My first time flying alone was after college. My company kept flying me out to California for events. I was very scared. I felt like I didn’t know how to do anything - though I had flown a few times with family when I was younger. I wasn’t sure how to rent a car or check into a hotel. But I figured it all out and remember some nice strangers being helpful along the way. I can’t imagine doing what you did as a student traveling alone to Ireland and then staying with strangers. I couldn’t have done that when I was sixteen years old. Thanks for sharing y’all’s flight experiences with us!
The only time I’ve had an issue flying alone was being stopped by Customs/border control in Houston when I was flying in from a trip to Mexico City in 2016. I was asked some crazy questions (Where’s your husband? Who’s taking care of your kids? When I’m not married and do not have children). I was put in the “special room” & they took my phone and I sat there for a while until I was taken to the back, my luggage tossed through and asked more questions before I was released. My brother flew alone to see his son in Belgium about 10-12 years ago and was stopped on a layover in London, and long story short, they gave him a choice of a body cavity search or a full body X-ray. He chose the X-ray & was released. For both of these events, we are grown people with no criminal records or anything like that, we both travel often and don’t usually have much luggage. We also did not have Global Entry at the time, which I think makes a big difference. Pre Check and Global Entry are the best things to make the security process quicker and easier for anyone traveling, particularly as a solo traveler which is a flag for security in and of itself. I believe it can save a person some drama.
