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).

Arriving 2 hours before your flight is a standard recommendation for domestic travel, but it can be risky for international departures or peak holiday periods. For domestic flights within the US or Europe in 2026, 2 hours is generally sufficient to check bags and clear security, provided you aren't traveling during a major holiday like Thanksgiving or Christmas. However, for international flights, the industry "gold standard" remains 3 hours. This is because international travel requires extra steps, such as passport and visa verification at the ticket counter, which cannot always be done via a kiosk. If you have "TSA PreCheck" or "CLEAR," you can often shave some time off your arrival, but it is always safer to have a buffer for unexpected traffic or long lines. A 2-hour arrival for a trans-Atlantic or trans-Pacific flight leaves very little room for error; if there is a security bottleneck, you could easily miss your boarding window, which usually closes 15–20 minutes before the scheduled take-off.