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10 simple cocktails you can make on your next flight

Let’s be honest. By the time you rush to the airport, get mildly violated by security, and finally squeeze past the first 30 rows to make it to your seat, you’re going to need a drink. Throw in a screaming baby or a little bit of turbulence, and we’re going to bet you’ll need another. Flying coach may be missing the glamour it once had, but that doesn’t mean you can’t save a little of the fun. Enter the in-flight cocktail. While we’re all familiar with the usual onboard offerings — you know, Coke, cran-apple juice, tomato juice, orange juice, etc. — there are some pretty spectacular cocktails you can whip up by ordering (or bringing along) a few mini bottles of booze and then acting as your own bartender. These cocktails cut tons of corners, so if you’re a purist, you’re not going to be happy with the butchery…

American Airlines to allow passengers with nut allergies early boarding

Peanuts haven’t been served on American Airlines flights for some time, but now the major U.S. airline is going further to help those with nut allergies by allowing them the opportunity to board early. According to AA, passengers with peanut or tree nut allergies will have the option to join Boarding Group 1. The extra time gives passengers a chance to wipe down seats, tray tables, arm rests or any other areas of concern where allergens my be present and trigger their condition. The change will be well received, no doubt, by the 15 million Americans living with the food allergies, though it may not come as a surprise to many. Various people and groups have filed complaints in the past urging the airlines to address potential allergen issues and increase efforts to provide for passenger safety. Food Allergy Research & Education, a nonprofit, filed the original complain against the…

Airport security bins are dirtier than toilets, study shows

The dirtiest thing you’ll encounter at the airport isn’t the toilet seat. Nor is the tray tables or even your sniffling seat mate. According to a study from the University of Nottingham and the Finnish National Institute for Health and Welfare, it’s those plastic security trays that are the filled with the most infectious diseases. The research was published in BMC Infectious Diseases, which found 10 respiratory viruses including the flu and common cold lingering on various surfaces through the Helsinki-Vantaa airport in Finland. Scientists visited several times during the 2015-16 flu season and collected germ samples at various times of the day. As it turns out, the bins that hold your cell phone, shoes, purse, coat, and other belongings that need scanned for security, had more germs than any other area tested — including toilet, elevator buttons, and even the flight check-in kiosks. The virus found could easily cause you…

T.S.A. starts checking snacks, holds up security lines

It used to be that solids foods were safe from the prying eyes of airport security. But TSA has stepped up its screening of carry-on snacks, meaning the security line is about get that much slower. According to The Daily Meal, TSA officers have been making passengers remove all snacks from their carry-on bags before walking sending them through screening. This means that lines are getting held up for that Clif Bar you forgot you tucked in your backpack side pocket, and that trail mix in your kid’s carry-on. Because many people aren’t aware of the new screening, they’re being sent back through security lines because of food they have forgotten about. The New York Times reports that this its not an official policy, but security can ask people to remove snacks if they think it’s necessary or if snack items look questionable on X-ray cameras. Snack scanning is supposed to actually speed up lines…

Choosing this seat on the airplane will help you avoid getting sick, study says

If you dread stepping onboard an airplane for fear of getting sick, then you might want to double check your seat assignment. When it comes to immunity, nothing is a guarantee, but apparently you can increase your odds of avoiding sickness if you select a window seat and remain there for the whole flight. According to a study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, travelers moving about the cabin is more of a cause for concern than the recirculated air that gets such a bad rap. Since your seat assignment largely determines the likelihood you’ll get up from your seat, it also determines your chance of coming in contact with germs that will make you ill. People sitting in the aisle seats are 80% likely to walk about the cabin, while only 62% of middle seats and 43% of window seat customers do the same. So if you…

Flying with food: What you can bring through TSA security checkpoints this holiday

Inching your way through the airport security line the Wednesday before Thanksgiving is stressful and time-consuming enough. The last thing you want to do is be pulled aside by a TSA agent and forced to toss that great bottle of wine you got Dad simply because you forgot the liquid laws. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) estimates that 2.4 million passengers will pass through security checkpoints each day leading up to Thanksgiving. And holiday travel is expected to be up throughout the whole 2017 season. “Last year was a record breaking year for the airline industry, and this year is expected to break that,” said Michael England, TSA National Spokesman. Food and drink play a big role in the holidays, so it’s likely that many of these millions of travelers will attempt to take with them edible gifts, baked goods or maybe even a side dish of some sort. Fortunately for travelers, agency stipulations don’t have to…

The fate of your confiscated airport food

A bustling travel season is in full swing, and while we’re all familiar with the airport security screening process, it can still be easy to make a mistake when an open water bottle or piece of fruit gets forgotten in your backpack. But what happens to these food items after they’re confiscated? These airport checkpoints don’t exist simply to inconvenience you, but rather to protect our American agriculture from threat. In a video by Great Big Story, U.S. customs supervisor Ellie Scaffa tells the story of what happens to these illegal imports down the line — and no, the TSA staff doesn’t get to sit around feasting each evening. “I’ve been threatened with my life,” she says about her efforts at New York’s JFK Airport where she personally sorts through up to 600 pounds of illegal produce per day. All confiscated goods, whether it be Chinese beef candy or Jamaican mangoes,…