Throughout the years, I have accumulated a considerable amount of funny airport stories. Well, to be honest, not all of them were funny when they happened, but when I look back on them, I laugh now. I think the same thing happens to many of us with other things.

Lost baggage, security check fails, missed flights, check-in fails…sounds familiar? You’ve probably encountered at least one of those situations when traveling. If you haven’t, you’re a lucky person indeed!

I’ve had my good share of them, so I decided I would share a few with you. Are you ready to laugh a bit? 

Goodbye, My Belongings

Airport baggage sign.

The very first time I flew was in the U.S. I remember it perfectly. The route was Houston-Tampa. Everything went smoothly on my departure, but not so on my return. It turned out there weren’t any seats available for my family and me. We had checked in with no problem, but once at the boarding gate, they told us there weren’t any seats for us. I was shocked! What were we going to do?

Now that I think about it, I guess they overbooked the flight. I don’t know. Anyway, they told us they were paying for accommodations for us at the Marriott Hotel and also gave us some vouchers for food. The only problem was our baggage did fly back home! So, we were stranded in Florida for one night with no baggage. 

TIP: Always bring with you at least a change of clothes in your carry-on.

Not So Fast, Sir!

Airport security check line.

This happened when I finished college some time ago. Some friends and I had planned a trip to Cancún to celebrate our success! We were going to party, hit the beach, and whatnot. It was the perfect plan.

Once at the Monterrey airport, we checked in and headed to the inspection area. When my backpack passed through the detector, it went off. So, they called me and opened my backpack to inspect it. What did they find? A large AA battery pack. They told me I wasn’t allowed to carry too many batteries so I had to distribute them among my friends.

Now, before anybody judges me, it was my second or third time flying, and I wasn’t too familiar with airport restrictions. I had just bought my first digital camera as smartphones were not around yet. I didn’t want one of those cameras with rechargeable batteries so I decided to buy one that could use normal batteries. My bad. 

TIP: Always verify what’s allowed on board and what restrictions there are.

Wrong Fare

Several years ago, I had to travel with my boss to Mexico City on business. Everything had been fine up until our return. When we tried to check in at the airport, they told us we exceeded our baggage allowance and had to pay a difference. 

It turns out that the person who booked our flights had made a mistake and had only booked a travel light fare for our return. We had brought with us more than carry-on since our trip lasted for several days. Needless to say, my boss had to pay extra fees.

TIP: Always verify your baggage allowance when booking a flight.

This Is Not Allowed

Hand indicating stop.

When I went to Oaxaca, I loved it. The people, the food, and everything I saw were just fantastic. I tried the mole negro for the first time and I said to myself I needed to bring some with me back home. So, I bought a small container at the local market.

Little did I suspect, but I would have to part with my mole. Once at the inspection area, the detector went off. They inspected my backpack and it turns out that mole was restricted. I knew about the 3 oz. rule for liquids, but I didn’t know it also applied to other things such as gels, creams, and pastes.

It was useless to convince the agent. Even though the container was sealed and the mole was not liquid but a paste, he told me that mole falls below the liquid category. I had two options: I could go back to the check-in counter and check my backpack or I would have to leave it there. With all the pain of my heart, I chose the latter.

TIP: The 3 oz. rule applies not only to liquids but also to gels, creams, and pastes.

What’s That Smell?

Man covering his nose.

When I was in college, we went to a conference in Mérida. The organizers had included a few tours around the city. Some of them included a cenote and the Maya ruins of Chichén Itzá.

On the last day, there wasn’t anything programmed. We had free time until the mid-afternoon. So, one of my friends dropped by the tour’s office at the hotel lobby and got us a deal. They would take us to the beach and to see the flamingos in Celestún. Lunch was included and they would take us directly to the airport. And the price was a bargain!

Before leaving the beach and heading to the airport, we took turns to rinse off the sand at the only shower available. There wasn’t any shampoo or soap available and none of us had any, either. Luckily, we had deodorant. 🙂

The guide took us to the airport on time and we checked in immediately. I felt so uncomfortable the whole time until I arrived home and was able to shower. What a relief it was! 😀

TIP: For those times when you’re not sure if water and soap will be available, cleaning wipes come in handy.

That’s a Wrap!

These are but a few stories that have happened to me. They’re inevitable. If it wasn’t your flight, it was the baggage or something else. It’s all part of the process. Just learn from your mistakes. Remember that practice makes perfect.

After all, they’re life experiences. What would life be like without those funny stories? It would be extremely boring. Don’t you think?

Would you like a second part with more funny stories? I’ve got tons of them. Let me know in the comments below.

As always, feel free to ask me any questions or leave any comments you have. I will be glad to answer them all. See you soon!

Book your trip now!

Book your flight

The first thing you have to do is find cheap flights. But where do you find those? There are many search engines, but the one I highly recommend is Skyscanner. Here you can compare fares from all over the world and pick the one that suits you best.

Book your accommodation

The next thing you have to do is secure your lodging. Whether you prefer a hostel, a guesthouse, a B&B, or a hotel, you can find them all on Booking. You can find lodging of all kinds ranging from cheap to expensive and somewhere in between. Many people have scored good deals using it.

Another popular option is Hostelworld. This website focuses on hostels as opposed to hotels.

Book a tour

In some places, you might want to hire a tour. Not all places are equally accessible to visit by oneself. It helps enormously when you visit with a local guide who can show you around and answer any questions you might have…all in your native language. My to-go place is Viator as they offer tours of all kinds and have a presence all over the world.

Rent a car

Public transportation is usually cheaper than renting a car, but it’s sometimes more complicated and time-consuming. That’s a reality. In some cases, it’s more convenient to rent a car. My recommendation is Rentalcars.com. Here you can compare rates and choose the one that fits you best.

