| Happy almost-weekend! I’m reporter Hannah Sampson. One of the best things about my job is talking to fellow travelers about their experiences. I get to hear about favorite getaways, pet peeves and quirky travel habits. And sometimes people confess their epic failures, like showing up at one airport when they were supposed to be flying out of another. After two Americans captivated social media with their misadventure in overseas travel – let’s just say anyone who requests a ticket to Nice, France, needs to make sure their boarding pass doesn’t say Tunis – we decided to look for examples of other airport mixups. And, boy, did my colleague Andrea Sachs and I find them. I’m not sure I’ve ever laughed (or said “oh nooooo!”) so much while reporting a story as I did when people recounted their misguided confidence, moments of shock and swings into action to get to the right airports or rebook their flights. Don’t worry; they were laughing with me. I hope you’ll enjoy some comic relief from their stories, and maybe learn from their mistakes. TIPS Double check the airport before leaving. Seriously. No matter how savvy a traveler you are, do not go into autopilot when you’re leaving for the airport. So many people told me they made mistakes when they blithely showed up at their regular airport, or at the one you’d obviously take for a cross-country flight. Let their travails be a lesson to us all: Triple check that boarding pass well in advance, especially if there are multiple airports you could have chosen from when booking your ticket. If you’re on team last-minute when you fly, consider this: Some of the people I interviewed only made it to the right airport and caught their flight because they showed up very early in the first place. One woman planned to savor a glass of wine before her flight. Instead, she sprinted through Dulles, caught a cab to Reagan National and ran to board before the door closed. (The two Northern Virginia airports are more than 25 miles apart.) “The good news is I made my flight,” she told me. “The bad news is I had to buy a glass of wine on the flight.” SWANK OUR SHIP | 
