 pandemic. So I'm curious: Have there been any significant evolutions or changes in commercial passenger flight that would impact me as a passenger, whether positive or negative?

Note that last time I flew, I had a decent amount of flight anxiety due to heavy turbulence while landing in an earlier flight, and honestly I kinda feel a bit anxious for this upcoming flight as well. I remember that during the last flight I was tensing up in my seat every time there was even a small amount of turbulence. Any recommendations for preparing/dealing with that are welcome as well.

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In case it's relevant: I will be more than fully vaccinated for COVID-19 (first shot in April 2021, second shot in May 2021, generic booster shot in January 2022, then an additional Omicron booster in October 2022 and a yearly renewal booster for at-risk groups later this week), and if required I would be willing to wear a mask, assuming it's mandated. I'd rather not wear a mask if it's not mandated or heavily recommended.

Answer 1

A few things may have changed, but it's difficult to say if they apply in your case, as the introduction of such measures depends a lot on the airlines, airports and even specific flights, so it could be that those changes haven't been introduced at all in your case, or that they were already introduced last time you flew. But it's possible they were introduced sometime between the two.

1. Restrictions on bags: more and more airlines will either restrict baggage sizes/weights (both for carry-on and checked luggage), or make you pay extra. Some airlines may have two different sizes for carry-on: one (small enough to fit under the seat in front of you) remains free, the other one (anything bigger, up to the carry-on limit) to be paid extra.

2. Self baggage drop: in many airports, instead of queuing to get to an agent to check-in, you will use kiosks to perform check-in, and sometimes even to get your luggage tags, which you then need to stick onto your bag yourself. Details vary quite a bit, and there's always help around, but that's a change.

3. Online/mobile check-in: it is more and more common that you have to perform check-in online or on your mobile before your flight, to either get a mobile boarding pass on your phone, or to print before departure. Cases where you have to print your boarding pass before departure can be annoying for the return trip, since you have to find a way to print the boarding pass while away from home, but for intra-EU flights that should be rare.

4. On the other hand, there are more and more digital tools to assist you during your trip, with apps, mobile boarding passes (in app, via e-mail, in phone wallet...), notifications, etc.

5. In some cases (I would think probably not in yours), ID controls have been temporarily re-introduced at internal Schengen borders. This is more likely on trips from the South and East of Europe to the North and West. Nothing special there, you just have to get into the queue and present your ID. Sometimes checks happen during boarding or right when you exit the aircraft, in most cases they happen at regular passport control booths.

6. Like for bags, in-flight meal/beverage services are more and more limited or provided as extras, but that trend started quite a bit earlier than 10 years ago I believe.

7. Some airlines may have changed boarding procedures (mostly the order in which people are called). Some also introduced assigned seating (but airlines which did not have assigned seating were pretty rare anyway).

8. During security, different types of scanners may have been introduced, both for you and for your carry-on bags. For you, there are now full-body scanners which require you to just stand in the scanner for a few seconds while they get a full "X-Ray type" vision of you and anything you carry. It is imperative that you fully empty your pockets beforehand. For bags, some scanners no longer require you to get liquids and/or electronic devices out of your bag. Whether you have to remove your shoes or not also varies.

9. If you have any fear of you checked bags getting lost, tracking devices such as AirTags can be helpful.

All in all, most of them are pretty small changes and nothing to worry about, just read carefully everything communicated by the airline. Most of these changes involve the process before and after the flight, rather than during the flight itself.

Answer 2

Many "traditional" airlines (e.g. Air Canada, Delta, Lufthansa, KLM, China Southern) now have similar practices to low-cost budget airlines (e.g. Ryanair, Jetstar, Spring Airlines), including:

• you may need to pay to select a seat (even if not preferred, e.g. exit rows), or you can only select seat for free starting from certain times based on how much you paid for the ticket and your frequent flyer status.
• checked bags are no longer the standard, even for long-haul international routes.
• the same applies to drinks and food (especially on domestic flights, even if it takes a few hours, e.g. Montreal - Vancouver), although most full-service airlines would probably still serve water or even soft drink for free.
• online check-in may be required, failing of which may result in a fee at the airport (still a rare practice for traditional airlines).

The details should be available from the airline's website.

This was already changing 10 years ago, but it is now true for much more airlines now, especially in Europe.

Additionally, while not directly related to air travel and not relevant in your case, more countries have started to require prior electronic authorizations for visa-free nationals.

Answer 3

One thing which, as far as I can see, none of the previous good answers has touched on is airports which are an integral part of your journey from Belgium to Spain.

Airports recommend arriving very early for flights partly because they obtain significant revenue from shopping to the extent it can almost be difficult to find your gate because of the retail opportunities. They are therefore quite crowded airside. Seating is therefore also often hard to find. If you find crowds hard to deal with this may be an issue for you and you might want to investigate paying for lounge access although check on-line reviews first as some lounges are not much better.

Antwerp is probably fairly small but Alicante being on a big tourist route will be crowded and busy.

Answer 4

In flight entertainment has changed.

Cabin-wide TVs and projectors have largely been removed from aircraft. Airlines have replaced this with either individual seat-back screens or have taken a bring-your-own-device approach where you have to connect to Wi-Fi and stream content on your smartphone or tablet. Long-haul flights often have individual screens, but depending on the carrier, it can be either for regional/domestic. If an app is necessary, you should be sure to download it before flight.

In-flight Wi-Fi has become ubiquitous, as airlines charge and make revenue from this.

Supporting both developments, in-seat power and USB charging ports have become much more common. It is useful to pack an easily-accessible charger and cable to avail yourself of this.

Answer 5

One thing not yet covered in the answers, support because of autism has become more well known and should be available for you in both airports, which will make going through security easier. If you have someone travel with you, make sure they are registered with the airline and airports, likely the airline will do that for you.

You will likely still need to empty all pockets, so if you have a stress reliever (like a small toy) it must go through the scanning machine. If you have one of those, talk it over with your support person.

Having applied for and gotten airport autism support they will likely be able to skip standing in line, but how this is done depends on the airport.

Answer 6

Just a note on the turbulence as it seems like a big deal for you.

I fly 4-5 times a year from Rotterdam to Alicante and almost never really have a lot of turbulence. Despite Alicante having only one runway the weather in December is usually mild compared to SEP - NOV months. Some tips could be;

• Don't look out the window and rest head against the seat.
• Bring noise-cancelling headphones; not hearing the airplane sounds and listening to some music can make you feel more at easy IMO.
• Pick a seat near the wings as it will provide (a little more) stability.
• You can use tools to see if turbulence is expected.

Answer 7

These are 2 questions I'll split up.

Covid and masks: It's not mandatory at all to wear a mask (at this time). You might see people wearing one. That's something that changed since the pandemic, people that are afraid to catch something or people with a normal cold that don't want to infect people around them. (also noticed in people who work from home when they feel a littlebit ill) There are still stickers in the airports (Zaventem) but I think that's because they still didn't remove them.

Anxiety for flying: There are trainings you could follow against flying anxiety. I assume you are afraid of crashing. Know that the chance of beeing in an airplane crash are much lower than beeing in a carcrash on the way to the airport. Planes are very safe and are improved every time. For me it helps to open the airflow over my head, put some music on and try to focus on relaxing. See it as a rollercoaster.

Enjoy your flight! There's nothing to worry about.