14 life hacks from airport staff that will make your next flight easier

The inconveniences of air travel can range from mildly annoying to catastrophic, from canceled flights to endless security lines. Luckily, the good people of Reddit banded together and asked airport employees, including baggage handlers and flight attendants, to share their life hacks, straight from the source, so to speak.

These tips will help you survive your next flight better.

You can avoid paying for using a baggage cart if you find an empty cart left by someone at the entrance to the terminal. If you return it to its place later, you’ll also get a pretty penny.

Remove batteries from electric toothbrushes and other appliances before packing them away. Vibrating suitcases have repeatedly caused planes to crash-land due to safety concerns.

If you have lost something, check each and every lost and found office. The security service, the airport police and each airline have their own.

Everything that is in the lost and found office for more than 90 days is then distributed. So if you really need something, like a certain phone charger, just ask. Surely there will be at least one of these unclaimed within 90 days, and they will simply give it to you.

Instead of placing small items and jewelry in a separate tray while candling, place them in a jacket pocket or in a separate bag. This will free up space on the conveyor belt and speed up the safety inspection process.

To avoid paying through the nose for a bottle of water, take an empty bottle with you and fill it up once you get through security.

Some security services, for example in the United States, allow you to take bottles of drinks with you if the drink is frozen to a solid state and is not technically a liquid.

Ask the flight attendant for a full can (package) of the drink you ordered. Most likely they will give it to you.

Give flight attendants chocolate. Flight attendants bring each other candy when they are not flying for work. They may mistake you for a colleague and provide better service on board. In any case, they will be pleased.

If a flight is canceled or overbooked than there are seats available, call the airline's hotline instead of standing in a horribly long line. The customer service representative can do the same thing as the employee at the terminal. You can queue and call at the same time to speed up the problem resolution process.

Bring an extension cord with you. You will have extra outlets, and someone will definitely want to meet you.

It might not work, but it's worth a try: Set your computer's clock back a little to extend the life of your free Wi-Fi.

Include your flight number in your car reservation so that the car rental company will know if your flight is delayed and when to expect you.

There is a website - seatguru.com, where, based on reviews from previous passengers, you can see which seat is best on a particular plane.