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.
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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. That said, there are many factors to consider that will help you decide how much time you should budget for at the airport.
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).
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.
Most airlines cutoff checkin at 30 minutes prior to the flight. That gives time for you to get a boarding pass and get to the gate after security screening, and for checked luggage to get loaded on your aircraft. At that point, seat control shifts to the gate agent who can start releasing seats to standby passengers.
Airlines are pretty clear about how early you should get to the airport: anywhere from 90 minutes to four hours before your departing flight, depending on where you're going.
How early should you arrive at the airport? Airlines generally recommend arriving at the airport at least three hours before an international flight and two hours before a domestic flight.
Depending on the airline, travelers may be charged a rebooking fee to get on another flight. Some airlines may also charge the difference in airfare — meaning a missed flight can be a costly inconvenience.
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.
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.
Checking in online is far more convenient than checking in at the airport. However, if you have to check in special luggage such as bulky goods or a pet, you should rather use the classic method.
This shouldn't cause a problem as passengers are expected to be at the gate 15-30 minutes before and should have boarded the plane at least 15 minutes ahead of the departure time. If you somehow don't make it onboard within these timeframes, the flight can absolutely leave without you.
It makes sense, because the practice saps revenue from them on two fronts: Not only do passengers underpay — potentially by hundreds of dollars per ticket — but the seat on the tossed leg also could have been sold to someone else. Most contracts of carriage from major airlines expressly forbid skiplagging as a result.
In most cases, all the connecting and/or return flights that are related to the same booking get canceled, and no-show passengers are ineligible for a refund. Some airlines also charge a no-show fee.
And generally, airports don't want you to go through security too early to avoid overcrowding the airport. In general, the earliest time when you can go through security is 2-4 hours before the flight if you have checked baggage or as soon as the security checkpoints open on the same day.
The simple answer is: Two hours for domestic flights, three hours for international flights. (More or less.) The two-hour recommendation is fairly standard across the industry, says Heather Lissner, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport spokesperson.
If you book a 6AM domestic flight, for example, you'll need to arrive at the airport by 4AM. Depending on how far you live from the airport, this could mean getting on the road around 3AM or 3:30AM; traffic should be minimal at this time, as should check-in and security lines.
The most important thing to do is stay hydrated. Your body needs more water than normal when flying, so keep a bottle of water to hand, and try not to drink any more coffee after that first strong cup to perk you up.
Techincally, there is only one way for the aircraft to remain hanging motionless in the air: if weight and lift cancel each other out perfectly, and at the same time thrust and drag cancel each other out too. But this is incredibly rare. To stay in the air and sustain its flight, an aircraft needs to be moving forward.
After completing online check-in, passengers can either print their boarding pass at home or download it to their mobile device. This allows them to skip the check-in desk at the airport and head straight to security, saving time and reducing stress.
What to Do After Online Check-In. Once you receive your electronic boarding pass, you can head straight to security if you're traveling carry-on only. If you're checking a bag, you'll still need to stop by the ticketing area at the airport. Look for special “bag drop” lines that bypass longer check-in lines.