If you’ve had it with swollen feet on your long haul trips, you need to try this trick.

Words by James Booth for escape.com.au

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For Aussie travellers, long haul flights are an inevitable part of life. With them come all sorts of issues, from swollen feet to a lack of sleep (Skyscanner says 65 per cent of passengers struggle to find a good position to sleep in).

Last time I flew from Sydney to Doha I experienced this first hand (or should I say first foot?), stepping off the plane with two rather large appendages.

My 10.5 Adidas Stan Smiths, deliberately chosen for being half a size big, strained heroically to contain my hooves, as I wandered the airport after a 15-hour flight, searching for somewhere to put my legs up.

Unfortunately, all the reclining chairs were full. As was every row of normal seats without armrests (taken by quick-thinking travellers sleeping across them).

Stumped, I shuffled my stumps over to a normal row of seats and tried to get comfortable.

See also: Online trick to booking yourself an excellent flight stopover

I tried putting my feet on my suitcase (it kept rolling away), curling up around the arm rest (the metal dug into my back) and finally, lay on the floor with my feet up on the chair (kind of like a dying cockroach).

It was then I spotted something.

A few rows over, another traveller had procured a luggage trolley and fashioned it into a luxurious-looking foot rest. Genius. Why didn’t I think of that?

This in mind, here are six layover hacks to make your next long haul trip less painful.

 

1. Use a baggage trolley as a foot rest

As I just learned, this is a game-changer for when you can’t find a lie-flat seat at the airport. Once you put your suitcase on it, it’s the perfect height to rest your legs on, and is more stable than resting them straight onto your suitcase.

 

2. Find your gate

Before you start burying a Pret a Manger table under a pile of croissant flakes, or sinking your teeth into a WHSmith paperback, sort out your logistics. Find a spot near your gate, or at the very least, find out where your gate is and how long it will take to walk to, before you settle into your determined crevice.

 

3. Score yourself some Duty Free goodies

Another way to kill time is to hit the shops. That cologne won’t spray itself.

 

4. Check how much lounge entry is

Depending on how long your layover is, sometimes it’s cheaper to buy access to a lounge (where you get food for free) than to buy several meals outside of it.

 

5. Go for a jog

If you have clothes to get changed into afterwards, and shower facilities, this will boost your mood.

 

6. Read up on how to sit on your next flight

Want a top tip for sleeping on planes? First of all: don’t do it for too long: moving about frequently will reduce your risk of DVT.

 

This article first appeared in escape.com.au

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