Hi there, dear readers! Traveling is always a source of joy for most people, but things do not always go as we expect and this can ruin our whole vacation experience. Your suitcase may get lost, your flight might be canceled or the layover can be too long for a short trip. Some of the above have probably already happened to someone you know or even yourself! And these issues are specially relevant in times of a pandemic, as we are even more subject to sudden changes that are beyond our control. To say that my flight back home for the Christmas holidays was a nightmare would be an understatement! And yet, traveling sometimes is necessary and unfortunately problems may arise, so we might as well be ready to deal with them, right? And knowing how to communicate is crucial. Therefore, our text today will be dedicated to travel issues. We will mainly be discussing useful words and expressions in English about common situations that you may face at an airport. Ready? All aboard!

Flight attendant

• Excuse me, I would like to ask the flight attendant a question, do you know where he is?
• The flight attendant helped me put my bags in the overhead compartment.

Change seats

• Could I change my seat? I don’t like sitting in the aisle.
• I’ll ask the flight attendant if I can change my seat so I can sit next to you.

Boarding gate

• Hello, I’m a bit confused, could you tell me where the G14 boarding gate is?
• Let’s hurry, the boarding gate is all the way across airport!

Check your baggage

• I was able to do the check in online, but I still need to check my luggage once I get to the airport.
• Excuse me, do you know where I can check my bags?

Overweight bags

• Sir, your bag is overweight. You will need to pay a fee
• I was so surprised when I realized my bag was overweight! I should be more careful next time.

Delayed flight

• My flight was delayed, could you let me know if there is any estimate for the boarding time?
• Unfortunately I will not arrive on time, my flight was delayed.

Canceled flight

• My flight has just been canceled, what other dates and time do you have?
• I’m sorry but I will have to reschedule the meeting, my flight was canceled again.

Reschedule your flight

• I won’t be able to travel this weekend, I will have to reschedule my flight for another date.
• Ma’am, we have a flight to Frankfurt leaving at 13:00, would you like to reschedule?

Connection 

• Oh, how wonderful, our connection in Paris!
• My connection will be in Amsterdam, so I will need to take the PCR test to present before boarding.

Layover

•  I managed to buy the return ticket, but we will need to have a layover in Lisbon.
• Do you have a ticket with a layover in São Paulo?

Long lines

• My flight leaves in 30 minutes, I need to check in, but the line is too long.
•  Let’s arrive early, so we can avoid long lines when boarding.

Customs

• I was stopped at customs and had to pay taxes for some electronics I bought in Miami.
•  Passengers arriving from international flights must go through customs first.

Taxi / transfer / bus stop

• Good afternoon, can you tell me where the stop for taxis is?

• I spend more than twenty minutes trying to find the shuttle bus stop, so I ended up taking a taxi

Missing, lost luggage

•  My suitcase has been lost, where do I fill out the forms for you to send it back to me?
• It is the second time that my luggage goes missing, I can’t take it anymore!

Refund

• Since my trip was canceled the last minute, I will ask for a ticket refund.
• It took me four months to get the refund for the airline tickets.

Have you ever faced any of these problems? Can you think of any other travel issues? Just comment below! See you next time and we hope that soon enough we can all have a good trip! Boa viagem!