Long-haul flight essentials: what to wear and what to pack

Dress for a long-haul flight in loose layers you can sleep in, and pack a carry-on that lets you sleep, block out the cabin and clean yourself up before landing. Those two decisions cover almost everything that makes a 10-hour flight bearable.

Below is what I wear and what goes in my bag, with the reasoning behind each one. The clothing list runs from the top layer down, and the carry-on list is in the order I actually reach for things.

What to wear when flying long distance

Wear clothes loose enough to curl up in, because the aisle is the largest space you will have for the next 10 hours and tight clothing takes away what little room you have left. Long flights suck the energy out of a person on their own without adding a waistband to it.

The other thing loose clothing buys you is the ability to move. Cabin exercises are worth doing on any flight over about six hours, and they are much harder in jeans.

Six items make up the outfit, listed below from the top layer down.

1. Long pullover or cardigan

Pick a top layer long enough to cover your lower back when you are seated, because you will slide down in the seat as the flight goes on. A cropped cardigan that works standing up leaves a gap once you are three hours in and half asleep.

The length also keeps you warm. Cabins get cold, and airline blankets are thin. When it turns warm instead, a cardigan folds up into a passable pillow, which is one fewer thing to carry.

Worth checking out:

• BIADANI open front lightweight cardigan, the plainest of these and the easiest to wear with anything.
• PattyBoutik marled hoodie cardigan, whose hood doubles as a light eye cover.
• Cupshe high-low knitting sweater, cut longer at the back, which is the part that matters here.
• Knits by Hampshire chunky sweater, the warmest and the bulkiest.
• Zeagoo casual V-neck sweater, light enough to keep on when the cabin warms up.

2. Scarf or pashmina

A wide scarf is the single most useful thing you can wear on a plane, because it does four jobs. It keeps your neck warm, wraps around you as a blanket, folds into a pillow, and goes over your eyes when the cabin lights stay on.

That is four pieces of kit replaced by one, and it takes no space in your bag afterwards because you are wearing it.

Worth checking out:

• MOLERANI tasselled blanket scarf, large enough to use as an actual blanket.
• Wander Agio winter shawl, long rather than wide.
• Saferin cashmere and lambswool pashmina, the softest of these against your face.
• A plain oversized wrap scarf if you want something without a pattern.
• Hitop tartan blanket scarf, a heavier weave.
• Anboor cashmere blanket scarf in plain black, which goes with everything.

3. T-shirt or top

Wear something loose that still covers your lower back when you sit down. I get cold quickly so I wear three layers, a top, a t-shirt and a cardigan, which also means I can take one off when the cabin warms up.

A tight top is a bad idea for two reasons. It limits how you can sit, and it becomes uncomfortable when the cabin gets hot, which it will at some point in every long flight.

Worth checking out:

• Zero City long sleeve t-shirt, the plain long-sleeved option.
• Blonde Peacock feather racerback yoga tank as a base layer.
• Arm The Animals Catastrophe tank, if you would rather your base layer had something on it.
• Next Level tri-blend three-quarter sleeve, a unisex cut that runs loose.
• Romastory feather pattern t-shirt.
• A loose-cut everyday tee for the same job in a plainer form.

4. Loose pants

Loose pants beat skinny jeans on a long-haul flight, and this is the item people argue about most. If you have flown long haul in skinny jeans and been comfortable, carry on. I am fairly sure most people have not.

The argument gets easier after you have eaten everything you brought on board. There are three routes to loose pants that still look like clothes rather than pyjamas, plus leggings for people who will not be talked out of them.

Activewear

Activewear has moved a long way from shapeless sweatpants and much of it now pairs with an ordinary top. Put it with a decent sneaker and the outfit reads as casual rather than as gym kit.

If you do not want trousers that announce themselves as activewear, look at yoga pants cut to look like tailoring. Some brands do that well.

