How early is too early to arrive at the airport?

Arriving two hours before is surely enough for a European flight?

I don't know what Bristol airport is like but we only just made a flight at Stanstead with nearly 3 hours at the airport thanks to rubbish Ryanair queues and a horrific queue for security. So 3 hours is not too much time if you want to relax and not risk the stress. You could always stop somewhere near the airport for coffee/food if you get there ridiculously early.

Leave early.
It’s better to be early than stressed the whole journey.
We were going to Ibiza last April, there had been protests blocking the roads, even though our flight wasn’t until 6.30pm, & it was two hours to the airport, we left well before noon.
There were no hold ups, but the pleasure of sitting in the airport, relaxing with our audio books, was priceless.

I think it’s better to be early and having to kill time than to be in a traffic jam and panicking. Even if you get there before baggage drop opens, presumably there is somewhere you can grab a coffee and wait.

I am very much a "hurry up and wait" person and I would leave at 12. Mainly because I have driven the M5 many times it is a bastard of a road, always congested and especially on Fridays.

We have a train journey on Saturday and will probably get there ridiculously early for that too!

If you’re parking in a long term car park and getting a park and ride bus then you’ll need all this time. And if you’re bringing children then you’ll need it too !

OP are you prepared for the EES too? If you are anxious then maybe familiarise yourself with the kiosks and what’s required.

I’m still wondering if I go halfway then get the train or something!

Have you not got parking booked? You need to get that sorted.

Personally, I think you're aiming to leave far too early, but, as others have said, you should do what makes you feel comfortable.

Honestly? If you are using the m5 before a bank holiday add 2-3 hours, it’s crazy. Assuming you are driving i would head down first thing and stop off somewhere for lunch and a walk about - I always recommend Portishead because it’s free parking, good for a walk about and crucially you can get to Bristol airport using country lanes, no need to use the motorway or a roads from there. Clevedon or Nailsea similarly are close though don’t have pretty yachts!

I work out how long I need to get there (2 hours), what time I want to be there (15.30) and give myself a spare hour. So I'd leave at 12.30.
Better early than late!

Sorry that should say be ready 1130, maybe leave at 12

If you do go for leaving later remember to allow for the time to find the right car park and to wait for the right bus (if needed) to get into the terminal. If you're using off site or long stay parking that whole exercise could be 30-40 mins depending on the layout / bus routes / volume of people.

I agree with others - drive close enough to the airport for the M5 to not be a problem and find somewhere nice for lunch before going on to the airport itself.

I actually often work out that i have enough time at the least to get there realise my passport is the wrong one and get someone to bring it to me😂 i mean I could just double check first (i do of course) but it makes me feel safer knowing that its possible!

It happened to my friends son, she had picked up the wrong passport for him but he didnt notice till about to board, he was going on a school trip so she had to book him a new flight.

I would plan to be ready by 12, but be keeping an eye on the live maps to see what its saying, obv if a big accident happened during your drive then not much you can do but if you have live maps on you can generally see where to come off etc.

I very rarely drive to the airport on the same day, I generally get the train or stay over the night before. I always aim for around 3 hrs before but if its a really early morning short haul one and I'm staying overnight then I wld be in the airport 2 hrs before.

I hate going to the airport with the people who say its fine to rock up an hour before. Too stressful. And do not leave at 230 ffs like one poster suggested, if you're driving on a Friday everything takes forever!!

As an airport employee I get shouted at every single shift without fail by people complaining im not doing my job fast enough because they've tried to be clever dicks and cut it fine not realising exactly HOW BUSY it can be. It takes 1 tiny glitch at the airport and best laid plans come tumbling down.
Computer glitch at checkin, bag tag roll not printing on self service bag drop, bag drop issues, long queue for toilet, toilets out of order making queues even longer, medical incidents blocking walkways/closing areas, security queues, being pulled by security for searches, slow people milling around a rammed terminal thats really too small for the amount of travellers,broken lifts escalators etc ...... the list is endless.
Then before you get to the airport...traffic etc etc etc.
Its never thier fault they miss thier flight or by cutting ir super fine and leaving no contingency...it's always someone else's. If only the airport was working ok had no queues or I did my job faster then there wouldn't be a problem..
Its a chance they take...they get away with it a few times then assume it will always be ok....until the day it isn't but its never because they cut it fine.
Your plan sounds sensible to me.

I've always been of the mindset that I would rather be waiting around in the place I need to be than waiting around in my house and then being late to where I need to be. I wouldn't leave quite as early as you for that drive but if it alleviates your anxiety there's no harm in it!!

My husband likes to arrive at airports about three days before a flight....🤣

Jokes aside, we've never missed a flight, we have time too mooch about, choose, buy, and read books, tit around in the shops, and start the holiday mood. We love ambling around an airport and watching the world go by.

It recently saved our bacon when we realised we had picked up the wrong passport - had time to turn and burn and get the right one collected and delivered to us.

Once it caught us out because our flights were delayed so we really were at the airport for about a thousand hours, but we got vouchers for dinner and just squeezed the juice out of it...

Never a stress if you're early.....

Given it's a Bank Holiday weekend, and the French (along with other EU countries) have been having difficulties with the new EES system, I would certainly aim to arrive at the airport terminal by 15.30 - so a bit earlier at the car park. I might well leave home early and stop somewhere closer to the airport once I'd covered the vast majority of my journey, and maybe have a lunch somewhere, then just complete the last few miles to the airport.

FWIW We flew to Germany earlier this year - and had no issues with the EES system either way BUT a few days before & a few days later, UK travellers missed their flights home due to delays at the same German airport. So you can never tell...

I use Bristol airport a couple of times a year. Approach from the south. The M5 on a Friday is always bad. In August could be shocking. There are cafes near the bag drop so if you arrive too early, grab a coffee and read a book. Much less stressful than looking at your watch.

Sounds perfect to me (also anxious traveller) but book a lounge so you can chill and have some food and or drinks while you wait

I don’t know if you are coming north or south to get to BRS. I flew recently from BRS and live 45 minutes from the airport. We stayed overnight because I get to worried about the journey. We don’t use the M5 because we don’t need to, but it’s a nightmare.

Which car park are you using? I’d be tempted to arrive early and just wait in the car, then get to the departures 3 hours before for bag drop off. At BRS all the shops are upstairs after security. Few small shops and a cafe pre bag drop.

Good Luck

Do whatever you feel comfortable with. You don't need to stress yourself by doing whatever someone else would do. Enjoy.

Are you parking at the airport?
last time we flew from Bristol from parking the car then waiting to drop keys then transfer to airport was about 1 hour 15 minutes as it was rammed

Better safe than sorry. Off load luggage, deal with security and have a drink. What's an extra hour at an airport

I'd rather be bored at an airport than miss my flight. And the suggestion to stop somewhere near the airport is a good one too.

Fortunately it's much less likely that you'll have problems approaching Bristol airport from the south, you come off the M5 a long way south actually and use the A38.

I think if I was coming from the north I'd leave about 3 extra hours to get there, given the experience I had the last time I used that stretch of road on a Friday. I joined the M5 at Tewkesbury and it was just stop start until a good way past Bristol. But the other direction is a lot better.