Make going home for Christmas a breeze

With many people flying home for Christmas, we urge all travellers to follow these two important tips: Arrive at the airport well ahead of your departure time and send all wrapped Christmas gifts in checked baggage. 

“Although we’re facing some busy days in December with many travellers and a lot of extra baggage, we’re well prepared. We’d like to share some travel information so that everyone can do their part to keep Christmas traffic moving,” says Lasse A. Vangstein, spokesperson for Oslo Airport.

Put Christmas gifts in checked baggage
Security screening rules don’t change even though it’s Christmas. Consequently, you have to know what you have in your hand luggage, even if the package is wrapped in gift paper. If you can’t identify the contents of the package, the security officers are required to open it.

“Our people are here to help travellers and want them to have the best possible journey home for Christmas. It saddens us when we have to open and, when necessary, destroy Christmas gifts. It's not a good feeling and we hope people will heed our appeal to send Christmas gifts in their checked baggage," says Vangstein.

“It’s also a good idea to use cushioning wrapping materials to wrap breakable gifts.” 

Gifts such as perfume, alcohol and creams are liquids and are not permitted in hand luggage in quantities over 100ml. Travellers should also be aware that the knife included in another popular gift, cured meat, is a prohibited item and must be removed prior to the security check.

“Food and baked goods can also present a problem,” adds Vangstein.

“While food in general is permitted in hand luggage, some Christmas baked goods contain cream fillings, which are classified as liquids.”

Don’t arrive at the last minute
With more travellers than usual, it is important to allow plenty of time. Check Oslo Airport’s website for the recommended pre-departure times for flights in Norway and to Europe and North America. 

“With more passengers and often a little extra Christmas baggage, the time needed to check-in and go through the security check can vary somewhat. It’s advisable to allow more time than usual, particularly between the peak travel hours of 06:00 to 10:00 and 15:00 to 18:00. It’s better to have plenty of time and get your Christmas holiday off to a good start,” says Vangstein.

Do your part to keep the queue moving through the security check
It is important that all travellers do their part to streamline the security screening process by taking the following steps:

Take off your winter coat/jacket, belts and winter boots before going through the metal detector.  Place all electronic items and bag of liquids in trays for separate screening. Liquids must be in containers of 100ml or less and fit inside a transparent re-sealable 1-litre plastic bag. Each passenger may carry only one bag of liquids.

“If we manage to save 10 seconds per traveller in the security check the combined savings will make a big difference for everyone in the queue. It will be like giving each of your co-passengers a small contribution towards achieving smooth traffic this Christmas,” Vangstein concludes.

FACTS

Christmas traffic figures*:
Monday, 15 December: 59 400 passengers
Tuesday, 16 December: 57 500 passengers
Wednesday, 17 December: 61 600 passengers
Thursday, 18 December: 66 900 passengers
Friday, 19 December: 74 000 passengers
Saturday, 20 December: 40 600 passengers
Sunday, 21 December: 57 100 passengers
Monday, 22 December: 52 300 passengers

*Expected number of departing and arriving passengers.