Book your bus tickets

You can save money by booking bus tickets online. My favorite site to do this is Busbud.

Get travel insurance

Never travel without a travel insurance policy, especially during these days! Travel insurance can save your life. My recommendations are World Nomads and Insured Nomads. Both companies cover COVID-19 related incidents, which is crucial these days.

More resources

Just click on the “Plan your trip” tab at the top of this page, and you will find more resources like getting Mexican insurance for your foreign car, buying travel accessories, and learning Spanish. And, of course, don’t forget to check back often to read about more tips on Mexico travel.

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12 Replies to “Funny (and Not So Funny) Airport Stories”

  1. Seems like you learned a lot from all your experiences as well! For me, one lesson that I learn is always keep to the rule of arriving to the airport 2 hours in advance and IMMEDIATELY start checking in and heading towards your gate. At least once you know you’re in the boarding area, then you can probably go to the lounge or something. I learned that the hard way when I missed my flight at the airport in Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur. Had to run for what seem like a mile, then realized I missed my flight by a few minutes.

    That’s my funny story, but I never missed another flight after that again.

    1. I sure did lol! Well, I have more stories to tell. I will probably share them in another post.

      You’re right. It’s important to arrive at the airport 2 hours in advance. The problem is when I’m traveling with other people and it doesn’t depend on me.

      Thanks for commenting.

  2. I really would love to travel to Mexico very soon and your site provides very helpful info.  Mexico is such an amazing place to visit!

    I found the info on famous movies fascinating… I didn’t know Titanic was filmed there!  That is one of my favorite movies of all time.

    Thanks for sharing all this great info!  

  3. Hey I really like your site idea!

    It was nice to come across a site that was just about humor and entertainment……I love comedy myself.  

    I don’t have any funny airport stories but I have plenty of funny stories myself. 

    I actually have a lot of crazy stories too lol.  

    Do you have any other crazy stories coming in and out of Mexico?

    Any stories with the cartel?

    1. Hey,

      Well, the site doesn’t focus on humor, but I try to provide you with interesting content.

      Answering your question, yes, I have more stories. I will share them with you soon.

      Thanks for commenting.

  4. I hate this rule of no liquid product at the airport. I had to leave my hair products, like you I thought it did not apply to creamy stuff. I was at Dubai’s airport and I cried later on because my products were quite expensive.

    Let me ask you, did your boss asked you to refund what he paid for the excess?? I think you are a lucky employee, my boss would have paid his fee and leave me stranded.

    Thanks for sharing!

    1. Who doesn’t hate that rule? LOL. It’s my understanding there weren’t such restrictions before 9/11, but then it all changed. I’m sorry about your products. I can only imagine.

      Answering your question, no, my boss used the company credit card to pay. I guess I would’ve had to pay if it had been my fault, but it wasn’t.

      Thanks for commenting.

  5. The airport lol I hate it so much, the line is just ridiculous with all these strict security checks. I have definitely missed the flight before and also had to throw away my portable charger. The lost baggage never happened to me, thank god but it happened to my girlfriend when we were on the trip and also my sister, I was the lucky one! 

    It is very common for the airlines to over booked the flight as they want to fill up the seats as much as they can. It doesn’t help either when you have these 3rd party flight purchases. The result, no seat for us. 

    Thanks for the tips about a change of clothes on the carry on, It usually is all my laptop and cosmetic but you know what it is essential. You can add my battery back charger on the list, you can load it (by not letting them know) but if the capacity is over certain mAp, you cannot pass the security check. Also you need the belt for your bad because those people will literally throw your bags with no mercy. If they broke your bag you can always file a claim and get the money back. 🙂

    1. Luckily, I’ve never missed a flight yet, but I’ve been really close. It’s more common when I travel with other people and I have to wait for others to head to the airport.

      Yes, it seems overbooking is a common practice. It makes sense financially but is irritating for customers.

      Why did they take away your charger? I always travel with it fully charged, and I haven’t had any problems. The only restriction I know is we can’t travel with more than two. Also, chargers are restricted to 5V. More than that is a no no.

      Thanks for commenting.

  6. Loved reading your short stories! 

    I’ve got a few airport stories of my own. One is similar to your battery in the backpack story; where at the time I was a bartender, and had to book a last minute flight to help a former co-worker of mine in Atlanta. When going through security, they had stopped me to thoroughly search my carry-on backpack. Inside was my bartending wine key (a must for any bartender), that I had just recently purchased for $20 and completely forgot about it being in my backpack. The lady told me I could not keep it, and had to either through it away, or ship it to my home (which I did not have the time to do), so ended up having to throw it away and move on. 

    My other story, is when I was flying out to Vegas from Florida. We had a major hurricane hitting my area the day I was flying out, and had literally just missed it, because my flight flew out three hours before the hurricane hit. Did not have the same luck coming home however. For the hurricane had made its way up to Georgia within the four days I was in Vegas, and wiped out the entire computer system of the whole airport once I had landed in the Atlanta airport. All flights were grounded for over nine hours, before they were able to get me a flight back home. It was a complete nightmare during those nine hours, because not only was the airport completely packed to full capacity, but they had switched my flight portal to the other side of the airport seven times! Home never felt so good once I got back. 

    Thank you again for the humorous stories, and giving me a chance to walk down memory lane. 🙂

    1. Oh, no! I can only imagine. It sucks when you’re pressed for time and have to decide on the spot what you’ll do with something that’s not allowed through security. 

      Being stuck at the airport is no fun. We’re at the mercy of the weather in that regard. 

      I will share more stories soon. Feel free to stop by anytime. Thanks for commenting.

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