Worth checking out:

• Betabrand dress pant yoga pants, straight leg, the ones cut to pass as office trousers.
• 90 Degree by Reflex loungewear, the softest of this group.
• Balanced Tech contrast French terry pants.
• Soojun washed elastic cropped pants, with a fully elasticated waist.
• Spalding bootleg pant, the most conventional shape here.

Genie and harem pants

Harem pants are the most comfortable option and the hardest to wear well. Go for a cut where the crotch is not somewhere around your knees, which is entirely a matter of taste and mine is that they should look like trousers.

Worth checking out:

• BAISHENGGT drop crotch jogger, the most restrained of the shape.
• A plain harem trouser without a print.
• Lofbaz peacock print smocked pants.
• Banjamath peacock Aladdin jumpsuit.
• Banjamath smocked palazzo with elephant print.

Palazzo pants

Palazzo pants are as comfortable as activewear and look smarter, especially in a stretchy fabric. I never wear them because I am short and I prefer something that closes around the ankle so cold air cannot get in from below.

Worth checking out:

• Popana damask palazzo pants in black, or the same palazzo pants in damask print.
• HeyHun solid hippie palazzo pants.
• A wide-leg palazzo trouser in a plain colour.
• A jersey palazzo pant with a soft waistband.
• Superline high fold-over waist palazzo pants, whose waistband folds down to sit lower.

Leggings

Leggings work on a plane if they are not tight, and they take up no space in your luggage afterwards. I prefer loose pants and I am not going to pretend otherwise, but plenty of people fly in leggings and are perfectly comfortable. Size up rather than down.

5. Sneakers or comfortable shoes

Wear shoes you can walk to a hotel in while exhausted, because that is the job they actually have to do. I take mine off for most of a long flight anyway, so what matters is the hour at each end rather than the ten in between.

That rules out heels and anything tight-fitting. I almost always fly in sneakers, partly because they are usually the bulkiest shoes I am packing so it makes sense to wear them, and partly because they keep my feet warm. The only times I have not were flying to Canada and Finland in winter, when I needed bulky snow boots instead.

Whatever you wear, bring socks. Cabins get cold at floor level.

Worth checking out:

• Geox Wnewclub walking shoe in champagne, or the same Geox walking shoe in another colour.
• Nike Air Max Thea, the most cushioned of these.
• adidas Originals Stan Smith, which go with more outfits than they have any right to.
• Superga 2750 Cotu Classic, the lightest to pack.

6. Compression socks

Wear compression socks on any flight over about four hours, because sitting still for hours is what makes deep vein thrombosis a genuine risk on long flights. Graduated compression keeps blood moving in your lower legs and is the standard advice for reducing that risk.

They are also the reason your feet are not swollen on landing, which is the benefit you will notice first.

Worth checking out:

• Graduated compression socks for flying, the plain everyday pair.
• Fytto 1020 graduated compression socks, cut to pass as ordinary socks.
• 20 to 30 mmHg compression socks with hearts, a firmer compression than most.
• Sockwell Circulator compression socks, merino rather than synthetic.
• Counting Sheep compression socks, sold in multipacks.

Check with a doctor before buying a firm compression if you have a circulatory condition, because the higher pressures are a medical product rather than a comfort one.

Word of warning: maxi skirts and dresses

Skip the maxi dress or skirt, even though it is loose and comfortable and everything else on this page argues for exactly that. The reason is security: a floor-length garment hides what is underneath it, and in my experience it makes a pat-down more likely rather than less.

That is my own observation from flying in one rather than a published rule, so treat it as a reason to take a spare few minutes into account rather than a certainty.

What to wear on a long-haul flight: the short version

Six items make the outfit, listed below in the order you put them on.

1. Long and loose top or t-shirt, covering your lower back when seated.
2. Long cardigan or another top layer, long enough to do the same.
3. Scarf, wide enough to work as a blanket.
4. Loose pants, whichever of the three shapes above suits you.
5. Compression socks, on any flight over about four hours.
6. Sneakers or other comfortable shoes you can walk in while exhausted.

