This Is the 1 Thing Travel Experts Say You Should Always Bring on a Flight-and It's Not What You Expect

"I landed in Dar es Salaam after a red-eye, [with the] immigration hall packed and buzzing, all of us funneling off the plane, and by the time I reached the counter every pen was gone-dry, vanished, even the chained-up one," Fowkes says. "There I was, holding up the line, with the rest of the no-pen folks, waiting for my turn to borrow one. Not my finest travel moment."

"People assume there will be pens waiting at immigration. Maybe, but with a few hundred passengers hitting the counter at once, those pens disappear fast," Fowkes says."

"Pull a spare pen out of your pocket at 35,000 feet and people look at you like you've just invented fire," Fowkes says. "In that moment, a pen is social currency."

Bring a small ballpoint pen on every trip, especially international ones that require paper immigration and customs forms. Busy immigration counters often run out of pens, leaving arriving passengers delayed and forced to borrow. Late-night arrivals increase the likelihood that no one will be available to lend a pen. Carrying at least one spare pen can speed processing, avoid holding up lines, and serve as a helpful item to lend to others. Choose basic, nonmetal ballpoint pens for reliability. Fancy metallic pens or fountain pens can sometimes cause issues.

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