Dubliners love to travel but one in four fight en route...

IF A JOURNEY to the airport tends to bring out the worst in you in terms of stress levels, you’re not alone. As an island nation, it’s no surprise that we love to travel, with 77% of Dubliners taking one foreign holiday a year, according to a new survey.

The travelling part, however, is not always the highlight of the trip. A quarter of those surveyed admitted to arguing with their companion before even reaching the airport.

The hostility doesn’t end there. Some 72% of Dubliners admitted that they dislike conversing with strangers sitting beside them on a flight — possibly because they’re in a bad mood after that stressful trip to the airport.

The new survey, carried out by Dublin Bus in preparation for the launch of its southside Airlink route, also found that most Dubliners like to get to the airport two hours before departure. In fact, nearly everyone surveyed fared very well in the preparation stakes — 97% have never forgotten their passport — but we shouldn’t forget 13% have missed a flight.

Only one in five makes a list of what to pack, but there seems to be a lot of excitement in the build-up. More than 70% begin holiday shopping three weeks in advance and almost a half are packed a week beforehand.

And the biggest peeve for these super-organised travellers? It’s at the security line, when those in front don’t know what to do — putting those 100ml bottles in a clear bag can save a lot of time for all.