How early?

[Minnie*J*]

Just curious on how early everyone gets to the airport for their flight. It has been a couple years since I last flew. I usually, plan to get there 2 and a half hours early because we drive a distance to the airport and I like to be prepared for any driving delays. Usually we are the first people in the waiting area for our flight. This time we are staying in Baltimore the night before. The southwest website says to get there 1.5 hours before your flight.

I am flying out of BWI on Southwest's first flight of the day. Does an hour and a half sound right?

 

[Missytara]

Just curious on how early everyone gets to the airport for their flight. It has been a couple years since I last flew. I usually, plan to get there 2 and a half hours early because we drive a distance to the airport and I like to be prepared for any driving delays. Usually we are the first people in the waiting area for our flight. This time we are staying in Baltimore the night before. The southwest website says to get there 1.5 hours before your flight.

I am flying out of BWI on Southwest's first flight of the day. Does an hour and a half sound right?

Yes, I fly Airtran and one of their first flights of the day from BWI and 1-1/2 hours is plenty of time.

 

[TheWog]

Depending on the airport, 1 1/2 -2 hours sounds about right for us as well.

 

[ancestry]

For us never more than 2 hours before and never less than 1 1/2 hours before. Where we fall on the 1 1/2-2 hour range depends on the airport and the time of day. If it is a busy travel time then I do the 2 hours. If it is a slower time then I do the 1 1/2 hours.

 

[goofy4tink]

I like to be sitting at my gate about 75 mins before flight departure. I get to the airport a bit more than 2 hrs before. By the time I get through security and to the gate, it's about 75 mins to go. I get something to eat, relax and use the ladies room. By the time I board, I'm nice and relaxed, ready to fly.
I hate having to rush around..had that happen one time and by the time I was seated on the plane, I just knew I had forgotten something at the gate. I hadn't, but that 'feeling' just persisted.

 

[dudspizza]

You will get answers from 30 minutes to 3 hours. Many business travelers who travel with carry on only have it down to a science, while many leisure travelers tend to take a lot longer to get checked in and through security. It also depends on your airport. The better you know the airport, the better off you are.

I personally shoot for 2 hours ahead of time at the main terminal of MSP and 1.5 hours at terminal 2 of MSP. I always shoot for at least two hours at MCO since security can be bad there.....

Since you are driving you have to look at the time of day and rush hour traffic. My house is 45 minutes from the airport and I have to drive into the city and back out, so I definitely take that into account.

I also love airports, so I enjoy getting there early to watch planes and people. I actually enjoy 2-3 hour layovers when traveling alone as I can walk around and check things out. I actually had a 30 minute connection in Dallas last April and was sad I didn't get to see the airport. All I saw was a blur as I ran to my next gate!

Duds

 

[MagicKingdom05]

we have an 8:45 am flight out of Chicago on Saturday and were told to be there 2 hours prior. Three of us are already checked in, but we have a lap child so we have to check her in at the counter before going through customs.

 

[dburg30]

Just curious on how early everyone gets to the airport for their flight. It has been a couple years since I last flew. I usually, plan to get there 2 and a half hours early because we drive a distance to the airport and I like to be prepared for any driving delays. Usually we are the first people in the waiting area for our flight. This time we are staying in Baltimore the night before. The southwest website says to get there 1.5 hours before your flight.

I am flying out of BWI on Southwest's first flight of the day. Does an hour and a half sound right?

First of all on the planning to get there early 'in case' of a traffic delay. Surprised how many times people dont seem to take that into consideration.

I just get there 2 hours before. By the time we park, shuttle, walk to the SW counter, that takes about 15 - 30 minutes. So now we are 90 minutes before. Have never really had an issue with security anywhere, even MCO, one time think I waited 15 minutes. So now we are about 70-75 minutes before flight time. Since the flight can board 20 minutes before flight time, that's about an hour 'to kill' but I'm just like goofy4tink. And like her, ONE TIME we were going to california and knew we werent going to have our normal 2 hours since we had to work. We got there about 90 before (to the airport) just to find massive parking garage reconstruction I wasnt aware of.. So... now the nerves start to get me. Even though we got to the shuttle lot, got parked, got to the terminal and still had about 30 minutes before we boarded, I still felt rushed and anxious. But I'm one of those that gets to work 20-30 minutes early to unwind from the drive in, relax, etc before I start my day.