When we start prepping, we usually start at home, which makes sense because we spend a lot of time there. But when you get more serious, you might want to consider getting a little more prepared for emergencies in ALL of your travel situations.

Today I’m sharing some thoughts about my first trip to the beach after I became a prepper. I definitely adapted my travel kit after I started prepping. Hopefully, the list below can inspire you to come up with your own essential list for future travel adventures.

Day-to-day Prepping

When we are at home, my husband and I both take our preparedness fairly seriously on a day-to-day basis.

We both have get home bags in our cars, and I have extra supplies stashed at work in case I get stuck there in an emergency. We rarely leave the house without my EDC purse, and we almost never leave the house unarmed. When we travel in our travel trailer, we stock up all sorts of goodies, and road trips include a well-thought out list of travel supplies that could sustain us for some time.

But despite this being part of our daily routine at home, we gave little thought to preparedness when we travelled by air.

Air-Travel Professionals (sort of)

My husband and I have logged hundreds of thousands of miles of flying over the last 15 years in our professional careers. Our travels have taken us all over the United States and internationally to places like Canada, England, Germany, Korea, Jordan, and Qatar. Not to brag, but I even had Platinum status at one point, which really just means they give you occasional upgrades to make you feel important so you’ll ignore how draining air travel actually is when you are flying most weeks out of the year!

All of this travel has resulted in me feeling like a travel professional.

I have mastered the art of using Airline points, I can navigate security lines with ease, I roll my suitcase through ridiculous crowds without missing a step, and I can find the best food in most airports without a directory.

I also have the right carry-on and suitcase for almost any trip (much to my husband’s dismay), and I can rock my fancy Bose headphones with the best of them.

But none of my traveling experience, hours of layovers, lost luggage experiences, or travel delays really made me stop and think about what I should do to from a preparedness when I was in the air.

And let me be clear, we did a HORRIBLE job of thinking about preparedness when we first started flying after we started prepping.

After COVID we escaped for a trip to the beach with my family. We had been prepping for almost a year, but somehow that hadn’t translated to what we should take on our flights. When we arrived at the beach with my family, I realized I was woefully unprepared for an actual emergency situation.

My Normal Pack List

Before we left for the beach, we decided to only take carry-on luggage only so we could avoid all of the luggage hassles and large crowds at baggage claim.

I made detailed lists of the clothes, toiletry items, and beach gear we needed for the trip. I even did a fairly decent job of packing out my “personal-item” bag with all of the comforts I like to have when I fly. But never once did I stop to think about how all of my preparedness actions I have taken at home translated to travelling on an Airplane.

I did pack my normal list of comfort items with me, but I definitely didn’t have my medical kit, a multi-tool, or any way to purify water with me! (EEK!)

Here’s what I did pack in my bag under the seat for this flight:

• Hydro Flask Water Bottle

• iPhone

• Cash

• Wallet (Slim design with ID’s & Credit Cards only)

• Sunglasses

• Chap Stick

• Hand Lotion

• Hand Sanitizer

• Tissues

• Clorox Wipes (I’ve been wiping down my seat, seat pockets, & trays on planes for years)

• Cough Drops

• Gum

• Cliff Bars & Trail Mix

• Coffee Mug!

• Travel Pillow

• Headphones

• iPad

• iPhone & iPad charger

• Book (because I love books)

This is a pretty normal packing list for me in my small carry-on bag on almost any flight I’m on regardless of where I’m going.

It includes most of the things I use on a consistent basis when I travel, and a few “just-in-case” items I’ve needed over the years when I fly.

Now this list does get a little longer when I fly internationally. I usually add the following items to my carry-on list:

• Mini-toothbrush and toothpaste (brushing your teeth makes ALL the difference in how clean you feel when flying internationally)

• Face Wash

• Body Wipes

• Mini-hair brush

• Dramamine

• Pepto (just in case)

• Eye-mask

• International travel adapter for all electronics

Overall, I’m happy with what I pack during flights and it was a solid strategy for me over the years.

However, while consistent air-travel (particularly internationally) encourages you to think about creature comforts, it doesn’t necessarily prepare you for true emergencies and that’s what I realized I’d forgotten about when I started flying again.

Packing for Air Travel as a Prepper

My old packing list kept me comfy on the plane, but it wouldn’t have helped me much in an actual emergency situation. For our beach trip, I wasn’t really prepared for an emergency situation.

To be clear, we were staying in a rental house in a nice beach community with grocery stores and a Walmart in relatively close proximity, so we had access to anything we needed, but that’s not really prepping…it’s vacationing!

Even after a few days at the beach I hadn’t really given much thought to not being prepared, other than the time I reached for my husband’s pocket knife (ALWAYS in his pocket) and it wasn’t there. I still may not have really thought about traveling from a preparedness standpoint, but my sister specifically asked me what I brought with me as a prepper.

It was a curiosity question that stopped me cold. With the exception of a small flashlight my husband threw in his backpack as were leaving the house, we really didn’t have any of our standard supplies with us for the trip.

We did stock the fridge and pantry with food and we had bottled water available, so we did a passing job on the water and food side of things, but when my niece wanted a band-aid, it took us digging through the car glove compartment to find one (Yes, I did buy a box of band-aids on my next trip to the store!)

So I started thinking about what I wanted to add to my travel list.

What items would be important for my safety and sense of security?

What items could I carry with me when I loaded up on a plane?

What would TSA allow on board? (List of restrictions here)

The questions got me thinking about the areas I’d like to improve. I focused on items that work in a variety of situations for minor repairs, medical supplies, and the closest thing I could think of to aid in personal security (emergency whistle).

TSA Approved EDC Items:

Normally when we think about EDC we think about multi-tools and pocket knives, but when traveling by air, we have to think about travel restrictions. Below is a list of the items I’m adding to my air travel EDC kit that are approved by TSA:

• Survival Whistle

• LED Flashlight

• Multi-tool without a blade (I’m looking at the Gerber Shard)

• Kula Cloth

• Waterproof Notebook & Pen

• Paracord (550 Cord)

• Mini-roll of Duct tape

• Mini-First Aid Kit (no scissors!)

• Emergency Blanket

• Portable Power Bank for iPhone

• Water Purification Tablets

These items combined with the items I already tend to pack will allow me to be prepared for minor emergencies. Sure it’s isn’t as good as carrying around my bug-out-bag with me, but it will provide a level of comfort when I fly.

I’d encourage you to think about what supplies you’d like to have with you when you travel, particularly if you find yourself traveling by air on a regular basis. My last word of caution is to check the restrictions at other airports/countries if you are flying internationally. Sometimes the rules change!

What items would you add to your list?

Disclaimer: This post contains links for items I have tested and love. These links are affiliate links, and as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. If you think you might like what I’ve tried, please consider purchasing from my link. This is a great way to support me AND get the items you need to start your prepping journey.