The 3 incredible free perks celebrities get at airports that you don’t – they can even turn up 10 minutes before flights
GIVEN how often celebrities seem to jet from one country to another, you’d think they’d be spotted at airports way more often than they are.
But the chances of you bumping into your favourite singer or film star before your holiday is actually incredibly slim.
I’ve been a flight attendant for close to a decade and, in that time, I’ve served some huge A-listers in my cabins.
However, a lot of the time, the rest of the passengers aren’t aware that they’re on the same flights as these celebs, even though they’re flying all the time.
In my latest blog for Sun Online Travel, I’ll explain exactly why that is.
The simple answer is that, if you’re a person of a certain stature, you’ll get treated incredibly well at the airport.
The general rule is that, for long haul flights, you should arrive three hours before take off.
That number goes down significantly the more famous you are.
Whenever anyone asks me how to skip the lines at the airport, my answer is always the same – “become an A-lister”.
Sometimes that time is as little as 10 or 15 minutes for huge celebs, who are expedited through the airport in double quick time.
They’ll still have to have their bags scanned and go through security like everyone else, there’s nothing dangerous about it.
But they’ll regularly be taken to a separate entrance, put on a golf buggy and driven to the security area, scanned in their own private lane and then driven through to the aircraft.
It’s the same at the other side. They’ll often be rushed through customs and taken out of the airport as soon as possible to avoid anyone seeing them arrive.
Usually, they’ll be the first people on the plane, so no one sees them board and they can get their disguises ready to blend in.
Sometimes they look ridiculous, with wigs and sunglasses that seem to only draw attention to themselves, rather than help them avoid detection.
But you’d be surprised how well it works sometimes.
I’ve seen people sat next to huge movie stars in first class and just not even notice. It’s actually pretty funny sometimes.
We’re always very discreet though – it’s very rude and unprofessional for us to treat them any other way.
And in fact it’s better for us and for the airport to give them this treatment, rather than make them go through the normal airport waiting system.
Can you imagine how much chaos it could cause if say Beyonce or Ryan Gosling had to wait in the departure lounge like everyone else?
I’m not saying they’ve been on my flights, they’re just examples, but I have dealt with people of a similar stature.
If they were just sitting in the departure lounge next to WH Smiths, the amount of people going up to them for selfies and autographs would be too much.
The same goes if people knew they were on the plane.
Sometimes people do find out and you all of a sudden get loads of people desperate to come into first class for a glimpse.
Sometimes they’re very welcoming and happy to pose for a few pictures with their fans.
However, most of the time, they just want to be left alone, which is perfectly understandable.
That’s why airlines and airports are willing to help them avoid that chaos any way they can because ultimately it benefits everyone, rather than just the celebrity.
The only person who misses out are the fans, who most of the time sit in blissful ignorance, not knowing that they’re just a few yards away from their idols.
I’m not saying this happens to every famous person in the world and sometimes people do meet their heroes.
But even if you do see them knocking around, know that they’d probably rather not be bothered before their flights.
Airports are stressful enough after all.
Meanwhile, this is the easy way to avoid getting stuck in airport security queues.
And this is why you should never be too early for your flight.