If you think the essential items for your flight are your passport, boarding pass, and charger — think again. There’s one item that’s often overlooked: a basic ballpoint pen, especially important on international flights when you’ll face immigration or customs forms, Travel+Leisure reports.
Travel advisor Georgia Fowkes from Altezza Travel recounts her experience in Tanzania: during the red-eye arrival the immigration hall was swarmed, and by the time she reached the counter there were no pens left. “There I was, holding up the line… all the no-pen folks, waiting for my turn to borrow one.”
In many countries you’ll still be handed paper arrival or customs forms and you can’t rely on airport pens still being available—especially if you land very late.
Which pen is best? Experts advise a plain plastic pen with blue or black ink. Avoid fancy metal pens or bright-coloured ink: “I stick to cheap plastic, blue or black only — anything else and you risk being told to rewrite the whole form.”
Other situations where it helps:
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Phone died — you have to jot down a local address.
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You meet someone and want their email.
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Taxi driver doesn’t understand you — write the destination.
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Your luggage is lost — fill out the form manually.
Practical Tips
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Pack one pen in your carry-on bag.
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Test ink before the flight.
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Do not rely on random airport pens.
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After use you might keep it as a travel souvenir or pass it along.
Conclusion
A pen might seem trivial, but in travel it can be the quiet hero. In an era of gadgets, this old-school tool still has power.