6 Must Have Gadgets For An Airport Layover

Taking a trip by airplane involves a lot of preparation. On top of ensuring that you've packed enough clothes and have all your must-haves with you — proof of identification (a valid passport if you're going overseas), credit cards, cash, and your mobile phone, for starters — you also want to make sure that you book the most convenient flights in terms of schedule, budget, and other factors.

Of course, depending on availability, you may not always end up with the most time-efficient flight configuration and find yourself with lots of in-between time to wait for the next leg of your trip. If you happen to be embarking on a long-haul flight — especially to an international destination — the odds are high that you may be signed up for a long layover as well. Provided that the delay doesn't warrant an airport exit and a possible hotel stay, it's best that you're prepared to wait it out at your assigned boarding gate with as much comfort as you can muster. 

A great way to do that is to arm yourself with essential equipment that'll keep you sufficiently entertained without being a huge bother to your fellow travelers. Besides the usual electronics like your mobile phone, tablet, or laptop, below are a few other gadgets that you may want to bring with you on your upcoming flight that includes significant standby time at the airport.

Airports are quite notorious for not having a lot of electric socket availability for public use. If there are stations or boarding gate seats that have dedicated slots for charging a myriad of gadgets, they are either only usable for a fee or may already be taken by other people. For times when you are unable to snag an outlet to plug your mobile phone or similar gadget into, it'd be useful to have a power bank handy.

There's no shortage of power bank brands out there that are tried and tested for situations such as an extended stay at the airport. Depending on what type of gadgets you want to juice up, you may need to pay attention to a power bank's battery capacity. For instance, if you are exclusively charging a mobile phone or a tablet on-the-go, something compact in the 10,000 mAh range may suffice. A popular pick among online consumers is the Anker 313 Power Bank (PowerCore 10K). Currently listed at $23.99 on Amazon, it's one of the slimmest and most lightweight power banks available to date, enough to cover two complete charges for an iPhone 15 and around the same among for the Samsung Galaxy S23.

If you are hoping to have a backup power source for a laptop, you might need a power bank with a higher capacity. The Anker Prime Power Bank is more expensive at $179.99 on Amazon, but it has a recorded capacity of 27,650 mAh, over double what the Anker 313 is capable of. It has a maximum output of 140W, so you should be able to charge a machine like a 16-inch MacBook Pro (M2 Pro) and gain back about 50% battery life in about half an hour.

Of course, you also need to be prepared for the possibility that you end up with an available electrical socket close to your boarding gate or wherever you need to be so you can receive timely travel updates. While it's probably best to use the charger head that came with your mobile device, you want to ensure that you can actually plug it in, regardless of where you are in the world. Since not all countries or regions use the same socket style, having a universal travel adaptor is something every worldly traveler ought to have in their carry-on luggage.

A highly rated power adapter suited for international destinations is this 28W universal travel adapter by Epicka, currently priced at $25.99 on Amazon. It has an AC socket that can accommodate four different plug types in over 150 countries, including Canada, Japan, the U.K., Ireland, Scotland, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, China, Australia, Argentina, New Zealand, and the U.S. Apart from that, it also comes with one USB-C and four USB-A ports, making it possible to charge up to six mobile devices simultaneously.

While it's equipped with an 8A fuse that makes it safe to use during your travels, note that this universal power adapter is not designed to convert voltage, so you may not be able to use it to power high-voltage items like hair dryers, curling irons, electric shavers and toothbrushes, and other similar equipment. Make sure that whatever you plug into it has a label on it ensuring it supports dual voltage, such as "100-240V, 50/60Hz."

If there is an available electric socket at the airport but is at an inconvenient or uncomfortable location, it makes it easier for you to have access to it when you have a long enough charging cable. As a mobile phone user, there are at least three things that should already be in your carry-on bag: a power bank, a charger head, and a charger cord.

