How To Get Through Dulles And Reagan Thanksgiving Holiday Weekend

WASHINGTON, DC — Traveling out of the Washington, D.C., area's busy airports can be stressful at any time of the year, but especially on Thanksgiving weekend, the busiest travel time of the year. The Transportation Security Administration expects to screen 4 percent more passengers nationwide this holiday travel season than a year ago. Add the ever-tightening security regulations at airports, and it’s a headache waiting to happen.

Bad weather can also bring delays and canceled flights during Thanksgiving weekend. Travelers whose flights are delayed or canceled this Thanksgiving have a comfortable option at Dulles to nap while they're waiting for their flight. The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority has contracted with a company that provides private spaces at a Dulles terminal where passengers can sleep during an unexpected delay at the airport.

Before people head toward their departure gate at Dulles or Reagan National, they should check out TSA's tips to make their journeys a little less anxiety-inducing.

• Get to the airport early — two hours prior to a domestic flight and three hours before an international flight.
• Know which foods can travel in your carry-on bag. Pies, cakes, stuffing mix and casseroles are all good in a carry-on bag because they are solid food items.
• Know which foods should go into a checked bag. Gravy, cranberry sauce, wine, jam and preserves should all go into a checked bag. Why? They are not solids. Basically, if you can spill it, spray it, spread it, pump it or pour it, then it should be packed in a checked bag.
• Wear slip-on shoes. Shoelaces and zip-up boots take extra time to remove and put back on. Wearing slip-ons just saves you time.
• Place your electronic carving knife (or your non-electric knife) in your checked bag.

If they're not sure if an item should go in a carry-on bag or checked bag, travelers can tweet their question to @AskTSA or ask via Facebook Messenger. Also, travelers can download the free MyTSA app, which has a “Can I bring” feature. Type in an item, and the app lets a traveler know immediately if they should pack it in a checked or carry-on bag. The MyTSA app also lets people know if there is an airport delay and whether TSA Precheck lanes are available.

Travelers can enroll in the TSA Precheck — if not before Thanksgiving, then before their next trip. It allows the traveler to leave on his or her shoes, lightweight jacket and belt when they go through the checkpoint. Plus, they can leave their electronics and one-quart-size liquids bag in their carry-on bag instead of removing them at the checkpoint.

At Dulles, if a flight is delayed or canceled, passengers now have a clean, safe place to nap while they wait. A company called Sleepbox has installed a modular, sound-insulated sleeping facility in Terminal A at Dulles airport.

The 1,200-square-foot space offers 16 secure, standalone, sound-insulated Sleepboxes, which passengers can reserve remotely on an hourly basis using the company's website or its smartphone app. Dulles is the first airport in the United States to offer Sleepboxes to travelers. The Sleepbox lounge is in Dulles Airport's Concourse A on the Mezzanine level, between gates A6 and A14.

Dulles Airport was chosen as the first airport in the U.S. to install a Sleepbox lounge because it's an international airport near the capital of the U.S. In addition, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority was very supportive and interested in providing this service for travelers, Mikhail Krymov, Sleepbox co-founder and CEO, told WTOP.

Sleepbox said it's expanding its lounges into other airports across the U.S.