How to Survive Winter Air Travel (Without Becoming a YouTube Clip)
How to Survive Winter Air Travel (Without Becoming a YouTube Clip)
Sarcastic, slightly salty guidance from the Cabin Pressure jumpseat
So you booked a winter flight. Bold choice.
Now you’re staring at headlines about shutdowns, de-icing delays, and “unruly passenger fined into the next century,” wondering if you should just drive instead. (Spoiler: the highway will be a parking lot too, but sure, live your truth.)
As working flight attendants and hosts of Cabin Pressure with Shawn & G, we live in this chaos professionally. Here’s your brutally honest, mildly sarcastic, actually useful guide to winter flying—and how not to get kicked off the plane before your first Bloody Mary.
1. Delays Aren’t a Plot Twist, They’re the Genre
In winter, “on time” is a fairy tale. Ice, staffing, air traffic control, and the fact that humans insist on living where it hurts your face to go outside all pile up.
Be a genius and:
Book the earliest flight of the day—those are less tangled in rolling delays.
Give yourself fat connections (2–3 hours in winter is smart, not paranoid).
Show up at the airport earlier than you think you need to; many airports recommend at least 2 hours domestic, 3 hours international, especially in bad weather. NHTSA
If you want to see how messy people truly are, read the FAA’s reminders about unruly passenger cases and their delightful zero-tolerance policy on misbehavior in the air:
👉 FAA Zero Tolerance Policy for Unruly Passengers FAA+1
Short version: act wild, pay big.
2. De-icing: No, They’re Not “Wasting Time”
That green/orange goo on the wings isn’t optional spa treatment for the aircraft. It’s literally the difference between “safe takeoff” and “we’ll be on the news.”
De-icing removes frozen gunk from critical surfaces; anti-icing helps keep it from refreezing before you roll down the runway. Skybrary+1
If you want to nerd out, check this out:
👉 Skybrary: Aircraft Ground De/Anti-Icing
👉 Miles Aviation: What Is Aircraft De/Anti-Icing?
So when the captain says, “We have to wait for de-icing,” your response should be less, “Ugh, seriously?” and more, “Yes, please remove the frozen death from my wings, thanks.”
Grab a podcast (maybe… Cabin Pressure, Episode 62 👀), and embrace the goo.
3. About Your Airport Bar Strategy (a.k.a. How to Not Get Removed)
Here’s the part a lot of people don’t learn until they’re being escorted back up the jet bridge to a slow clap from the cabin:
You cannot drink your own booze on board. Federal regs literally say you may only drink alcohol if it is served by the airline. Legal Information Institute+1
Crew cannot serve you if you appear intoxicated. That’s not us “being mean,” that’s the law.
If you want receipts, here you go:
👉 14 CFR §121.575 – Alcoholic Beverages
And when people ignore all that? The FAA doesn’t hand out gold stars—they hand out fines. Under the zero-tolerance policy, they can go up to tens of thousands of dollars per violation, and one glorious meltdown can count as multiple violations. FAA+1
👉 FAA: Unruly Passenger Cases & Penalties
Translation: that “one more shot” in the terminal might be the most expensive drink of your life.
Cabin Pressure pro tip:
Have the pre-flight Bloody Mary. Do not have four, then argue with the crew about your “rights.” Also, if your friend is the one slurring? Sit down, buckle up, and let us handle it. We’ll see them at the destination tomorrow. Maybe.
4. Build a Winter Travel Survival Kit (For You, Not Just Your Car)
In the episode we talked about jumper cables, heated blankets, and emergency lights in the car. Honestly, that same philosophy belongs in your carry-on.
Government and safety agencies recommend winter car kits with things like shovels, scrapers, blankets, food, water, and chargers. NHTSA+1
Check these out if you actually want to be prepared, not just “manifest it will be fine”:
👉 NHTSA Winter Driving Tips & Vehicle Prep NHTSA
👉 Ready.gov: Emergency Kit for the Car Ready.gov
Now shrink that down to airplane size:
Portable phone charger & cable
Refillable water bottle (fill after security)
Real snacks, not the sad $6 bag of airport air
Hoodie / beanie / scarf for “I forgot it’s November in Cleveland” syndrome
Meds you actually need (and maybe some ibuprofen for your choices)
Downloaded shows, music, audiobooks, and Cabin Pressure, obviously
If your flight gets stuck on the ground, your future self will be very grateful you packed like a responsible adult and not a TikTok reel.
5. How Not to Become “The Main Character” on a Flight
We love you. We also love when you are not the reason we’re filling out paperwork for an hour after landing.
Avoid being That Passenger by:
Using headphones. If we can hear your iPad two rows away, so can the 150 people silently hating you.
Dressing like the weather exists. Shorts and flip-flops into a snowstorm are a choice. Not a good one.
Following crew instructions the first time. The airplane is not a democracy; it’s closer to a flying courtroom where the safety manual is the law book.
The FAA has made it very clear they have “zero tolerance for dangerous behavior.” They’ve referred multiple unruly passenger cases to the FBI and issued millions in fines since 2020. Department of Transportation+1
👉 DOT: FAA Refers Unruly Passenger Cases to FBI
So yes, you can be mad. No, you cannot be menacing, threatening, or aggressively drunk in a metal tube at 35,000 feet.
6. The Real Winter Travel Hack: Don’t Fight Reality
Here’s the unglamorous secret:
Winter travel is easier when you stop pretending it’s July.
Plan like delays are coming.
Dress like there’s weather outside.
Drink like you want to stay on the plane.
Treat your crew like they’re trying to get you to Cabo, not ruin your life.
We want you on vacation, not in a news article.
If you enjoy blunt honesty, airplane stories, and the occasional toilet-paper-tail-in-the-airport saga, keep listening to Cabin Pressure with Shawn & G—and maybe share this with that friend who thinks “airport beers don’t count.”
