Early morning flight. What can we expect

[Dznypal]

We are flying early morning coming home the end of Jan. Our flight is NS leaving mco at 725 am. Just wondering what the airport is like at that time of the morning. We’re on SW. hopefully by then things will be somewhat back to normal

 

[SkyGuy]

We always fly SW and always fly the first flight of the morning, which is generally in the 6am range. Terminal A is usually way less crowded than Terminal B, but that isn’t to say it’s a cakewalk. We have TSAPre and have never waited more than 10-15 minutes, but the regular line isn’t so friendly. There have been plenty of times when I’ve turned the corner to security and been shocked at the line that time of day. If you don’t have TSAPre, I wouldn’t push it, and you should heed the 2-hour before departure time advice even that time of day. We try to arrive to security right at 45-60 minutes before our flight.

 

[EACarlson]

I've flown out at that time my last two trips down and will again two weeks. What shocked me was how busy the road around the airport was and how long the security line was already , didn't take all that long (I have Pre) but it was long. Flying SW I would want to be at security no later than 60 minutes before scheduled departure, earlier if you want to grab something to eat or drink between security and the gate.

 

[AnnaS]

We had a very early flight in October - we were shocked at how busy it was . There were two long lines to get through TSA. One line had the dog sniffing people. Both were really long. I think we waited close to an hour.

The drive to the airport was fine. Mears picked us up so early - we had plenty of time to wait and find something to eat.

 

[SkyGuy]

I've flown out at that time my last two trips down and will again two weeks. What shocked me was how busy the road around the airport was and how long the security line was already , didn't take all that long (I have Pre) but it was long. Flying SW I would want to be at security no later than 60 minutes before scheduled departure, earlier if you want to grab something to eat or drink between security and the gate.

Agreed about the traffic! I neglected to mention that in my response. We were caught off guard with some construction at the airport a few trips back (along with the usual traffic), and we ended up running through the airport. Made it to the gate as people were boarding.

 

[sophy1996]

We couldn’t believe how many people were at the Southwest check-in counter and security at 5:30 in the morning! So crowded!

 

[SkyGuy]

We couldn’t believe how many people were at the Southwest check-in counter and security at 5:30 in the morning! So crowded!

I’m so glad others are chiming in! We never check bags so don’t go to the counters, but I have seen the insane lines! I forgot to mention them because they don’t affect us on our travels! I would hate to think I told someone an inadequate amount of time to comfortably make their flight.

 

[honeymo78]

If you're checking luggage, be sure to see if your airline participates in curbside check-in. I know SW does at MCO, although I'm not sure how early in the morning it starts. Even if there are a few people in front of you, it goes much faster than waiting in the line inside.

 

[Mrs.AMC]

If you're checking luggage, be sure to see if your airline participates in curbside check-in. I know SW does at MCO, although I'm not sure how early in the morning it starts. Even if there are a few people in front of you, it goes much faster than waiting in the line inside.

Just bring along a few dollars to tip.
They pretty much expect one (in case some aren't aware)

 

[SkyGuy]

Just left MCO this morning on a 7:30am flight. Traffic this morning was light in comparison to what I’ve experienced my last few trips to MCO (all for early morning flights). The check-in counters had large lines - those I could see at a glance. We don’t check luggage, so I wasn’t in the thick of things. Security in Terminal A for TSA Pre and Clear was longer than I’d ever seen it. I’m glad we weren’t cutting it close. It took us 15-20 to get through TSA Pre. I have never waited that long there. I’m wondering if there had been some issue before we arrived to cause the back up. After we cleared security, it was smooth. Our non-full (?!) SW flight even left early.

 

[Anthony1971]

If flying weekdays early morning is the busiest time for any major airport as that is when people fly for business. Flights 10am and later are fine. Same with late afternoon mostly buisiness. Weekends are never an issue unless the airlines are having problems. Business travel may sound like fun in reality most would rather be on a 7am flight out and 4-5 pm flight back….