It has been a tough period for the airlines and for air travelers. Between pandemic-related shutdowns, ever-changing health protocols, oddball weather patterns, and a few unforced errors from the carriers, flying to a fishing destination has occasionally become a nightmare. If you must fly, or prefer to fly, here are eleven suggestions to minimize the chance of your vacation being totally destroyed.

Our trip home from El Salto was scheduled for an otherwise innocuous weekend that turned out to be one of the worst travel experiences of our lives. We were scheduled to travel home on American Airlines, leaving three hours to transfer our bodies and our luggage in Dallas, but we unknowingly stumbled into a minefield --- American canceled over 400 flights and we were caught up in the chaos.