Best Advice About What To Wear On A Long-Haul Flight
Preparing and Packing for A Long-Haul Flight
Preparing for the long haul flight is, for many (me included), the less attractive part of the whole trip planning. It takes time and knowledge because of many variables that impact the flight. Knowing what to wear on long-haul flights is critical to overall flight health. When you fly long hours on long-haul flights with layovers, there are three elements that you need to consider:
- Wearing the right clothes for maximum comfort
Nothing is worse than feeling cold or uncomfortable when sitting on a plane for long hours. The layer principle, coupled with loose, stretch pants and warm, soft tops, is the basis for creating an outfit on a plane.
- Eating and Drinking the right things
Proper preparation for the long flight starts by eating the right food and drinking plenty of fresh water. In this post, I have compiled a checklist of how to prepare for the - Adjusting your body to a new time zone
A long-haul flight means sitting for long hours, so it’s hard not to feel exhausted and sleep-deprived, have a stiff neck, tingling in your feet, swollen ankles, and suffer from the conditioned air.
That’s why following the above tips and wearing the right clothes can make a difference when preparing for a long-haul flight. While I am always looking for new garments that add more comfort to my long flights, I have created the plane outfit that has worked well for me over the years. Here are some great tips to help you choose what to wear for flying long distances.
How to create the best outfit for the long flight
Unfortunately, there isn’t one solution that fits all. However, a universal golden rule is to avoid tight clothing that clings around your chest and legs. I recommend wearing functional clothing on the plane. The most important thing about wearing available thermal clothes is that they help regulate your body temperature and keep you warm.
Nothing is worse than feeling cold when sitting on a plane for long hours. With the cabin air pressure change, the temperature quickly changes from warm to cold. Feeling stiff and uncomfortable and not sleeping on a plane is the precondition for severe jet lag symptoms.

The best travel outfits for a long-haul flight
One important thing to consider is wearing clothes in layers that you can easily remove or add. The best way to create this long-flight outfit is to wear a micro-fleece long-sleeve T-shirt and a warm jumper. I love to wear a zipped fleece jumper with side pockets to have more freedom with my arms.
- Lightweight Functional Clothes to keep you warm on a plane
Lightweight, comfy pants are what I recommend wearing on a long flight. Choose loose, soft pants if you wear compression stockings underneath. Many underestimate the fact that flying at high altitudes in a pressured cabin for long hours can do lots of damage to your legs and veins. Clogs in your blood can form and lead to DVT, too. - Wear Compression socks to protect your veins.
If you care for your vein health, you should always wear compression socks or medical stockings as a woman and a man. It’s only ten years ago when I started using compression stockings, and since then, I never fly without my Mediven Elegance stockings. The protection of medical socks provide to my legs is priceless. - Create a layers outfit for the plane
Alternatively, you can wear a thermal base layer underneath your clothes, but while this is an excellent way to keep you warm, it will not protect your veins. Stretch leggings are another superb piece of garment for an aeroplane outfit. Choose thermal leggings to keep your legs warm and protected from the conditioned air. - Keep your neck and head warm.
Remember to protect your head and neck with a soft, warm silk scarf. Pashmina and Fleece are also great textiles for scarves. This is another garment that completes the perfect travel plane outfit. - Wear comfy sneakers
As for the shoes, flat shoes are a must. My walking boots used to be my first choice to save space from the checked luggage, but any comfy sneakers or training shoes are an excellent option for long flights.
Travel gear that improves comfort on the plane
Wearing the proper clothing is a crucial step towards a comfy long flight. However, there are travel essentials that will enhance the well-being of an aircraft. Here is my list
First, an aeroplane travel pillow will provide head and neck support, helping you fall asleep and stay asleep longer. Choosing the right travel pillow for a long-haul flight isn’t easy because it depends on many factors, such as individual needs, travel style, space, and weight.
Inflatable pillows are the most used on planes, but they are useless while they work well for others. Foam U-shaped pillows can be a great option; they perform better but are heavier and take up much more space than inflatable ones. So you need to consider whether you can carry it in your bag.
In this article, you can find in-depth tips on choosing the most suitable pillows for the aeroplane.
Create your long-haul flight essentials.
Besides wearing the proper clothes and having the right gear like a travel pillow, and noise-cancelling headphones, packing all personal travel essentials is critical. As cabin luggage space is limited, I take my multi-functional daypack, which I use for all my outdoor activities and a laptop bag.
These are my best tips on how to pack your hand luggage for a long flight:
- Essential Toiletries for the long trip
I store all my plane essentials in a small bag; this is practical when using the toilets on the plane. Keep it stored in your cabin carry-on. I put my toiletries in a small zipped bag, such as face wash and cream, teeth brush and toothpaste, eye drops, face and hand wipes, hand sanitiser, hairbrush, lip balm, and lavender essential oil. - What food to eat on a plane
Can you take food onboard? Yes, if it is dry food and in a package. I never travel without organic fruit bars, dark chocolate, crackers, herbal tea bags, and food supplements like Vitamin C, OPC, which help combat jet lag. - Personal Garments to pack in your cabin bag
These are the items that I first pack into my cabin hand luggage:
- Soft socks
- Eye-mask
- Earplugs
- Fresh underwear and panty liners
- Snacks and fruit bars for the plane
- Herbal tea bags
You must pack your hand luggage with all long-haul flight essentials that comply with the airport rules and airline baggage restrictions and allow you to survive the long flight and be self-sufficient on a plane and on layovers at connecting airports.
The average length of long flights ranges between 8 to 24 hours, with 1 or 2 layovers at international airports. I prefer booking flights with connecting airports you know well and offering maximum comfort. Stick to the airport that you know well. My favourite is Singapore and Dubai Airport.
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10 Healthy Eating Tips For Staying Fit When Travelling
What To Wear When Travelling In Australia
Baggage Allowances Rules For Australia
Back To Rocky Travel
All Photo Credits from Shutterstock:
Tourist woman with a backpack
Man sleeping on the floor at the airport
Spare Pillows on the plane
First published on rockytravel.net in 2017, last updated in Feb 2024
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Ankit Gupta
November 30, 2017 @ 12:50 pm
good blog post, this is nice.
Stan
April 27, 2023 @ 4:55 pm
Hello, I have read some on compression socks and even underwear? We, the wife and I have used compression socks for long flights and they seem to work well and you don’t even feel them after awhile. We have another long 12 hour day coming up and I found men’s compression underwear saying they could be helpful for men. Not sure if I will buy them yet. Men’s health magazine recommends them. I know that your not a man lol, but what is your take on them? You’re right about comfortable clothing, it’s makes a big difference when traveling which I prefer whenever possible. I have also traveled over 40 years, now retired out of the Military.
You have a lot of good information that I have been using for a long time. Don’t forget about your entertainment, books, games movies saved on your mobile device because internet is not always reliable on acft. And bring your own water bottle, fill it up once you go through the TSA screening , if you drink 8 oz of water every hour this will help you from being dehydrated and feeling less jet lag and wiped out. We also love healthy trail mix.
Happy and safe travels..
😊