How early is too early to arrive at the airport?

I'd rather kill an extra hour at an airport than worry about getting caught in a horrendous traffic jam.

Oh yea, me too!

And it's bedlam at the moment with school holidays/high season.
I've just come through Malaga airport. Very busy.

Exactly.

I really don't understand people's aversion to building in contingency, and at worst, having to sit in the lounge for an extra hour.

Holidays are among the most expensive purchases you'll make, and the most anticipated and looked forward to. Why risk losing it all so that you can sit at home for an extra hour or two, twiddling your thumbs?

I live 8 minutes from the airport and always turn up 3 hours before my flight. I have free lounge access though so it’s nice to sit with a free drink and snacks watching the planes. DH is an aviation geek so is happy to sit with flight radar telling me where all the planes are going and watching for ours coming in.

Yup we’re half an hour from Heathrow and an hour and a bit from Gatwick. We nearly always stay the night before for Gatwick if it’s a morning or midday flight or even early afternoon as often the trains can be cancelled or traffic. Heathrow we would do the same for an early one. Mid morning we’d get a taxi but there are back roads if the M4 has issues.

Its so much nicer being in the premier inn knowing you’re there!

The worst that can happen if you're very early is your flight is delayed and you end up getting absolutely bladdered at the airport bar through boredom! That happened to me before.

But if you're a nervous traveler being early is good. Have (one or two!) drinks, food, just chill and you can be one of the first onto the plane if you so wish. Or just hold back till the queues gone down. But you know you'll be at the right place at the right time.

The M5 is shut almost daily on the sections south of Bristol at the moment. Various reasons, but seems to happen almost every day. I agree, I would rather leave early and be bored for a while.

Actually some airports have on occasion asked people not to turn up 'too early' due to capacity issues. If they're trying to deal with the people who's flight leaves in 2 hours time at the same time as those who are flying in 4 hours, there's too many people in the airport and it can get overcrowded at busy times of year.

You've never found it hard to find somewhere comfortable to sit down while you wait in departures?? Where do you fly from? I admit I only really know the London airports in the UK.

And it is a logical necessity that the longer time people spend on average in an airport, the more people will be there on average at any one time.

And people are there at the “wrong” time. Staffing is set based on expected need which gets messed up if a lot of people are showing up much earlier than the normal window. Some airlines/airports, won’t check you in before three hours (or a different set limit).

I’m one to build in contingencies, but you are correct that airports have asked or forced people not to show up too early (as things opened up in 2022, Schipol restricted entry, for example).

I’ve only experienced one crowded airport and that was in Asia, other than that it’s just normal airport activity of people waiting for their flight.

Just because the OP has never heard of this, doesn't mean it doesn't happen.

Stansted Airport urges passengers not to turn up too early - BBC News

I have sometimes found airports to be too crowded to find a seat, but I was surprised the time we suffered a near 3 hour delay coming back from Menorca, which is a fairly small airport. Another flight to the UK was also delayed by a similar time and I remember saying to DP 'there's 400 people too many in this airport, where are they all'? Because despite there being 2 plane loads of passengers waiting for delayed flights it didn't seem overcrowded, there was somewhere to sit, and we could get food and drink without too long a queue.

I agree entirely. I am very much in the camp of better to be too early and have to wait then too late and miss your flight. DH and DD used to laugh at me but have quietly come round to my wat of thinking.

DD is an adult now and will, through choice, often get to the airport a good 3 hours ahead. Fortunately her usual travelling companion is of a similar mindset.

We live about 30 - 40 minutes from a major airport (Manchester), but the last two long haul flights DH and I did we decided to stay in the airport hotel the night before rather than risk an early morning journey in a taxi who potentially doesn't come on time or gets held up in traffic. It's a 10 minute stroll down a covered walkway from the airport hotel to T2 check in so that makes me feel very much more in control

You are allowed to sit in a restaurant or cafe at the airport and people watch, or browse the shops. If you are an anxious traveller get there early and have lunch and read a book. What difference does it make? I'd not risk the motorway Friday rush hour, which starts early on a Friday, never mind a bank holiday weekend, and I'm not a particularly anxious traveller.

We were all going away a couple of years ago and there was a bad accident at the Gatwick exit and we literally made the gate by the skin of our teeth as it was closing - after a panicked queue for the airport bus, trying to get people to allow us to go in front at security, which had a technical issue, and a literal 2 mile sprint to the gate. Anything is preferable to that and now I leave plenty of time (even though I am 20.minutes from the airport) and have a pleasant drink in the nice bar or tuck myself away round the corner in departures and read a book.

I'm very surprised. I usually find London airports too crowded for my comfort. Which is another good reason for me not to spend more time than necessary there (other reasons = more sleep if it's an early flight, more time to eat lunch before I go, time to send last work emails, time to clean out fridge, time to sit in the fresh air of our garden, the list is endless really - all far more enjoyable/productive than sitting in an airport!).

I leave enough time, but not too much. I'm not the sort of person who is going to be anxious about the journey if I'm not at the airport. I realise that some people are.

Yes that's crazy. And just contributes to airports being too crowded.

@pinkspeakers you have clearly never driven on the M5 on a Friday afternoon. I was on the M5 near Bristol last week, midweek and had to divert off due to a traffic accident.

The alternative is being stuck in traffic getting anxious about missing a flight. I know which I would prefer.

Yes this. The worst case of leaving it late is that you miss your flight. The worst case of being early is that you sit in an airport for a bit. I’d always err on the side of being early and if that means waiting with a coffee for a bit that’s no hardship.

I would much rather be sat with a coffee at the airport for an extra hour than be sat panicking in traffic!

You can’t get through security if you’re too early at Manchester. Of course crowded airports are a thing.

That said, I’d go at 11.30 because you already know the roads are unpredictable and then I’d have a nice lunch near the airport.

If you’re such an experienced traveller then why the angst? How don’t you already know what you are personally comfortable with?

M5 northbound is no better at the moment there have been loads of holdups around Weston.

I feel like airport time absolutely flies personally. I’d rather have an extra hour to kill looking at books and having a coffee than rushing.