An odd mixture of stress and excitement pervaded last minute preparations.  Mostly I just wanted to be gone.  The US decision to bomb Sudan and Afghanistan shortly before my departure soon distracted me away from more usual concerns like carrying large amounts of money and travellers' cheques.  Not the best time for an anxious passenger to fly Transatlantic.  Setting my affairs in order before departure always helps as I assume this will minimise problems for others if I don’t make it back to the UK.  A friend took charge of business, house, emergency contingencies and cat care.  I contacted other friends by phone to say cheerio (just in case) and opted for a parental send off.

Safety and Security
I have often travelled at times when heightened political unrest prevailed somewhere in the world.  As we have seen since 9/11 this often intensifies security measures.  Although airport searches can be anxiety provoking, the tighter the security, the safer I feel.  One of my closely packed rucksacks was opened and searched at Teesside before departure. Would I ever manage to repack it?  Staff also asked me to activate my handheld computer.

Security procedures vary with airline and airport.  Though the apparent lack of standardisation prevents people with anxiety from anticipating events, I hope the unpredictability also hinders those with hostile intentions.  On this trip my luggage was checked right through from Teesside to Minneapolis but had to be reclaimed to clear customs at my point of entry to the USA (Boston).  This is a standard practice but was a mixed blessing.  I could ensure that my bags had arrived in the country safely but had to transfer them manually to the next flight which meant finding a trolley and locating another check-in desk in a huge terminal building.

Airports visited varied from small provincial facilities like Teesside and Billings to vast multi-concourse terminals like Schipol, Salt Lake City and Denver.  More people flocked through Denver and Salt Lake City airports than I encountered anywhere else during my stay in the USA.  However the only airport where I felt unsafe during the whole trip was in transit at Gatwick en route home.  Thankfully the Denver and Salt Lake City terminals where I spent longest offered excellent shopping facilities and centrally placed displays of Native art work and photographs as a distraction from the tedium.

Some airline seats feel much safer than others although I have no rationale for my choice to recline by a window forward of the wing.  Despite pre-booked seats I arrived at Teesside well ahead of the minimum check in time in case of hitches.  On more than one occasion my seat allocation did not match my pre-booking (these cannot be guaranteed), but the airlines generally did their best when they were made aware of my particular needs.

Delays, Delays and More Delays
Fatigue often feeds my anxiety and flight days can be lengthy, frustrating and tiring even without delays.  Spreading my outward journey over two days avoided the dreaded overnight flight and allowed me to adjust to time changes gradually.  Flight delays and their possible consequences can heighten anxiety, yet delays inevitably occur.