Air Travel Vocabulary in English

Hey everyone, it's Lloyd here again! As this podcast is being published I'm currently on my way to the airport for a holiday in Egypt. And I thought that this would be a better time than ever to introduce and review some vocabulary related to air travel!

Some of the vocabulary covered in this episode:

Departures board: This is the board you check when you arrive at the airport to see if your flight is running on time and where to check in.

Domestic/ international terminal: Flights to cities within the same country take off from the domestic terminal and to other countries from the international terminal... make sure you're in the right one!​

Check in counter: ​This is the place where you smile, hand over your passport and hope for the best and drop off your...

​Checked baggage/ luggage: These are the bags that you won't see again until your destination, hopefully! Just make sure your bags aren't too heavy otherwise you'll be charged for...

Excess baggage: Oh dear, your bags are too heavy? Either you'll need to remove some items from your suitcase or it's time to get out the credit card and pay a penalty... 🙁

Hand luggage/ carry on luggage: Hand luggage or baggage is the smaller bag or bags you can take onto the plane with you. Perhaps you'll have  your laptop, a good book or a pillow in there!  

Aisle / window seat: Just be careful with the pronunciation of "aisle" here... it has a silent S. Which one do you prefer though? I feel a little trapped with a window seat so an aisle seat is better. But the very best is an emergency exit seat... lots of legroom!!!

Boarding pass: a pass for boarding the airplane, given to you when checking in.

Boarding time: Make sure you check this on your boarding pass to see what time you will need to be at your...

Boarding/ departure gate: This is where you'll need to get to in time to get onto your plane. It's definitely less stressful to get here earlier than running to find it at the last minute!

Duty free: But before your flight, how about some shopping? The duty free area is an exclusive place where passengers can shop tax free...

Connecting flight: If you are stopping in another city on the way to your final destination, this is called a connecting flight.

Layover/ in transit: The time that you spend at the second (or even third sometimes) airport on the way to your destination is called a layover or being in transit. I have a 9 hour layover in Cairo today... any move recommendations?..... 😉

Baggage claim: Alright, we've made it to our destination! It's time to wait for our bags to appear on the carousel at baggage claim...​​

Arrival terminal/ arrivals: Time to say goodbye to the airport and hello to your destination. Perhaps someone is waiting for you here?...

Tell us an interesting air travel story from your life using some of the vocabulary mentioned today!

Thanks for tuning in and talk soon,

Lloyd 🙂