Phrasal Verbs for Travel — Airport Survival English
CEFR B1-B2 • Phrasal Verbs • Check in, board, get through — phrasal verbs for airports and trips
Travel English is phrasal-verb English
Walk into a London or San Francisco airport and you will hear "check in," "board," "get through," "drop off," "pick up" within the first five minutes. Native English travelers reach for these constantly. This page covers the 25 phrasal verbs that get you through airports, hotels, and a business trip from arrival to departure. Click each to hear the rhythm.
Departure: airport
check in
register at the airport or hotel
"I checked in online for my morning flight."
drop off
leave a person or item at a location
"My ride dropped me off at terminal 2."
pick up (luggage)
collect
"Pick up your bags at carousel 6."
print out
print on paper
"Do I need to print out the boarding pass, or is mobile fine?"
get through (security)
pass
"It took 45 minutes to get through security at JFK."
board (a flight)
enter the plane
"We are boarding from gate 24 now."
Flying
take off
leave the ground (depart)
"We are taking off in 10 minutes — phones on airplane mode."
touch down / land
arrive at destination
"We touched down in Frankfurt at 7 AM local time."
connect (through)
change planes
"I am connecting through Amsterdam to get to Mumbai."
stop over
pause briefly between flights
"I have a 3-hour stopover in London."
Hotel
book in / book a room
reserve a room
"I have you booked in for two nights — confirmation 4882."
check out
leave the hotel formally
"What time do I need to check out tomorrow?"
look up
search for information
"Let me look up the address for the office."
Getting around the city
get on / get off
enter/exit a vehicle
"Get off at the next stop and walk two blocks east."
show up
arrive at a place
"The Uber showed up two minutes early."
stop by
visit briefly
"I will stop by the office before the dinner."
head out
leave
"I am heading out to the airport in 30 minutes."
Problems and changes
hold up (something)
delay
"The flight is held up because of weather."
get bumped
lose your seat to a higher-priority passenger
"I got bumped from the morning flight — they put me on the noon."
switch out / swap out
replace
"I switched out my window seat for an aisle."
fall through (plans)
collapse unexpectedly
"My dinner plans fell through — they had to fly out early."
Wrapping up the trip
fly back / head back
return home
"I am flying back to Berlin tomorrow morning."
catch up on (sleep, work)
make up for what was missed
"I need to catch up on sleep after this trip."
settle in
get comfortable in a new place
"It took a few days to settle in after the time change."
burn out
become exhausted from overwork
"Two trips back-to-back will burn me out."
Hear them in real travel sentences
"I checked in online, got through security in 20 minutes, and boarded at gate 12. Flight took off on time."
"I connected through London with a 90-minute stopover. Touched down in Mumbai at 8 PM local time. The hotel had me booked in already, so checking in was fast."
"My morning flight got held up by weather. I had to switch out my dinner reservation. Heading out to the airport now — should show up at the office around 2 PM."
Common mistakes
- "I take the flight at 6 AM" = OK casually. More natural: "I am flying out at 6 AM" or "My flight takes off at 6 AM."
- "I will check the hotel" → "I will check INTO the hotel." "Check in" is the phrasal — "check the hotel" sounds like inspecting it.
- "I lost my flight" → "I missed my flight" or "I got bumped off the flight." "Lost" sounds like the flight is misplaced.
- "I take the airport bus" = OK, but "I am getting on the airport bus" is more natural for the moment of boarding.
- "My flight is delayed for 2 hours" → "My flight is delayed BY 2 hours." "By" for the duration of delay.
Practice: Test yourself
Tap each question to reveal the answer.