How early to arrive at airport

[toandjo]

we have a 6 am flight from calgary to orlando, we will have carry on bags only and will have checked in online. Do we still need to be at the airport 3 hrs before flight?

 

[starvenger]

Realistically if you've checked in and have no bags you only have to get to the gate before final call. So tack on your estimated time to get through security/US Customs (for example, it would take us 15 minutes to get through at YYZ since we have NEXUS) and that's probably the absolute latest time you should be at the airport by.

I don't expect you to cut it that close, of course, but at least you'll know.

 

[Donald - my hero]

we have a 6 am flight from calgary to orlando, we will have carry on bags only and will have checked in online. Do we still need to be at the airport 3 hrs before flight?

The time you need to be at the airport has to do with getting thru security as well as baggage check and in your case clearing customs. You should check the website for the Calgary airport -- right on the home page there is this warning
ENHANCED SECURITY MEASURES IN EFFECT. Travellers are advised to leave additional time to go through the security screening process if travelling to the U.S. Learn more at www.catsa.gc.ca

 

[Sparrow78]

Customs used to open at 5 here but not sure if that has changed. Last I heard it was still 2 hours before. Calgary has lots of early flights so I'd be there for 4 - 4:30 at the latest.

 

[kiford]

They are definitely doing more bag and personal checking even in the Nexus lines. DH got pulled aside last week and had his iPhone, iPad and camera swabbed. One of my shoes set off the alarm (only the one shoe and only once) so I had to go back, wait, take off the shoe, put it through, go back through the metal detector, have a physical search of my lower leg and foot. Etc. So they are definitely taking more time. And on our flight from Toronto to LAX and from LAX to Honolulu, the TSA Precheck line was longer than normal as more people are getting the precheck.

 

[2Bnºoºt2B]

I really don't understand why some try to sweat out the details in minimizing the time they need to spend at the airport as it's like some sort of competition honestly. Last week we were flying home from IAH to AB and witnessed a traffic jam just to get into the lane to head for departures. We had business class tix and so had access to the Premier Access for luggage check-in and security (which was the easiest and quickest check-in we ever had). But we still saw a gentleman denied check-in as a Premier passenger as he attempted to drop off his luggage - even though the flight had not left, the gate was closed - he said it was no fault of his own that there was a bottle-neck at the departure lanes but he was still at the airport before the flight left.

On our recent flight from YYZ to AB direct flight, we arrived at least two hours before and still, it only allowed us about 10 min breathing room before boarding started. There are so many factors to take into account, that for any long-haul or cross-border flights, two hours is more of a minimum for us. Why begin a holiday stressing out about making sure you make it through to boarding on time that as soon as a person gets on the plane, he or she needs to use the lavatory as they didn't have time before boarding - lol ...

 

[toandjo]

I was not concerned with how much time we will "waste" at the airport more concerned about how early we need to get up. We live a good 30 min from the airport and the flight leaves at 6 am so if we need to be there 3 hrs prior that means we will need to leave our house at 2:30 am! If 2 hrs prior is sufficient we could sleep for another hour and leave home at 3:30 am. I highly doubt it at that time of the day we will run into any traffic delays.

 

[mab2012]

I really don't understand why some try to sweat out the details in minimizing the time they need to spend at the airport as it's like some sort of competition honestly. Last week we were flying home from IAH to AB and witnessed a traffic jam just to get into the lane to head for departures. We had business class tix and so had access to the Premier Access for luggage check-in and security (which was the easiest and quickest check-in we ever had). But we still saw a gentleman denied check-in as a Premier passenger as he attempted to drop off his luggage - even though the flight had not left, the gate was closed - he said it was no fault of his own that there was a bottle-neck at the departure lanes but he was still at the airport before the flight left.

On our recent flight from YYZ to AB direct flight, we arrived at least two hours before and still, it only allowed us about 10 min breathing room before boarding started. There are so many factors to take into account, that for any long-haul or cross-border flights, two hours is more of a minimum for us. Why begin a holiday stressing out about making sure you make it through to boarding on time that as soon as a person gets on the plane, he or she needs to use the lavatory as they didn't have time before boarding - lol ...

Well, to each his own, of course. But I'd guess that for most who prefer not to spend more time than necessary at the airport, it's nothing to do with "competing", but rather trying to maximize limited vacation time. Or, in the case of the OP, preferring not to get up in the middle of the night if it can be avoided.

