How many hours ahead of time do you get to your airport before flying?

[magnoliaparadise]

Thanks, Everyone! This was very helpful!
OK, I will be conservative and do 2 hours domestic and longer for international!

[TwinFoxes]

We try to get there 1.5 hours early with the kids. DH has Clear, so he doesn't have to get to our airport very early, maybe an hour, sometimes it's been 45 minutes (I drop him off, so he doesn't have to deal with a shuttle or uber). I don't know what time he gets to LAX for his return flight (he flies mostly coast-to-coast) but I'm sure he gives himself more time.

I’ve waited for 45 minutes in the security line alone at LAX before. If I had arrive merely an hour before my flight I’d have missed my plane.

Same! Also, LAX is the only airport I've been to that has traffic jams inside the airport grounds. It's crazy.

[smiles33]

I usually like to be at the airport 1.5 hours in advance for domestic (2 hours for int'l). We never check bags and we all have Global Entry/Pre-Check. Then we just read/eat while we wait.

We have an upcoming domestic trip where the flight takes off at 7 am on a Saturday. This is a medium size airport near us, not the huge one that's prone to delays and huge crowds. Thus, I'm really reluctant to be at the airport at 5:30 am (which requires a really early wake-up time). I'm debating whether we can just plan to be there by 6 am, since it's super early on a Saturday so there won't be rush hour traffic and should be fewer passengers at the airport that early. What do you all think?

[SnuggleBuggles]

I usually like to be at the airport 1.5 hours in advance for domestic (2 hours for int'l). We never check bags and we all have Global Entry/Pre-Check. Then we just read/eat while we wait.

We have an upcoming domestic trip where the flight takes off at 7 am on a Saturday. This is a medium size airport near us, not the huge one that's prone to delays and huge crowds. Thus, I'm really reluctant to be at the airport at 5:30 am (which requires a really early wake-up time). I'm debating whether we can just plan to be there by 6 am, since it's super early on a Saturday so there won't be rush hour traffic and should be fewer passengers at the airport that early. What do you all think?

Every 7am flight I’ve taken in the past few years has had horrific security lines (most have been weekdays but a few Saturdays as well). They might staff less so even though there are less people, it doesn’t take less time. There was a frantic family trying to push through the crowds to make their flights. The b*tch in front of me refused to let them pass and said “too bad.” We could see their boarding passes and they’d cut it way, way too close but they were traveling to Germany and I knew our airports didn’t offer many flights for them. Letting them cut wouldn’t have really impacted that lady at all...

I now refuse to take 7am flights. Way too early!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[smiles33]

Oh no! Yikes, I didn't even think of less staffing. OK, we'll plan for 5:30 am then. It's the only non-stop flight to our destination...

[khm]

Oh no! Yikes, I didn't even think of less staffing. OK, we'll plan for 5:30 am then. It's the only non-stop flight to our destination...

Yeah, a couple years ago we very, very nearly got burnt thinking a 7 am flight would be a piece of cake. We figured no backups would have built up yet, etc. It was a sloooooow as molasses line. We made it, but people just a few back from us did not make it. This was a smaller sized airport in the midwest. It was the WORST feeling standing there just watching time move faster than we were. So, ever since then we've been in the "get there early and wait in calm boredom on the backend".

[gymnbomb]

I usually like to be at the airport 1.5 hours in advance for domestic (2 hours for int'l). We never check bags and we all have Global Entry/Pre-Check. Then we just read/eat while we wait.

We have an upcoming domestic trip where the flight takes off at 7 am on a Saturday. This is a medium size airport near us, not the huge one that's prone to delays and huge crowds. Thus, I'm really reluctant to be at the airport at 5:30 am (which requires a really early wake-up time). I'm debating whether we can just plan to be there by 6 am, since it's super early on a Saturday so there won't be rush hour traffic and should be fewer passengers at the airport that early. What do you all think?

At my small local airport the early morning flights have the worst lines!

[SnuggleBuggles]

Plus on Saturday mornings you’re more likely to have slow family groups than efficient single business travelers.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk