US Airports: What You Need to Know

In the year ended June 30, 2015, 980,000 Australian residents visited the US, but for those planning to travel around the country by air, beware. US airports are mostly crowded, stinky, badly organised and governed by venomous officials whose mission appears to be to frustrate any hope you might have of getting anywhere.

So what's the deal for Australians heading for the US, and looking to make their airline travel as painless as possible?

Australians are eligible to enter the US without a visa under the Visa Waiver Program. Australian e-passport holders can apply online at the website of the Electronic System for Travel Authorisation. The cost is $US14 but make sure you're at the official ESTA website: esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta.

US Customs and Border Protection's Global Entry scheme gives faster clearance for low-risk travellers, but GE is not available to Australian passport holders. Those travelling on a British, German, Singaporean or South Korean passport can apply. If that fits you, see the US Customs and Border Protection website: cbp.gov.

Successful Global Entry candidates can apply for TSA PreCheck. This enables you to skip the long security queues at just about every US airport for a much shorter one, with fewer checks. However PreCheck approval is complicated. First step is the TSA PreCheck website: tsa.gov/tsa-precheck.

So how can the Aussie traveller make their transit through US airports as painless as possible?

According to Ryan Bingham, the character played by George Clooney in the 2009 movie Up in the Air, "Never get behind people travelling with infants, old people have bodies littered with hidden metal but Asians pack light, travel efficiently and they've got a thing for slip-on shoes." "That's racist," says his travelling colleague. "I'm like my mother," says Bingham. "I stereotype. It's faster."