How long before your flight to you need to get to the airport?

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CPG

When traveling completely within the U.S. including Puerto Rico, and on flights to Hawaii and the U.S. Virgin Islands, recommended check-in time is at least 90 minutes prior to departure when checking baggage, and at least 60 minutes prior to departure if not checking baggage.

So I would get to the airport 2 hours prior.

For international flights, recommended check-in time is two hours prior to departure to allow sufficient time to complete all necessary international requirements.

So I would get to the airport 3 hours prior.

You should also be at your boarding gate around 30 minutes before your scheduled departure.

Ginger

INTERNATIONAL: 2 HRS
DOMESTIC: 1- 1 1/2 HRS

Alexi

Here in the U.S. it really depends on a few factors (apart from the average rule-of-thumbs - 1.5 hours prior to domestic departure, and 2 hours prior to a international departure):

1). What type/size of airport are you going to?

Bigger airports like ATL, JFK, MIA, DFW, LAX - are going to equate to longer wait times at check-in counters and to clear security checkpoints, as well as longer times to secure parking and the like. Thus, arriving at the airport earlier than expected is a great idea. Medium sized airports are a breeze as they normally do not have as much traffic (passenger, vehicular and airline).

2). What time is your flight?

Like all other types of travel, most airports also encounter "rush-hours", a.k.a. peak times when travel is heavy. Early morning travel (I.E. before 6 am) means that lines are shorter, and so are waits - thus a person can logically spend less time between check-in and departure. During the rush periods - mid-morning, lunch and evening departures are going to have more traffic = more people = more time needed.

3) What airline are you flying on?
Certain airlines will not allow you to check-in late. Their time deadlines are posted either on the airline's website and/or on the back of the ticket. Certain airlines are incredibly strict about said times, with great reason - they cannot incur a delay. LCC (Low Cost Carriers) do everything possible to avoid delays, becuase of their structures and will not allow passengers to board if they are late (some exceptions will be allowed, but mostly none are accomodates).

4) What is your destination?
Especially during the winters, flights to the north (where weather can be brutal) are often dictated based on weather patterns. For example - let's say that flight 123 is flying MIA-JFK and there is adverse weather at JFK. If 123 is scheduled to arrive @ 10:30 am, and the flight is on the ground @ MIA and JFK says - "Hey, @ 10:30 we are probably going to be seeing some bad weather - can you try to make up some time in air and as of such arrive around 10:05" then flight 123 might leave early (only a few minutes) and make up the rest of the time in the air. I have seen it happen - and passengers get left behind b/c most airlines ask passengers to arrive at the gate early.

Note : Most of the times, the listed depature times are not the times that the aircrat will leave the gate (it is the time that the aircraft will depart the airport). Most people think that if the airline says "Flight 123 will depart at 10:00am", it boarding will begin at 10:00 or the flight will leave the gate at 10:00. Not so, the flight will probably need to be airborne @ 10:00am.

So, in conclusion - In air travel - never be late, always be early.

hategreyhound

another dumb question and doesnt say what country!

guess they must think we have
crystal balls or esp something!
good grief!
sorry my crystal ball got broken answering dumb question
like this!

rxing

1 1/2 max

CaptainRowdy

International 2hrs
domestic 1hr
some say 3hrs but realistically check-ins arn't open that far in advance especially at big airports. Remember that checkin will usually close 30min before the scheduled departure.

Square Pants

at least 2hrs before the flight... its all about the safety check and also check-in thing... in fact you're supposed to be in the right aeroplane 30minute before the flight..

Midnight Rose

depends. if its really early in the morning, probably 1.5 hours. if its during the day, probably 2. other than that:

Flights departing Recommended Check-In Time
Aruba, Aruba (AUA) 180 minutes
Bermuda, Bermuda (BDA) 150 minutes
Delhi, India (DEL) 210 minutes
Dublin, Ireland (DUB) 180 minutes
Mexico (All cities) 180 minutes
Nassau, Bahamas (NAS) 180 minutes
Paris Charles De Gaulle, France (CDG) 180 minutes
Port-au-Prince, Haiti (PAP) 180 minutes
Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago (POS) 180 minutes
San Pedro Sula, Honduras (SAP) 180 minutes
Tegucigalpa, Honduras (TGU) 180 minutes

hopes this helps:]

A.A.M.R

2 to 3 hours

Sean

Two hours for domestic and three hours for international.

"queen jay"

u need to b there 3 hrs in advance

94Phenom

no more than an hour

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