How to Get to Airport From Metro Station Safely

How to get to the airport is one of those travel questions many people ask when they are preparing to fly. The longer you wait to ask the question the longer the wait will be. Knowing how to get to the airport is a good thing because it will give you time to think about what to do when you get to the airport and if you have time left on your schedule to take a cab or not.

When we were planning our trip to Boston in 2021, one of the biggest concerns we had was how to get to the airport on time because we were going on a red eye flight. Our travel agent told us that there would be a taxi service available for pick up from the departure terminal. Unfortunately, he was wrong.

Although I had heard from others who had used the taxi service before we made our reservation, I decided to try it out myself. My wife and I arrived early for our 8 AM departure and parked our rental car in the driveway across the street. When we walked toward the airport my wife started to tell me about her day but I stopped her because I didn’t want her to think I was making excuses. I went ahead and reported the inappropriate content in our text messages while we were talking on the phone.

I landed early and went straight to the gate where I was greeted by two police officers. I asked them if I could go through security with my hands held over my head like an airline passenger and they let me do so. I was able to walk through the metal detector and the officer motioned for me to go to a holding area right next to the departure lounge where I would meet my passengers. I asked the officers if they had a report of someone having a gun or knife in their waistband.

I asked if they had a report of a gun or knife in their waistband. One of the officers looked at his watch and told me that they did have that information and handed me a slip of paper with my name on it. I thanked him and then went to check my bags. As I was walking towards the check-in counters I saw one of the passengers from the earlier flight come up to a flight attendant and handed her a business card. I asked her what happened and she said that she and her companion had been waiting for a connecting flight to Boston and were given the slip of paper by a flight attendant.

I asked her how she was able to get a copy of the slip of paper and she told me that she worked for a transportation agency and got the information off of a website online. I printed the report and handed it to one of the officers at the airport transfer in Cheltenham. I knew that my luggage would not be allowed on the next flight out so I wanted to make sure that I reported inappropriate content before my luggage made it onto the carousel.

The same thing happened to me several months later when I was flying back to Boston after a business trip. As I approached the check-in counter, a young man that looked to be in his twenties came up to me and handed me a business card. He said that he was from the airline business and that I could expect to receive a report inappropriate content when I visited the website. I was alarmed at the suggestion that I should visit a website that promoted child pornography, but I didn’t know what to do because I felt that my safety was important.

I informed the Transportation Security Administration about the incident because I am a former terrorism investigator and felt that I owed it to myself and to future victims of terrorists to know how to get to the airport from metro station safely. I have since given this information away in talks with corporate executives and travel security agents but I still receive emails like the one from eight years ago. I think they understand the importance of safety but some do not and they seem determined to find ways to avoid doing their job. In my case, sharing my story helped me but the knowledge of how to get to the airport from Metro Station safely remains essential for all of us.