Remember this is also the outfit you arrive in, and the one you may be stuck in for 24 hours or more if you are delayed or your bag goes missing. Comfortable, but not so comfortable you would not want to be seen in it.

Don’t forget travel insurance

Buy travel insurance before you fly, because it covers the things the airline will not: a cancelled trip, illness or injury abroad, and stolen or broken electronics. I have had continuous cover since I started travelling so that every trip is covered without me having to think about it.

If you do not have a policy, check out SafetyWing. Their plans are flexible and you can start one when you are already on your trip, which most insurers refuse to do. When I caught COVID they reimbursed all of my expenses without making a fuss, and their support team was straightforward to deal with.

Long haul flight essentials: carry-on checklist

Pack a carry-on that lets you sleep, block out the cabin and clean up before landing. Fifteen things earn their place in mine, listed below roughly in the order I reach for them.

1. Snacks

Bring your own food, because airline food arrives when the galley is ready rather than when you are hungry. Meals are usually included on long haul and you can buy more on board, but neither helps at hour seven.

I should probably tell you to pack healthy snacks. I am not going to, because I do not. I get nauseous easily, I have tried most things, and the only thing that reliably tastes right to me in the air is crisps. Pringles for preference. It is the combination of salt and plainness, and they have never once caused me trouble at altitude.

If you want something more sensible, goodnessKNOWS snack squares travel well and do not melt.

2. Travel pillow

Take a proper travel pillow if you intend to sleep, because the cardigan-as-pillow trick fails on exactly the flights you need it: the cold ones, where you are wearing the cardigan. I have yet to find a perfect one and I currently use the J-Pillow, which supports your chin as well as your neck, or the larger J-Pillow if you want more of it.

3. Earplugs

Pack earplugs even if you own noise-cancelling headphones, because they cost almost nothing, take no space and work when a battery has run flat. I always sleep with earplugs at home and I keep a pair in my carry-on for the same reason.

Mack’s Ultra Soft foam earplugs are the pair I buy. Headphones do more, because you can also use them for music and the in-flight entertainment, and Bose’s current QuietComfort range is the obvious place to look if you want a pair. The QuietComfort 25 model this post originally recommended is a wired 2014 design that has been superseded several times over, so buy the current generation rather than hunting down that one.

4. Sleeping mask

A sleeping mask blocks the cabin lights that stay on for most of a night flight. I do not use one, and I know enough people who will not fly without one that leaving it off the list would be silly.

The Alaska Bear silk sleep mask is the one most of them use.

5. A book and something to listen to

Bring your own entertainment, because seat-back screens break. I was once on a 10-hour flight where the screen behind me did not work for the entire journey, and the passenger in it had nothing else.

I carry a Kindle loaded with business and travel books, plus podcasts and music. The original version of this post said an iPod, and Apple discontinued the last of those in May 2022, so download to your phone instead and make sure the files are actually offline rather than streaming.

6. Sleeping pills and other medication

Pack whatever you would want at 3am in a metal tube, because there is no pharmacy at 38,000 feet. Coming back from Sri Lanka I was exhausted, a friend had given me melatonin, and it got me through most of the flight home asleep.

Something for nausea and something for a headache are worth having as well. Nature’s Bounty melatonin dissolve tablets dissolve without water, which matters when the trolley is nowhere in sight. Melatonin is prescription-only in several countries, so check the rules where you are flying from and to.

7. Carry-on toiletry bag

Pack a clear toiletry bag with everything you would hate to lose with your luggage, such as contact lenses and any medication you need daily. I prefer travelling carry-on only, and even when I check a bag I still carry this one.

Check the liquid limits at your departure airport before you pack it, because the rules differ by country and airport and have been changing. A transparent toiletry bag saves you unpacking it at security. There is a full essential travel toiletries list here.

