Larger airports, such as O'Hare and Midway in Chicago, ask that passengers arrive at least 90 minutes prior to departure especially if a traveler needs to go to the check-in counter for any reason (i.e., check baggage, etc.).
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Generally speaking, most airlines advise that you arrive at the airport at least 2 hours prior to a domestic flight, and at least 3 hours prior to an international flight.
As you can see, while 2 to 3 hours before your flight might be a good general guideline, there isn't a one-size-fits-all answer when it comes to deciding how much time to allow at the airport.
The General Guideline for How Early You Should Get to the Airport. Generally speaking, most airlines advise that you arrive at the airport at least 2 hours prior to a domestic flight, and at least 3 hours prior to an international flight.
When you're traveling within the United States, we make the suggestion to arrive at the airport at least 2 hours prior to departure. For most airports, you must be checked in at least 30 minutes before your scheduled departure time (airports requiring additional time are listed below, Go to footer note).
Generally speaking, most airlines advise that you arrive at the airport at least 2 hours prior to a domestic flight, and at least 3 hours prior to an international flight.
When you're traveling outside of the United States, we suggest arriving at least 3 hours prior to your departure. You must be checked in at least 1 hour before your scheduled departure. Additionally, we recommend being at the gate and ready to board 45 minutes before your scheduled departure time.
The general guideline on how early to get to the airport for a domestic flight is 2 hours. However, those traveling at a very busy time of year or out of a large airport might want to allow more time.
The General Guideline for How Early You Should Get to the Airport. Generally speaking, most airlines advise that you arrive at the airport at least 2 hours prior to a domestic flight, and at least 3 hours prior to an international flight.
O'Hare International Airport (ORD): Chicago, IL – 84.3 Million Passengers. Sitting on over 7,200 acres, O'Hare International Airport takes seventh in the rankings for largest airports in the US. These are pretty impressive stats considering it's also the third busiest airport in the country.
For domestic flights on different airlines where you have to switch terminals, plan for a minimum one hour connection. For international flights where O'Hare is your first port of entry to the US, two hours is safe.
Depending on the requirements of airport authorities, you will need to present a mobile boarding pass, a paper boarding pass printed out by you or a paper boarding pass picked up from the check-in desk.
TSA and the airlines recommend that all travelers arrive at the airport at least two hours in advance of their flight departure time to ensure they have enough time to check in with their airline and go through security.
In most cases, you will only need to go to check-in when you have checked-in online if you need to drop off an item of hold baggage. Please ensure that you are aware of the hand baggage requirements for your specific airline before you travel.