Few things are worse than boarding a flight hungover. A close second? Sitting next to someone who is drunk. However, with our tips, you can weather even the worst morning-after (or, perhaps, pass along our advice to your seatmate).
While drinking too much the night before an early flight is not advisable, we’ve all been there. And the scenario goes: you’ve drunk to excess, and now you find yourself in the enclosed plane cabin with hours to go before you land. Here are some tips for surviving the flight hungover (and not ending up the centre of attention in-flight).
Tips before takeoff
- Drink water when possible, drink at least one glass of water per alcoholic beverage.
- Treat the symptoms with any anti-nausea medication or a pain reliever (ibuprofen works best), you will likely feel better faster with some help.“The sooner you can keep a glass of liquids down with a pill, the better”, said blogger Ashley Migneault of tothewild.co
- Being comfortable is key. Wear sweatpants or other loose clothing. Frequent traveller Alexandra Caracciolo, an events coordinator for a bespoke travel and events company in Melbourne recommends wearing comfortable shoes. Samantha Duffield, the founder of luxury travel blog Travelling King, likes to wear comfortable soft clothes with a hooded jacket and flip flops or comfortable boots if it’s cold. Don’t forget to accessorize, not only do accessories make the outfit, they might also save the day.
- Pack a goodie bag with things such as wet wipes for your face or face refreshing spray. Karen Klopp, author of Packing for Travel, recommends packing a pashmina.“Never travel without a pashmina or wrap. It can function as a blanket, a pillow, or as a cozy escape from a pushy seatmate, all-important considerations for some feeling slightly (or very) under the weather”, said Klopp. Stephanie Chambers, marketing director of Amrita Aromatherapy recommends adding 10 drops of lemon essential oil into the water and putting it in a small spray bottle to spritz on your face during the flight. Caracciolo also recommends bringing noise-cancelling headphones, a neck pillow and an eye mask.
- Avoid sitting in the back of a car on the way to the airport. While riding shotgun with your taxi driver may be awkward, it is your best bet to avoid a bumpy ride.
- In worst-case scenario hangover situations, upgrade your seat to business or first class. If you can’t afford to upgrade, then be strategic about your seat. If you think you might get sick or need to make frequent trips to the bathroom, get an aisle seat relatively near the bathroom. If you think you can fall asleep, then take the window seat. Seats at the back of the plane are closer to bathrooms and have the best chance of remaining empty.
How to beat a hangover at 30,000 feet
- Blast it. The air-conditioning that is. Adjust the nozzle to make sure the overhead air is blasting directing on you.
- Ask for a sick bag even if you have one, that way you’re secretly alerting the cabin crew to the fact that you may throw up.
- Eat, drink and (try) to feel merry. Continue to drink a lot of water as flying can seriously dehydrate you, and snack on high protein foods. Nutrition is also important.“I will eat organic foods including healthy fats such as almonds, walnuts and cashew nuts because these will slow alcohol absorption”, said Carolyn Dean, MD, author of The Magnesium Miracle. Some travellers believe having another drink aids in recovery.“I would add a little ‘hair of the dog’, namely a Bloody Mary. The alcohol will relax you, while the vitamin-rich tomato juice energizes, and the spices go to work to cleanse your blood stream”, said Klopp. Bob and Ellie Tupper of blog CulturAle Press agree.“Beer combines the benefit of modest alcohol and a good deal of liquid. The old phrase ‘hair of the dog’ has persisted because there’s some truth to it”, said Bob Tupper, co-author of “Drinking In the Culture: Tuppers’ Guide to Exploring Great Beers in Europe”.
- Sleep. You need to try to sleep it off, advises Faé.
What not to do
- Mix dark and light colours. Just like when doing the laundry, mixing dark and light colours (as in alcoholic drinks) before and during your flight is a bad idea.
- Don’t drink caffeinated beverages, which are dehydrating, advises Caracciolo.
- Eat fatty foods. “I also try to avoid the greasy food I would normally run to during an awful hangover”, said Caracciolo, who frequently takes long-haul flights between Australia and the United States and blogs at The Urbon Vivant. “While on a flight, especially for 10-plus hours, this sort of food ends up sitting in your stomach like a brick. It’s hardly an ideal feeling and, most often, the grease doesn’t ‘sop up the leftover alcohol’ as you’d wish it would”.
- Now is not the time to catch up on reading. If you must, avoid reading on bright electronic devices like e-readers and cell phones.
- Now is also not the time to binge-watch your favourite shows or the latest Hollywood blockbusters.If you cannot sleep, don’t try to read or watch fast-moving in-flight entertainment as they can spur nausea.
