Checking - in procedure at the airport

The rules for passengers who are going abroad are similar in most countries but sometimes there might be a slight difference in formalities. It is a well known fact that each country has its own duty- free quota and prohibited article list.

Every traveller should be careful about the time of check-in. As for domestic and European flights check-in is one hour and a half before departure, for international flights – two hours before departure.

While crossing the border the first thing you must do is to go through the Customs.

At first you must fill in the Customs declaration. If you have something to declare you must write it in your Customs declaration and pay the customs duties.

Then you go to the check-in counter where your ticket is looked at, your checked luggage is weighed and labeled, a claim - check for each piece of luggage is inserted in the ticket and you are given a boarding pass, which has a seat number and a gate number on it. Of course if your luggage weighs more than twenty kilos, you have to pay extra. Don’t forget that you may carry personal items as a cabin luggage such as medicine, important documents, cash, valuable items and laptops. The next formality is filling in the immigration form and going through passport control. The form has to be filled in block letters. You write your name, nationality, permanent address and the purpose of the trip.

In every country there is a security check when your carry (hand) luggage is inspected. This is an anti-hijacking and anti-terrorist measure. Not to feel confused make sure that you don’t have any security risk objects in your cabin luggage such as scissors, knives or similar objects.

After fulfilling all these formalities you go to the departure lounge where you can have a snack, read a paper, buy something in a duty - free shop and wait for the announcement to board the plane. Take into consideration that the departure gates usually close ten minutes before the aircraft departure time and late arrivals at the gates may not be allowed to board.

Some of these formalities are repeated when you arrive at your destination. The customs declaration and immigration form are often filled in on board the plane. At the airport you may be met by a specially trained dog that will make sure that you are not carrying drugs, and the immigration officer might want to know at whose invitation you are coming and whether you have a return ticket.

№3

Greeting people. Etiquette

Our planet is great, billions of people inhabit it. Traveling all over the world gets easier and easier.

In different countries the rules of greeting are different, sometimes very censual. There are many ways of greeting people. It depends on many things: your nationality, and culture, how well you know the person, your relative edges, and your gender. The ways of greeting are: hands shaking ( for European countries); bowing (for Asian countries); embracing (for middle East of Europe); kissing; high-five (for France); backslapping.

Most of the nationalities just shake hands and say «Hello». In Afghanistan, people say «Hello» for at least five minutes. In Thailand they clasp hands together and bow, when greeting someone. One of the most outstanding features of the Egyptian people is their generous hospitality. It is a matter of honour and they regard it as a sacred duty in an Islamic country. So before visiting any country you must learn their customs a dress code in order not to cause offence.

For example, don’t expect the Japanese to shake hands.

Every group of people has own habits.

For example: the British are happy to have a business lunch and discuss business. The Japanese prefer not to work while eating. The Germans like to talk business before dinner. The French like to eat first and talk afterwards.

At a formal meeting people immediately exchange their business cards. If you work in the field of any service, a restaurant or a hotel, the way of meeting people is very important.

Imagine you have arranged a meeting at 4 o’clock, what time you should expect your foreign business colleagues to arrive. If they’re German, they’ll be long on time, if they’re American, they’re be 15 minutes early. If they’re British, they’re 15 min later. People on formal meetings can talk about business, corporate, finances, politics.

On informal meeting people can talk about weather, films, sports, cities and so on. You should remember that if you give people a pleasant impression when you first meet them it is easier to deal with them further. So always try to smile to people, call them by name, be friendly and helpful.

Never forget that we don’t have a second chance for the first impression.