How Early Should You Get to the Airport?
The Early Bird Gets the Flight
It is said that travelers typically fall into two camps: those who arrive at the airport as close to takeoff as possible and your dad, who insists on arriving hours early. Who’s right? Just how early you should you get to the airport? Here we offer not a comprehensive guide (we don’t have time, we’re trying to catch a flight), but a few hard-and-fast rules.
First, consider the following when trying to find that timing sweet spot. How big or busy is the departure airport? Is it a busy time of year? Is it a busy time of day? Can you run an eight-minute mile? Do you have access to faster lines because of mileage status, first-class tickets, or pre-screening? Are you traveling with extended family (including small children and older people)? Are you a small child or older person? What would it cost if you missed your flight?
General rules of thumb:
For domestic flights at a major airport, if you have bags to check, get there two hours early before; if you have no bags to check, make it 90 minutes before your flight’s departure time. Remember, a domestic flight can and will take off without you even if your checked bag is on the plane. Furthermore, if you do plan to check baggage, that’s even more of a reason to get there early. Those bag drop lines can be long, and if you don’t meet the baggage check-in cutoff (typically 40 minutes before departure for domestic flights), you most likely won’t make the flight. For smaller regional airports you can probably safely shave arrival to the airport to 90 minutes ahead to check bags and 60 minutes out for carry-on bags only. (FY-fly: It’s always a good idea to review your airline’s guidelines and check-in requirements.)
For international flights, get there three hours ahead of departure. On international flights, the plane is less likely to take off without you if your bag is already on board. But if you don’t show up at the gate for last call, the airline is more likely to pull your bag than hold the flight. But, remember if it’s a full flight (like most), and you aren’t in the boarding area within the airline’s specified time frame, they could give your seat to another passenger and bump you without paying any compensation. It doesn’t actually matter whether the airplane door is open or closed. (This also holds true for domestic flights, but the timeframe is usually 15 to 30 minutes from departure, but check your airline’s rules.) That being said, planes can taxi away from a gate as early as 10 minutes prior to scheduled departure. Once the plane is full, even if you’re not the one in your seat, it’s going to leave.
On busy days, like the Friday of Labor Day Weekend and the day before Thanksgiving, you might want to add an extra hour to the recommendations above. You’re much more likely to miss a flight if you’re booked on a top holiday travel day, when long security lines are most common.
We recommend using the MyTSA app to check how busy the airport is likely to be on your departure date and time and applying for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry.
On a final note, do not assume airlines or fellow passengers will always let you move to the front of the security line if your plane is about to leave.
Although fliers are pretty set in their ways on this issue, latecomer or early bird, the resounding advice from most experts and officials in the airline industry is to err on the side of caution rather than risk missing a flight, especially given how unpredictable airports and air travel can be these days. Okay, Dad, guess you were right.