The Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) is launching into the holiday travel season by offering passengers more flights and destinations. Destinations such as NYC via Newark, Destin/Ft. Walton Beach, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Cancun, San Juan and Baltimore/ Washington D.C. have been added to the low-cost, nonstop flight mix this year.
“With increased flight options and more capacity, we expect passenger volumes to increase approximately 18 percent,” said Candace McGraw, chief executive officer, CVG. “Customer service is a top priority for CVG. We encourage our passengers to arrive two hours before their flight. Our website, cvgairport.com, is a great resource for travelers to check flight status, parking options, weather and see up-to-the-minute security wait times for both TSA Pre-Check and general screening.”
With holiday travel right around the corner, now is to book, pack and prepare. CVG offers the following tips to walk passengers through their air travel experience.
Booking a flight:
Book your trip as early as possible for lower-priced airfares and holiday deals. You can look for fare deals at cvgairport.com/deals or nonstop cities served by which airline from CVG at http://cvgairport.com/flight/cities.
Parking:
CVG parking options include curbside valet service, pre-pay reserved premium parking, garage parking adjacent to the Terminal, and surface parking with shuttle service in CVG’s ValuPark lot. For details, visit: cvgairport.com/park/options. For more information on how you pre-pay and reserve a parking space in the garage, visit: cvgreservedparking.com
Packing luggage:
Familiarize yourself with TSA (Transportation Security Administration) procedures at www.tsa.gov to ensure what you pack in your carry-on is compliant with TSA standards. Weapons may not be carried aboard aircraft. This includes replicas, toy weapons and anything that can be mistaken for a weapon.
For protection against lost luggage, label your bags inside and out with your contact information. Be sure to include the address and phone number of your destination.
Do not wrap gifts that you plan to carry onboard. If a security officer needs to inspect a package they may have to unwrap your gift.
Before leaving home:
CVG recommends passengers arrive to the airport two hours before your flight to ensure adequate time to check baggage, go through security and make it to your gate in time for boarding. To save time and avoid lines, print your boarding pass, select your seat and check your bag online prior to arriving at the airport. Real-time updates such as flight status, weather and security times for TSA Pre-Check and general screening are available at cvgairport.com.
Be sure to confirm your airline check-in and boarding limits. Each airline has baggage check-in limits ranging from 30 to 45 minutes prior to departure to allow for baggage screening and aircraft loading. Some airlines require customers to be present at the gate no later than 10 to 20 minutes prior to scheduled departure time; many begin the boarding process 30 to 45 minutes prior to scheduled departure. It’s best to be well ahead of these time limits.
First-time guests can watch videos with closed captioning prior to arriving at CVG. The videos offer a visual tour of the facilities to help guide and plan. Step-by-step navigation scripts are available on CVG’s website, suitable for smart phone text-to-voice accessibility function. cvgairport.com/terminal/videos.
Follow CVG on Twitter: @CVGairport, for travel tips, weather information and promotions for future trips.
Navigating the airport:
Look for public safety assistants wearing yellow jackets/vests located from the moment you arrive at curbside to security to help get you to your gate faster. More than 120 volunteer airport ambassadors are throughout the Terminal and Concourses to also help answer questions. Information booth volunteers and public safety personnel have access to iPad language interpretation service including American Sign Language.
Passengers in a wheelchair, using a stroller or service animal can utilize a designated lane in security.
When using general screening, be prepared to remove blazers, coats and bulky sweaters and activate any electronic or battery-powered equipment as part of the security inspection. This includes laptops, music players, games and phones. PreCheck customers may leave jackets and shoes on and electronic devices may remain packed in carry-on luggage. You can find more information about Pre-Check online via tsa.gov/tsa-precheck. All airlines at CVG are now TSA Pre-Check compatible. If not already a PreCheck member, passengers can apply for future travel at CVG’s Pre-Check Enrollment Center located on the baggage claim level which is open from Monday – Friday, 8:30 am – 12:30 pm and 1:00 pm – 5 pm.
CVG offers over 20 unique and diverse eating options including The Club at CVG, a common use lounge, is located in Concourse A. Kids play areas are located at Concourses A and B. A Graeter’s Ice Cream shop opened this spring offering hand-dipped ice cream, sundaes, homemade candy, pre-packed to-go items and donuts. And, this Thanksgiving, the Urban Market and Stella Artois bar will open in Concourse A to offer travelers both food and beverages. Passengers can also check out artifacts on loan from the Cincinnati Museum Center throughout the terminal and concourses.
CVG recently added an indoor Service Animal Relief Area located near Gate A18. Free Wi-Fi is available including plenty of outlets to recharge all your electronics before the flight.
