Phoenix Airport Travel Tips

• How Much Time Needed
• Call your airline ahead to confirm flight status and/or baggage weight limits
• Arrive 2 hours prior to departure if parking or checking bags and at least 90 minutes prior to departure otherwise.
• Some of the busiest airport areas during the holidays are the roadways at Terminal 4. Drivers are asked to wait in the free Stage & Go lot on the west side of the airport until passengers arrive. Allow extra time for dropping off passengers December 21-January 4.
• Luggage
• Travel light. Smaller bags are easier to carry and stow and mean shorter waits at baggage claim and easier security/customs inspections.
• Plan to pack more in your checked luggage and less in your carry-on bag.
• Don't carry or pack anything for anyone else or agree to watch a stranger's bag.
• Remove old claim checks to avoid confusion.
• Identify luggage inside and outside with your name, business address and telephone number. Inside, include a copy of your itinerary. Laptops, cell phones and other electronics should have identification on them as well.
• Do not bring wrapped gifts in your carry-on luggage or checked bags. Screeners may have to un-wrap them.
• Check your luggage early to ensure your bags make your originating and connecting flights.
• Carry-On Bags
• TSA recommends passengers be allowed one carry-on bag plus a personal item, such as a purse or briefcase, but exact limits are set individually by each airline.
• Typically, the maximum size for a carry-on bag is 45 linear inches (height+width+depth).
• Check with your travel agent or airline for information on carry-on luggage restrictions.
• Pack prescription drugs (in original containers with a copy of the prescription), personal hygiene items, passports and important documents in your carry-on bag.
• Pack valuable items, such as jewelry, cameras, cell phones, pagers and laptop computers, in your carry-on bag.
• Do not wrap gifts to carry-on.
• Consider packing small loose items in clear plastic zip-type bags.
• Arriving Passengers
• Curbside pick-up is permitted at terminals. No parking at curbside is allowed. Vehicles will be cited and towed away. Meet arriving passengers at baggage claim on the Lower/Arrival Level.
• Watch Your Bags!
• In an effort to prevent an unattended bag from becoming a "suspicious bag" at the airport, please watch your bags at all times. Unattended bags will be confiscated.
• Going to Your Gate
• Have your boarding pass in hand and be prepared to show a valid photo ID at airline ticket counters, screening checkpoints, and at boarding gates.
• Only ticketed passengers are allowed through security. Appropriate ticket documentation is required: a paper ticket, a boarding pass, or documentation of an e-ticket (check with your travel agent or airline). The TSA requires that all such documentation include ticket numbers.
• Parents meeting unaccompanied minors and person accompanied by healthcare assistants or guardians should contact their airline in advance to make special arrangements.
• Do not joke about bombs or firearms. Don't discuss terrorism, weapons or explosives.
• Always cooperate fully with all airport security personnel, other airline or airport staff and law enforcement officers.
• Security Screening
• Please remove all metal objects such as keys, coins, pens and pencils from your pockets and clothing and place them in your carry-on bag.
• For travelers carrying metal souvenirs, please place these objects in your checked luggage.
• If you have a laptop computer or video camera, please remove it from its case.
• Expect questioning about your luggage and hand-searches of carry-on items.