Airport security checks are necessary to travel, but when you are running late, the long lines can feel excruciating.
And when every minute counts, the number of travelers in front of you can mean the difference between you making or missing your flight. Sometimes your time crunch could be because you woke up late, sometimes it might be for reasons outside of your control. Either way, you will need to speak up or lose your seat on the plane.
So what is the most successful way to humbly submit yourself to the mercy and grace of your fellow travelers ahead of you, so that you can catch your flight?
There is no guarantee of how someone will respond, but these are your two best bets, seasoned travel experts say:
1. Ask security directly.
Ideally a Transportation Security Administration agent in charge of directing the security check line is your best strategy, said Olivia Christine Perez, a travel expert who has visited all 50 U.S. states and 43 countries. Tell them your boarding time, she recommended: “Most times they will usher you along to keep the flow going.”
Perez has successfully tried this tactic herself.
“I will never forget the first time I almost missed a flight and needed to cut in line,” she recalled. “I went one by one, asking each person if I could get in front of them. Finally, one of those people said, ‘Asking us one by one isn’t going to help you; ask the folks in front first.’ So that’s what I did. I got through in minutes and no one seemed to care.”
Flavia Cornejo, the travel blogger behind Latina Traveler, agreed that if she were running late to a flight she would first try to ask one of the security agents “to not annoy other passengers as much directly.”
2. Politely and urgently request to cut someone in line — but don’t make it a demand.
In some instances, a TSA agent may be unsympathetic to your request. In those cases, you want to briefly but clearly make your case to the travelers ahead of you.
Although it is stressful, try not to make your travel emergency everyone else’s problem. Stay calm. Cornejo said when she has needed to cut in line, she makes her request to travelers urgent but not pushy.
“I try my best to be kind when asking people and hoping they’ll see I’m being genuine instead of being demanding and just expecting others to care,” Cornejo said. “I know under stressful situations this may not be the easiest thing to do, but I’ve noticed people are more receptive to this.”
Cornejo said she’ll say something along the lines of: “Excuse me, I’m sorry to bother you, but I’m running late to my flight. Would it be possible to go in front of you? I wouldn’t ask if I really didn’t have to.”
The key with this ask is making it a question. “Everyone in line is waiting to get to a flight whether in half an hour or in three. Being rude only makes people annoyed at the person making the request instead of empathetic,” Cornejo advised.
So whatever you do, don’t phrase your request to swap places as an order someone must follow. People do not respond well to being bossed around and are more likely to agree if you can give a brief reason for your request, added Nick Leighton, etiquette expert and co-host of the weekly etiquette podcast, “Were You Raised By Wolves?”
“‘Can I go ahead of you?’ is going to be way less successful than ‘Can I go ahead of you because the gate to my flight closes in seven minutes and I really have to get to Chicago for my sister’s wedding tomorrow?’” he said.
Just don’t be a liar, Leighton cautioned: “I have had someone do this to me and then I saw them at my gate because they were actually on my flight. Cutting lines with deceit is rude.“
And part of making this request is knowing it might be enough to get you to your plane before boarding ends. “If there is only less than 30 minutes until your flight departure then it be time to accept that making the flight may not be possible,” Cornejo said.
How To Gracefully Respond To The ‘Can I Cut You In Line?’ Request
It can be annoying to lose your spot to a latecomer, but you never know why someone needs to cut you in line. Don’t assume it’s because of poor time management.
“Some people are reluctant to agree to let people cut because ‘Oh, you should have left your house earlier.’ But it’s important to remember that there are lots of reasons outside of someone’s control for why they need to race through security,” Leighton said. “Broken rental cars, late-arriving connections, subway issues. A little compassion and empathy goes a long way.”
Consider it your good deed of the day and let someone through if you can. “Multiple people have asked to cut me in line over the years and unless I’m cutting it close myself to my flight time I normally don’t have any issue with it,” Cornejo said.
And who knows: You might be the frantic traveler needing help one day, too. “You never know when you might need someone to return the favor someday,” Leighton said.