First time to Europe?

If it’s your first time traveling outside the U.S., you are no doubt in for some surprises. Here’s a short list of things to keep in mind:

• Check In

  1. “Get there early” is too broad. 2 hours? 3 hours? What you need to know is when does the check-in open? Many airports and airline apps show exactly which check-in row and when it opens. At Amsterdam Schiphol, for example, desks are numbered in rows and the app tells you which row to use and when it opens.

  2. Don’t hunt for a “Delta door” or “United door”—look for desk blocks by number. Big European hubs often group check-in by numbered rows that serve multiple airlines. At Schiphol you’ll see rows like 1–8, 9–16, and so on. Your app or the airport screens will point you to the right block for your flight when that row opens. It’s efficient once you know to look for numbers, not logos.

• Security

  1. TSA PreCheck or CLEAR - Those are U.S. programs. When you depart from foreign airports you’ll use their regular security queues, full stop.

  2. Liquids: In much of Europe, security agents actually enforce the “all liquids go into one clear 1-liter bag; each container max 100 ml” rule. Airports with new scanners are rolling out changes at different speeds, so I pack to the classic standard to avoid expensive toss-outs. The EU’s own guidance still states the 100 ml + 1-liter-bag requirement. My favorite strategy is just to buy new shampoo, conditioner, sunscreen and moisturizer when I get to my destination.

• Finding Your Gate

  1. When you check in, you may realize they haven’t given you a gate number. In parts of Europe, the airport may not post your gate until about 45 minutes before departure. Heathrow even says this out loud: “Your departure gate is typically announced 45 minutes before departure.” Translation: stay near the screens in the hour to ninety minutes prior to your flight.

  2. Passport control can be at the gate. This is common when you’re leaving the Schengen Area. Lisbon is a good example: for non-Schengen departures you go through passport control on the way to the relevant gates, so do your bathroom, snack, and water runs before you cross into that holding area. If you step back out, you’ll likely have to re-clear the checkpoint.

• Boarding

  1. If your aircraft is parked at a “remote stand,” you’ll board a bus at the gate and ride out onto the tarmac to the plane. This is normal at many European airports, especially during peak times or for smaller airlines. Schiphol even publishes a bus-gate and “bus injection point” map for these operations. Follow the signs, keep your boarding group handy, and expect fresh air before you climb the stairs.

• Misc:

  1. Smoking rooms exist. If you haven’t seen a smoking box since 2003, prepare to time-travel. Plenty of European hubs still have designated smoking lounges airside; Munich and Frankfurt both publish their locations. If you’re a non-smoker, now you know why you sometimes catch a whiff near certain gates.

  Viewing the airport experience as part of the adventure makes travel days smoother and keeps the surprises in perspective.