There were no security screenings or passport checks, passengers could turn up to the gate where they were boarding their flight with as many family and friends as they liked to say bon voyage to.

You didn’t have to arrive three hours early for an international flight in the past as security screenings were not conducted at the same level they are post September 11, 2001. Passengers in the 1960s could board the plane without a single piece of proof of identification, like a passport or driver’s licence, on them.

Gone are the days of unlimited luggage. Before the 1980s luggage was only intended to be checked in. Overhead storage bins were initially just netting meant to hold a hat or jacket. It wasn’t until 1987 when a rollaboard suitcase with its vertical design and two wheels and handle was invented by a Northwest Airlines Pilot that revolutionised carry-on luggage. Today, hefty overweight baggage fees mean passengers pack as much as they can in carry-on.

A bottle of wine. A large bottle of moisturiser. It didn’t matter what it was before 2006 you could take as many liquids as you wanted on a plane. It wasn’t until 2006, when British security services uncovered a plot to carry liquid hydrogen peroxide as an improvised explosive device that was to be carried onboard inside drink containers and detonate mid-flight, that a liquid limit was introduced for security reasons.

Before 9/11, if you were a child on a flight one of the most exciting things about being on a plane was asking the flight attendant for permission to have a quick look and sit in the cockpit after the flight landed. Those who were kids in the 80s and 90s and travelled by plane probably have a photo of this exact moment taken by their parents.

The ‘no smoking’ sign used to be switched on by the captain when flight attendants couldn’t carry out inflight services because the haze of smoke from cigars, cigarettes and pipes was so thick. Smoking on a flight was considered standard procedure until 1988 when in-flight smoking was banned on domestic flights two hours or less. For many years there were concerns the cigarettes would cause a fire on board. Today, federal law bans smoking on all flights in most countries.

Considering how expensive travel used to be in the past, every inflight experience would be considered first class today. There was no pre-made, warmed up food wrapped in plastic containers. An on-board chef would prepare lobster and prime rib and then serve it on a plate at your seat.

During the 1950s and 1960s flight attendants’ main priority was providing passengers with a pleasant flying experience, rather than safety. Most airlines offered an unlimited drink service throughout the flight. In 2023, in some countries it is illegal to be drunk on board and you can be removed from a flight.

It wasn’t until 1991 when seatback TVs were introduced by Virgin Atlantic. Before then large movie screens were erected or pulled down from the plane ceiling and passengers watched the same movie.