Traveling when you are up in age is a challenge. Sure, once you get in the plane, you will be taken care of, but checking in your luggage and going through security is not for the faint hearted.

A very good friend of mine was returning to the Middle East after a nice visit to Washington DC. She is a healthy 70 year old. Her ticket was booked on KLM Airlines flight to Amsterdam and then Tehran, Iran. I helped her check her luggage and get through security at Washington Dulles Airport.

We arrived 2.5 hours before her flight and I asked a Sky Cap to take her luggage to the check in. He did, but just dumped them on the line where 200 other people were checking in. The atmosphere was chaotic with people strugging with 2-3 pieces of luggage.

The repetitious security check-in announcement was enough to wear down anyone. I have no doubt it is used to interrogate enemy detainees and terrorist suspects. We finally got to the counter and checked in and that's when the fun began.

After putting luggage tags on my friends bags, the KLM agent asked my friend to drag them to the luggage security area some 50 feet away through an obstacle course of other passengers. (I guess a government report stated that the average 70 year old can drag two 40 pound bags easily.) At one point, an airline official said that we could just leave the bags and go ahead and check in. However, in this carnival atmosphere anyone could just pick up the bags and steal them. No one is watching so you are on your own.

We managed to get the bags to the luggage security X-Ray machine and were told we could just leave. We didn't. Again, there's no one watching your luggage so we hung around and watched it go through the X-Ray machine and then put on a convey belt.

After this, we looked for a wheel chair. My friend can walk, but not fast. We were told that the KLM agent at check-in must call for the wheel chair. Gee, couldn't they have asked if she needed one when we were there? Another 30 minutes passed and the guy came with the wheel chair. I gave him a tip and asked him to take good care of her and to see that she got through the security check point without incident.

Check in Tips

1. Definitely arrive 2- 2.5 hours early if you are taking an international flight,
2. Bring several people with you to help carry luggage, to make sure it gets through the X-Ray machine and ensure that it finds its wayto the conveyor belt to the plane,
3. In addition to ID tags, label your luggage with some distinctive marking (red ribbon or orange). All bags do look alike,
4. Stick around the luggage X-Ray machine especially if you locked your luggage. If the Transportation Security Agency employees want to open it, they'll cut the lock if you are not there to open it, and
5. Ask for a wheel chair when you are checking in. That's it. Have a great flight.