How many hours before your flight do you arrive at the airport?
@evan I aim for between 1 and 2 hours early for domestic flights. That is usually enough time to sit and eat something decent if nothing goes wrong, or make it on time if something does go wrong (long wait at security, etc.).
@evan My general rule of thumb is over an hour beforehand
Though there are some times in smaller regional airports where I don't even show up to the airport until boarding starts and still make it in time (without TSA PreCheck)
Only missed one flight doing that and it was because of a random bag pull at security screening
@evan Doesn't it depend on the airport, the day, time of flight, and the destination?
As a trans person who expects to get harassed by the TSA, I have to expect delays, hence I arrive at least two hours before departure. That said, I've always hated flying, and haven't flown since I was last groped by the TSA in 2018.
@evan partly depends on the airport. The larger the airport the earlier I get there. Also depends on whether or not I have checked bags or not.
@evan About two hours, bur I think it's absurd that I have to.
@evan I drive from home 2h before departure. It takes close to an hour to get there. I have a comfortable amount of time in an airport I know very well, small by most standards and I have trustworthy experience-based prediction of most distances, checkpoints and waits.
@evan
When kiddo flies out west, her booking package always says how long ahead to arrive. It's usually been 2 hours, but istr at least one flight only recommended one.
@evan it depends on the flight: within the EU: 90 minutes; outside the EU: 2 to 3 hours.
@evan I *plan* to arrive 2 hours ahead, largely to allow time for traffic and delays getting there, so often don't get there the full 2 hours ahead. Back when I lived walking distance from the airport (yay East Boston), I'd leave my apartment 1hr before departure.
@evan i don't fly anymore, but before the pandemic started i think i tried to give two hours to figure out the airport and get through the security theater, and probably an hour to get to the airport, and probably an hour to get ready
@evan Depends on whether domestic or international, and the size of the airport and plane.
@evan we usually have to take a 2 hour bus trip to the airport we use most frequently and usually the bus schedule determines our arrival at the airport. And we build in a little extra time for bus delays. And we usually only fly internationally (and often red eyes) so I chose 3 but could have been 4. 🤪
@evan since I don't fly that often, I'm usually nervous and err on the longer side. Could have been 4+ hours, though I voted 3
@evan I answered based on international travel, as that’s where I’ve done most of my flying. There it’s around 3 hours because I, like my mother, become a restless mess starting like 24 hours before I’m going anywhere.
I barely ever sleep the night before.
For US domestic, which have become more common for me lately, I’ve been purposefully trying to break the habit. PDX is a decent airport, I got TSA Pre-Check for this purpose, and have made moring flights only arriving 30 minutes early.
Edited 6d ago
Thanks to everyone for answering! There were a lot of interesting replies.
I'm about 2 hours, but I've got a wide variation -- from 3 hours to 1 hour plus a few seconds.
I usually aim for 2 hours, but I don't always get it right. I also make the mistake of thinking that I need to be on the *grounds* of the airport 2 hours ahead of time, rather than *checked in with baggage dropped off* 2 hours ahead of time.
Especially if I have a rental car, this can be a big difference.
@evan Years ago I was flying from CNF to GIG with a conference mate and CNF is a horrible airport in the middle of nowhere. My mate was the type of person who likes to arrive at the last minute and swore everything would be fine. It wasn’t, we missed the flight and had to wait for the next one, for like 5h - it would be impractical to go back to the city, etc.
This is to say: now I always make a point of arriving 3h early no matter what.
@evan I'm with you - 2h before leaving my ride is fine, through security more than 1h before departure is what I aim for.
@evan but if you don't want conversation about choices then why post a poll?
@lakelady I don't mind conversation. It's my favourite part. I love it when people say, it depends on X and Y, so I answered Z because W. I don't like when people tell me that a poll is broken or wrong because it doesn't factor in 14 different variables.
@evan reading your link about "it depends" doesn't sound like you are interested in the "it depends" part of the conversation. Color me confused.
@lakelady it's fine if you talk about it. It's nice if you talk about it in a way that doesn't imply that I need to change something. I'll update the FAQ to make it more clear.
Edited 7d ago