8. Clean underwear

Pack one clean set of underwear, which is the minimum insurance against a lost bag or a spilled drink. Some people carry a full change of clothes. I do not, because if I spill something I can rearrange my layers to cover it.

Kalon hipster briefs come in multipacks and pack flat.

9. Pen

Carry a pen, because arrival cards still get handed out on paper and there is never one to borrow. It also plays Hangman and noughts and crosses, which fills more of a long flight than you would think.

BIC Round Stic pens come 36 to a box, so you will never be without one again.

10. Lip balm

Bring lip balm, because airplane air is dry and it does real damage to your lips over 10 hours. My mother and my boyfriend both think I have a lip balm problem. They may be right, and I am still correct about this.

ChapStick Classic is my usual, and the version with sunscreen is worth it if you are landing somewhere bright.

11. Wet wipes and paper tissues

Pack tissues and wet wipes, because something will get spilled and it will not always be you who spills it. I take tissues everywhere, including to the supermarket at home, so this one is not really about flying.

Tempo tissues hold together better than most when they get wet.

12. Deodorant

Carry a travel-size deodorant, because this item and the next two are what make you feel human in the last hour of the flight. Size matters here: a full-size one will not pass the liquid limits in most airports.

Green Tidings organic deodorant is a solid stick, so it does not count as a liquid at all.

13. Toothbrush and toothpaste tablets

Brush your teeth before landing, and use tablets rather than paste so the liquid rules do not apply. Toothpaste tablets dissolve in your mouth into something close to a foam and remove every trace of the snacks.

Archtek toothpaste tablets are the ones I use, and they also come in a larger 60-tablet tin.

14. Travel-size hairbrush

Pack a small hairbrush, particularly with long hair, because being able to brush it before you land improves how you feel out of all proportion to the effort.

The GranNaturals wooden bristle detangling brush is short enough to fit a jacket pocket.

15. A big practical bag and a small handbag

Carry two bags rather than one, because everything you need in the seat should be within reach without opening the overhead locker. The small bag holds your passport, tissues and money; the big one holds everything else.

I travel with a camera bag plus either a carry-on trolley, when I am not checking anything, or the Eastpak Egghead laptop backpack when I am. There is also a larger Eastpak Egghead if you carry more.

Stay connected while travelling overseas

Buy a data eSIM before you fly, so your phone works the moment you land rather than after you have found the airport WiFi. That is what lets you call a car, open a map and message whoever is waiting for you.

Check out Airalo data eSIMs and use the code HARRY5578 for a discount on your first one. They sell day passes and monthly plans, and I use the day passes outside the EU, where I have no roaming, and sometimes at home as a backup when I am about to run over my phone’s data allowance.

WonderfulWanderings Pro Tips

Five things I have learned flying long haul are listed below.

1. Dress for the arrival, not the flight. This is the outfit you may be stuck in for 24 hours if you are delayed or your bag does not turn up, which is the whole argument against anything you would not want to be photographed in.
2. One wide scarf replaces four things. Neck warmer, blanket, pillow and eye mask, and it costs you no luggage space because you are wearing it.
3. Salt and plain beats healthy at altitude. I get nauseous easily, I have tried the alternatives, and crisps are the only snack that has never once caused me a problem in the air.
4. Put the seat-back screen on your list of things that will fail. On one 10-hour flight the screen behind me did not work for the entire journey. A Kindle and offline downloads cost nothing to bring and solve it completely.
5. Skip the maxi dress. Everything else here argues for loose and comfortable, and this is the exception, because a floor-length garment is the thing most likely to earn you a pat-down at security.

About the author. This guide is written and maintained by the Wonderful Wanderings editorial team. Wonderful Wanderings was founded in 2012 by Sofie Couwenbergh, and the flying habits described here are hers, built up over long-haul trips including Sri Lanka, Canada and Finland. The team covers packing and in-flight comfort for independent travellers, including the clothing, carry-on kit, travel insurance and eSIMs worth buying, and updates this page when products are replaced.