Given the choice between sitting bleary eyed at a gate for an hour, waiting in line before 5 am for customs to open, or staying in bed... I'll choose my bed any day. Add tired kids to that equation, and waiting around the airport becomes even less palatable. Most often we take evening flights so that we can avoid burning an extra vacation day on travel, so then the time we can get away from work becomes a constraint.

So sure, some will choose to leave more time at the airport. That seems a reasonable choice for those who find travelling or the possibility of a missed flight to be stressful. But there are lots of valid reasons why some choose otherwise.

 

[Applemomma]

See if you can find out what time the check in desk for your airline opens. We had a 6:30 flight with West Jet a couple weeks ago and the check in desk didn't even open until 4:30. Even though we had our boarding passes already we still had to have them look at our passports.

Don't try and cut it too close though! Make sure you build in time for a flat tire, etc! Nothing hurts worse for the start of a vacation then delays you can't control!!

 

[starvenger]

I was not concerned with how much time we will "waste" at the airport more concerned about how early we need to get up. We live a good 30 min from the airport and the flight leaves at 6 am so if we need to be there 3 hrs prior that means we will need to leave our house at 2:30 am! If 2 hrs prior is sufficient we could sleep for another hour and leave home at 3:30 am. I highly doubt it at that time of the day we will run into any traffic delays.

This is pretty much it for me. I'm up at least an hour before everyone else anyway since I'm the driver, so I like getting a little extra sleep if I can.

I know I talked about minimum time to get to the gate, and frankly, I think I was incorrect there. You should get to the airport prior to the check-in cutoff time. Westjet, for example, recommends getting to the counter 2 hours prior for international flights, with cutoff at 60 minutes. Mind you, I don't think you should get to the airport right at the 60 minute mark, but this is your baseline time. From here, we need to figure out time to get to the airport, park, and get to the terminal, and then add on whatever amount of buffer time makes us comfortable.

For me, 2 hours is my sweet spot for US, maybe 2:20 for international. If we've no checked baggage I'd be willing to take even an extra 20-30 minutes off of that. OTOH, if we're unable to check in online, I may ADD an extra 20-30 minutes to my desired arrival time. Touch wood, I've not had a problem getting to the gate on time yet. Issues with the flights themselves, however, are a different story...

 

[2Bnºoºt2B]

I was not concerned with how much time we will "waste" at the airport more concerned about how early we need to get up. We live a good 30 min from the airport and the flight leaves at 6 am so if we need to be there 3 hrs prior that means we will need to leave our house at 2:30 am! If 2 hrs prior is sufficient we could sleep for another hour and leave home at 3:30 am. I highly doubt it at that time of the day we will run into any traffic delays.

Lol - I was referring to posters in the past who get into arguments in forums about what is the best way to get to airports on time but IE on my laptop froze so it looks like my whole post didn't make it in. Due to DW's health, the less amount of time in an airport, the better. Am used to getting up shortly after 4 AM for work on days or short-change from evenings to days ... but not for going on holidays. Our solution ... overnight at the airport hotel. Leisurely drive to the airport the night before ... wake up refreshed ... a short jaunt over to the airport and voila ... easy going and relaxing way to start our holiday ...

 

[Best_Vacation_EVER!]

I think it depends upon which airline you use... We use Westjet mostly so that's what my experience is with...

1/ If you're able to do online check-in and print/load your boarding passes period before your flight --- especially with carry-ons only... 3 hours is way too much in my view. https://www.westjet.com/en-ca/travel-info/check-in/options says that as long as you're checked in and at the gate 40 minutes before international departure you should be okay (although you probably want to add a buffer to handle unexpected things which may cause you delays...) To get to the gate that means you've already cleared security and US customs.... Many factors may impact how much extra time you need to do that -- travel season (school breaks seem to take longer because there are more family travelers than business travelers or at least that has been my experience) which take longer at both security and customs, where there are a lot of flights departing at the same time, and the general state of things security-wise (has there been incidents, have rules changed, etc....), etc....

2/ If you can't do online check-in then it becomes a bit more challenging and depending on the factors mentioned in 1/ above you may actually need that extra time./


From what I've heard when returning from Orlando the TSA lines may be longer to get through so on our return flights we'll probably get to the airport at about the 3 hour mark then go to the On the border for lunch and a margarita....

 

[toandjo]

Thanks foe everyone's advice, I think we'll plan on arriving 2 hrs prior, I think that will give us plenty of time.