Current Events > anyone travel by plane recently? how early do you need to get there now

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my wife and i are traveling for the first time since 2019. before wed usually get there about 2 hours early, but i fear that may no longer be enough with how bad things have gotten. how are airports nowadays?

6 hours

Accolon posted...

6 hours

great thanks. ill get a head start and just head there now.

Depends on the airport, but 2 hours is generally good. Tiny airports I sure up like 45 mins before and walk right on. Some hellhole like Atlanta where you have to take 3 different trams just to get to the right concourse you might wanna plan a bit more.

6 hours domestic, or 9 hours if internationally

Where are you traveling to? International I would stick with at least an hour and a half. Domestic, closer to an hour depending on the airport if you arent checking bags, and if you have TSA pre.

I flew back from Key west last weekend with some friends. Im TSA pre and wasnt checking so I got there just over a half hour before the plane left. Buddies were there almost an hour early and almost missed their flight.

90 minutes domestic, 2 hours international

10 minutes should be plenty

A week.

lilORANG posted...

Depends on the airport, but 2 hours is generally good. Tiny airports I sure up like 45 mins before and walk right on. Some hellhole like Atlanta where you have to take 3 different trams just to get to the right concourse you might wanna plan a bit more.

Atlanta only has one train, but it does suck major balls I showed up 2 hrs early for my last flight out of atl in august, it was an early flight but even delta tells you to show up only 2 hrs early

2 hours always works well for me

Two hours is generally rule of thumb. I just flew out of MSP for labor day weekend, left friday and returned monday, two understandably large travel weekends.

I got to MSP friday at 630AM when I thought it would be busier, but no exaggeration, I walked straight up to the security person who checks your pass/ID. Not even one person ahead of me. Granted the standard line was longer, but it wasn't more than 15 minutes of a wait. That was at 630AM though so it probably got worse.

I left from PWM (small airport in Maine) monday at 1:30PM, which I figured would be freaking mobbed. Similar situation -- small airport, great summer holiday destination, middle of the day departure -- precheck line was very short and basic was no more than 15 mins.

It's all going to depend honestly. Still definitely give it two hours, there are plenty of places to relax and eat and drink, and the consequences of being early are far better than being late.

Depends on the size of the airport. Large ones 2+ hours early at a minimum, smaller ones as short as 30-45 mins early.

The real obstacles foe me is layover time. I'm usually in a rush for my next flight because I live in a...minor city to say the least. So major citys like NYC are likely on the opposite end of the complex alongside all the other major citys. Mestle side by side one another. Becuase fuck the flyovers.

Depends on the airport. At Midway, two hours early would be way too much time to kill, while at O'Hare I'd be uncomfortable.

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This is my personal rule too. 2 hours domestic, 3 hours international.

If you can afford to get to the airport before these times, do it. You never know what the hell might happen.