airport

If you're heading out on a jet plane for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, you've probably already given airport security some thought. If the thought of long TSA lines triggers a migraine, these tips from the TSA will teach you how to properly pack your gadgets, accessories, and chargers and help you speed through the X-ray line.

• Pack in layers. Layer clothes, electronics, then clothes again inside a carry-on so the TSA agent can quickly see what's in there. This strategy also works better than the cram-everything-in-your-bag strategy once you unpack at your destination.

Check out the rest of the tips, including how to wrap your cords, and what kinds of bags are TSA-friendly after the break.

If you plan on taking advantage of cheap Summer airfare deals to get out of town this season, then you better be prepared to stand in long security lines. You can help speed up your own TSA checkpoint experience by properly packing your carry-on bag, but you can also save yourself some time and stress by downloading the free My TSA app for your iPhone or iPod Touch.

This handy app can give you all sorts of information, from what you can and can't take on board (with a keyword search in case you don't see your item listed online); a travelers guide that includes rules, warnings, regulations, and packing tips; a checkpoint estimator, which tells you in real time how long it's taking to make it through security lines at your airport, along with flight delay and weather information.

Among the joys/mysteries of flying in this modern age, we still have to turn off all electronic devices during takeoff and landing. While the reason for this rule seems a little unclear (I've heard everything from safety reasons to reasons of possible interference with pilot communication), listening to flight crews and rules is not a suggestion, it's required by law. So, last week when a US Airways flight attendant asked Josh Duhamel several times to stop texting and turn off his BlackBerry and he refused to comply, he was reportedly escorted off of the already-delayed flight.

With so many domestic flights offering in-flight WiFi (even free in-flight WiFi!), waiting until 30,000 feet to send an email hardly seems like a travesty, especially given that until about two years ago, being 100 percent unreachable during a flight was the norm. And while I have no firsthand experience, it seems to take a little more than one refusal to anger flight crews to the point of having to be removed from the plane. Celebrity or not, do your fellow harried travelers a solid this holiday season and just turn the gadgets off.

Who among us hasn't dreamed about meeting the perfect someone serendipitously in an airport or airplane? I know I have. So when that excitement is nearly replicated by finding someone you do know or recognize in an airport or on your flight, it's an exciting moment. Now, a new service aims to take the serendipity out of air travel. Planely invites users to sign up via Facebook connect and enter their flight information. Then, see which other users are going to be at the same airport, on your flight, or at your arrival airport.

Find out more, including my thoughts after the break.

Holiday travelers aren't the only things we'll see more of in airports this season; iPads for travelers' use have just hit the Delta terminal at New York's JFK airport. Two-hundred iPads are being used, mostly in eateries, to help streamline travelers' experiences, adding a nice touch of technology to an often stressful experience.

Travelers can order food from one of these stationary iPads and have it brought to them, not unlike the similar, but iPad-less, service in the same airport's recently renovated JetBlue terminal. You can also use the iPads to access the Internet and check email, though I'd recommend triple-checking that you've cleared any personal information for fear of sharing your private details with the flying masses.

So far, there's no plan to impose a time limit, but that could change if Apple Store-like lines start queuing up around the devices.

Traveling somewhere this holiday? If you're choosing to fly, you should head out a little earlier than usual — security lines are expected to be long, especially with the impending "National Opt-Out Day" on Nov. 24, which asks that fliers refuse the (sometimes revealing, but always controversial) full body scan and instead request a pat-down from a friendly TSA agent.

Why should you opt out? For one, you could win something. Find out more about the fun and lighthearted giveaway after the break.

I knew airports were becoming more posh, but installing a giant 40-foot-tall slide takes it to another level. Just pay $16 and you'll be able to have two gos at swooshing down the slide at an alarming 19 feet per second. Apparently Singapore's Changi Airport also has a butterfly garden, a movie theater, and a Balinese-themed swimming pool. They'll make the airport so good, you won't ever want to leave.

What's the most over-the-top thing you've seen in an airport?