Expert reveals five travel tips to avoid missing your flight home for Christmas

AN EXPERT has revealed five travel tips to avoid missing your flight home for Christmas.

The storyline of Home Alone might not be as far-fetched as first thought – with a quarter of travellers having experienced a last-minute gate-dash to catch a flight.

Much like the McCallister family’s frantic journey to catch a festive flight in the iconic 1990 movie, which respondents rated as the best Christmas flick of all, 18 per cent have also felt the intense stress of being late to the airport.

According to the poll of 2,000 adults who have flown by plane, 13 per cent have also missed an early morning alarm ahead of a trip away – or pressed the snooze button, which famously contributed to the family leaving son Kevin, played by Macaulay Culkin, home alone.

The research was commissioned by London Luton Airport, which has recreated iconic scenes from the film to remind passengers to plan, pack - and set an alarm - in advance to ensure nothing, or no one, is left behind.

The video sees Kevin McCallister lookalike Tyler Stringer playfully make his way through the airport, getting a shock at duty free after applying aftershave on his face, dancing with mannequins in the airport’s retail stores and teasing a member of the duty-free team with a fake tarantula.

It also emerged that despite 78 per cent writing lists ahead of a trip, 51 per cent have left an essential item at home.

With three per cent even admitting to temporarily and accidentally leaving someone behind.

Medication, boarding passes and even passports are some of the crucial items left at home.

Other items most frequently left behind include travel adaptors, sunglasses and toiletries, with 22 per cent admitting a lack of sleep plays a big part in their forgetfulness.

When travelling for the holiday season, 16 per cent have forgotten the Christmas presents and 14 per cent didn’t pack the cards.

And 30 per cent have even lost something while at the airport, according to the OnePoll data.

But 39 per cent didn’t know certain popular festive items are not allowed through airport security, such as wrapped presents, jams and chutneys and snow globes.

To avoid leaving anything behind, London Luton Airport is offering a limited number of wake up calls for sleepy travellers, alongside free, often forgotten, travel essentials at airport information desks for a limited period in December.

Complementary toiletries available includes toothbrushes and combs, as well as sleep masks and wireless phone chargers.

Clare Armstrong, head of guest experience at the airport, which has also released a set of festive travelling tips said: “Christmas comes with additional pressures – and additional items to remember – meaning travellers are more likely to forget things.

"We hope our campaign will offer a simple and friendly reminder to passengers about how to plan ahead, what to pack and, of course, to set that all-important early morning alarm.”