For the latter, it's highly recommended that you have one that's longer than the standard cable that comes with the device, at least 3 feet long. You may also want a cord that has multiple port types. For instance, Minlu's 4-in1 charging cable has micro USB, USB-C and Lightning connector types that can cover a wide range of devices, including older Apple devices. For only $12.99 on Amazon, you get a pack of two retractable cords that can stretch up to 4 feet long.

If most of your gadgets on hand have a USB-C port, you can buy a pack of two Anker-brand USB-C cables for $13.99 on Amazon instead, both of which can be unfurled to their full length of 6 feet, which is highly convenient for airport use.

A long layover is the perfect time to catch up on some reading. If you happen to be a bookworm, one of the many essential tech gadgets you may want for travel is an e-reader like Amazon's Kindle (2022). It can store thousands of books in e-book format, giving you the opportunity to easily switch between titles and genres. It's also got a pretty substantial battery life — depending on personal use, a single charge can last up to six weeks, which is more than enough to cover your time waiting at the airport.

While the 2022 version of the Kindle is currently the cheapest and most compact iteration of the device to date, at this point, you may need to buy it used or refurbished on Amazon. Otherwise, you may want to consider getting the lockscreen ad-supported version of the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite for $149.99 instead. It can fit up to 16GB worth of e-books, which you can purchase right from Amazon (or redeem with Kindle Points) or through a Kindle Unlimited subscription. You can even use the Libby app to download e-books your local library may have on loan for free. Note that these e-books will have a corresponding due date attached to them and may disappear from your Kindle once the deadline elapses.

The airport is probably one of the busiest (and loudest) places to be in. The prospect of having to stay in one for a prolonged period of time can be quite stress-inducing for adults and children alike. To help lessen overstimulation, consider arming yourself with noise canceling headphones. You can opt for a pair of headband-style headphones like the Anker Soundcore Space Q45. Priced at $149.99 on Amazon, the product listing claims you can use it for up to 50 hours with ANC enabled. In any case, you can quick-charge it for only five minutes to gain back up to four hours of playback time.

If noise canceling earbuds are more your preference, a great pair worth considering is the Beats Fit Pro, receiving nine out of 10 from SlashGear. Although its listed capacity is only for up to six hours with noise canceling enabled, you can get up to 24 hours back using its handy charging case. The earbuds also have a pretty unique wingtip design that ensures a proper seal of the ear canals, enabling you to block out all the airport noise more effectively. The Beats Fit Pro is normally listed at $199 on Amazon.

If you don't require an audio-listening accessory per se and only want something to dampen the environmental sound within the airport, consider getting earplugs. Something a step above the foam earplugs you can get at a convenience store are those designed for noise reduction at places you may be exposed to higher audio levels, such as a concert or an enclosed space full of people potentially talking at once (aka an airport). Loop makes excellent quality earplugs that are not just for public use, but for gaining deeper sleep as well. The Experience 2 Plus earplugs, which have removable mute accessories for more noise reduction if you need it, are usually priced at $45 on Amazon but are often on sale. Meanwhile, the $35 Loop Engage Kids 2 earplugs are suitable for kids between six and 12 years old.

Most airports offer Wi-Fi connectivity, either for free or for a small fee. However, because of the sheer amount of potential users in the vicinity, the internet speed leaves much to be desired. Rather than have to surf the web or navigate your go-to apps at a glacial pace, it might be a good idea to hop online some other way. If using your mobile phone as a hotspot isn't quite cutting it, a portable hotspot or internet device might come in handy, especially if you travel often.

The Simo Solis Lite Hotspot — which is normally priced at $160 on Amazon — when paired with one of the company's available global or domestic data plans, offers stable internet connectivity in over 135 countries in different regions in the world. Every purchased Solis hotspot device comes with an initial 1GB worth of global data per month for free. Once that is fully used up, any data plans you purchase on top of the device itself will kick in.

It's important to note that most portable internet devices will only work in areas that have considerable cellular reception or internet connectivity available, which should include most airports. Once you get on an airplane, however, you won't be able to use the mobile hotspot to get online.