How many hours before flight do you get to airport?

[railsfall]

We are travelling to Spain in July
We are flying with jet 2 and doing twilight check in
So we just head straight to security on the morning
It's a flight at 8.30 am
I'm thinking 6 am
Partner says 7 am
We are staying at the airport hotel which is 5 min walk to terminal

It's also Newcastle airport

6.30am

Split the difference - 6.30am :)
So you'll have already dropped your bags? Security can take a long time. Also depends on how close things are. I don't know the airport - how far will you have to walk?

Yeah bags will have been dropped the night before
It's not really a big airport but I'm assuming July early morning -will have a lot of flights leaving around a similar time

I’d go nearer 6 than 6.30….dh has accepted, after 30 years of holidays with me, that everyone’s life is easier once we’re through security, and I’d rather kill time in the terminal than be uptight about being late

I’m going to Spain on Monday and getting there 2 hours before. That’s already at 6am and it’s a 2 hour drive, so I refuse to get there earlier than that. I think it depends on how much you need to do in the airport and how big/busy it is. 6am seems awfully early. I’d be inclined to go for 6:30-7am.

I would want to be getting to the start of the security at 6:30 in the circumstances you describe. 7 would probably be fine, but I hate feeling stressed about time when travelling so would rather have it feel more relaxed

This. You either sit in your hotel room worrying or sit in airport terminal secure in the knowledge that you've now just got to keep an eye on the gate

I live in Newcastle and fly domestically and internationally from there quite frequently. I usually go an hour before - never missed a flight. 7am would be comfortably early especially if you’ve dropped bags, 2 hours before is a bit 90’s 😂

Look at how many flights there are and what time they leave.

Personally I'd leave extra time to get a decent breakfast before the flight.

No such thing as a decent breakfast at Newcastle airport

Depends on the airport and airline and location. I don't know Newcastle.

Heathrow or LAX, about 20 years before your flight to be safe. A small airport with good transport, 2 hours maximum.

As long as the coffee is drinkable its better than in flight food!

3hour for us as want time for shopping plus drinks. Long haul from places like Heathrow can be 4 hours. I would rather be early and have an extra drink than miss the flight

I always get to the security gate 3 hours in advance. There's lots of reports of delayed security checks currently.

I'm a frequent air traveller and sometimes security has taken me 5 minutes and on occasion 2+ hours.

So I prefer to get there 3 hours before and if it's quick, I just enjoy my time in the duty free.

So for an 8:30 flight, I would get there 5:30 am.

Three hours

Haha good point.

Although I once had Eggs Benedict there and it was like eating hollandaise soup! OP I’d stick to a Greggs bacon sandwich if I were you!

If I have to travel I'll leave loads of time, but in an airport hotel, bags already dropped, already checked in, so literally just security and passports and you're at a regional airport. 1.5 hours max.

This is fair enough for Heathrow, Manchester etc, but you would be bored out of your brain with three hours to kill in Newcastle airport.

Ha I can understand that.
I just prefer a relaxed flying experience.

At smaller airports I would get a coffee and people watch or read my book or have an amazing playlist to listen to.

But I appreciate we're all different.

Small airport, 1 hour before. Big airport, 2-3 hours before.

between 1hr 15min max to about 45mins but ideally 1 hr

6.30, they have started clamping down on people checking in more than 2h before short haul flights, we weren't allowed to join the queue in Manchester airport a few months ago. It is to control numbers going through security so that people get through quicker

Regional airport, bags already dropped, I'd be there no earlier than 2 hours before, probably closer to your 90 minutes OP.

You can always check flight departures the week before you go (same day of the week, same time) to see how much is departing over those couple of hours.

I travel frequently, most often through Heathrow T5 or Manchester and don't think I've ever been there a full 3 hours before. That said, I've got no interest in duty free shopping or leisurely meals so as long as I'm through security and have time to walk to the gate that's all I need.

6:30am, but I'm always happy to go with an early time if my travel partner is anxious about it.