How early are you getting to airport? (PHL)

[tinkerbell423]

We fly on Sat and I just found out we need to get the the gate an hour before our 7:55 flight. How early should I aim to get to the airport? We are flying out of PHL

 

[Ed J]

Where are you parking?

It makes a difference, it can take 15 minutes or more to get from your car to your terminal.

 

[fac]

We always aim for 2 hours before departure

 

[pamjb]

I always plan for 1.5 to 2 hours, usually closer to 2. It also depends what terminal (or airline) you are using. I usually fly Southwest, and they leave out of the newer E terminal. I have never waited more than 5 minutes to go thru security. A few months ago, we flew Delta out of PHL (I think it was terminal C) and waited about 20 minutes to get thru security.
I park in an offsite lot and that adds about 10 minutes to my travel time

 

[msmayor]

My daughter flew back to college on January 2...7:25am flight. Now granted, it was a holiday weekend...but the lines were LONG at 5:30am when we got there two hours before.

It took about 25 minutes to get her bag checked and another 30 minutes to clear security.

I would definitely aim for 2 hours before.

 

[LadyBeBop]

Remember, this is a holiday weekend (MLK's birthday).

 

[tinkerbell423]

Where are you parking?

It makes a difference, it can take 15 minutes or more to get from your car to your terminal.

We will be taking a shuttle for the hotel

 

[tinkerbell423]

OK so it looks like 2 hours is a safe bet? I get flustered going through airport security so more time is better. I like to get through and eat breakfast, it helps the kids pass the time.

I get nervous because we had a bad experience once. We showed up at JFK well ahead of time and the line for security was so long they were paging our names at the gate before we got through. I could hear as i stood in line and told the security guy that's us. They were saying last call and we're closing the gate but her didn't care. We just made the flight thankfully, they literally closed the doors behind us. This was soon after 9/11 but with everything in the news now I didn't know what lines would look like.

 

[DeadHead]

My sister flew out of PHL last saturday on the 7:55 a.m. USAIR flight. She said she was glad she got there about 2.5 hours ahead of flight time. It was a madhouse. USAIR is the largest carrier out of PHL so you can expect long lines anyday. Good luck and enjoy your trip.

 

[meloneyb21]

Our flight will be 10:55am and we plan to be there by 8am.

 

[tinkerbell423]

My sister flew out of PHL last saturday on the 7:55 a.m. USAIR flight. She said she was glad she got there about 2.5 hours ahead of flight time. It was a madhouse. USAIR is the largest carrier out of PHL so you can expect long lines anyday. Good luck and enjoy your trip.

OMG Thanks I'll add another half hour at least

 

[PSUGuy]

We pulled in to Winner's valet parking lot at 5am for a 7am AirTran flight in Oct. They dropped us at the terminal in 15 mins and we got to the gate in plenty of time to have a relaxed breakfast before our flight. In short, 1 1/2 to 2 hrs is plenty of time and we'll always plan on that because I HATE feeling rushed or as though I might miss our flight.

Bill From PA