Question: The other day I was happily surprised to see a very short security line at my local airport, but a guy in front of me who was playing games on his phone the entire time we were waiting in line didn’t have his license ready, couldn’t find his boarding pass and then took forever at the bins taking off his belt and going through his suitcase to find his toiletries bag. I could see on his boarding pass that he’s a frequent flier. My mind was boggled. Shouldn’t people be ready for the checkpoint?

Answer: I would try to cut most people some slack, but there’s no excuse for a frequent flier not to be ready at the checkpoint. In fact, I recommend you prepare as much as possible before you even get into the line, because it’s too easy to get distracted once you’re in it and forget you have a bottle of water in your backpack. Find your boarding pass (or pull it up on your smartphone), dig your license out of that pesky plastic pocket in your wallet, finish your soda, take off anything metal, make sure your laptop and toiletries bag are accessible, etc., and then get in line.

Q: What do you do if you’re staying in the same hotel as a celebrity and there are annoying teenage fans and photographers everywhere?

A: Tell the management they should do a better job of keeping nonguests off the premises. If the photographers or fans are off-property, however, there’s probably nothing the hotel can do. You’ll either have to deal with it or switch hotels.

Email travel etiquette questions to Lesley Carlin at deartripadvisor@tripadvisor.com.