Not to be at the airport 2 hours before my flight

[Iambouddicca]

Flying to Europe from Bristol. Do I really need 2 hours - travelling light with just an underseat bag on easyJet… just a single traveller too.

I’ve not flown much recently ( and not since Brexit/covid) so I’ve not got a feel for this. Is an hour enough - honestly?

We had 1.5 hours wait at Heathrow last week to bag drop.
Arrived so early, with enough time to spend 3 hours in the paid lounge. All checked in, boarding cards printed, just bag drop. It dragged on, and we had 1/2 hour in the lounge after that and security.

We flew from Bristol last year and thankfully planned to get there in really early. Lucky that we did, as the M5 was closed causing gridlock, and about 10% of the passengers who were due to be on our flight missed it. The pilot put out an announcement about it when we were in the air. Why take the risk just to save yourself a bit of a wait?

Definitely don't risk it, I have flown a number of times recently from Bristol and security is really slow and the gates are all far away. You will need 2 hours imo

It's Bristol.

1. Pompeii is in better repair....huge building works to build more parking so delays getting in
2. Security can be a mare, even hand luggage only
3. Ryanair and Easyjet fly from gates that are at least a 10 minute walk from the main departure area
4. M5 accident...A38 is the best alternative. M5 is currently stuffed as I type. As it was in Friday

Lots of food for thought. I was hoping I might be able to make an evening flight after work. I am checking out the options before I buy the ticket…

I used to regularly fly from Bristol and have been stuck in some horrendous queues at security, can also be a long walk to the gate, they seem to only use the ones that are furthest away! Also landed once at midnight and another 6 flights landed at around the same time, it was chaos. Have given up on Bristol now and use Heathrow.

I've been at the airport 3 hours before a flight and barely had time to grab a bottle of water or nip to the toilet before boarding thanks to horrendous security queues...

On the other hand, yes if absolutely everything goes 100% to plan, you COULD be okay an hour before. It's extremely unlikely though

A few weeks ago I thought I would be OK to change planes at Stansted with an hour to do it. It wasn't and I ended up having to buy another flight and take the train to Heathrow to catch it to get home. Won't do that again!

I flew to Dublin from Bristol last year. It was very busy, long security queues. And they lost my laptop when someone randomly took it out of the tray and put it under a table, took them 20 minutes to find it. So I wouldn't risk an hour!

Foolish!
I get special assistance, normally arrive 3 hrs before flight time, hand luggage and handbag.
Never risk the unexpected

just finish work earlier then ?

You might have a bit more chance in the evening, the airport is likely to be a bit less busy. You'll have to allow for Bristol traffic getting out there too which can be a bit ropey at times. I'd still want an hour and a half though tbh.

Regular Easyjet Bristol flyers. We aim for 1.5hrs and we are parking in the long stay, if you're using Silver Parking 2 hrs is more realistic. If you're flying before 8 am then you might need 2 hrs or even more especially in school holidays as that’s when the most flights depart. There were reports of security queues reaching outside the airport last summer, thankfully not experienced that.

I fly from Bristol several times a year and if you have no luggage to check in, be there 1.5hr before latest. Sometimes we sail through security, another time the queue is out of security area all the way down the stairs. Witnessed people missing flights numerous times because they didn't allow time for security. Next thing, Easyjet almost always uses the furthest gate for boarding, so that's more than half a mile from terminal..then account for gate closing 40min before departure and you will understand why you need to get there in plenty of time.
We like to use bathroom, etc. Airport get crowded at certain times a day, and all the time in summer. I would rather be there 2hrs early than miss my flight and holiday.
Hope that helps.

We used to be able to give ourselves only an hour from Liverpool, especially when going to Belfast etc. If we did that now, we'd miss a few flights. There's do many people arguing about carry on bag sizes etc, it delays everyone. We now allow two hours.

Why risk it when the aircraft is oversold (most are) later check ins are automatic targets

I go through there regularly- in fact currently driving back from the airport now. You can get through security in 15 mins but more like 30 mins. If you don’t have a check in bag, I’d give yourself an hour until gate closure, not flight time - usually 30/40 mins before so ideally you need 90 mins. I wouldn’t do less. I still get there 3 hours before. Every time.

With the Bristol traffic, you are. Or giving yourself anytime for a delay in getting there. The gates generally close 30-40 mins before boarding at Bristol meaning you are giving yourself very little time for bag weigh/check in and security - and if you get pulled aside you will definitely miss your flight. They don’t hold the gate for anyone these days so I would allow 2 hours - we usually allow 3 if flying from Bristol, longer if going from Birmingham and that is particularly bad.

Was a frequent flyer into and out of Bristol until last year- it’s a relatively well streamlined airport, if you have nothing to check in and just need a gate number and boarding pass is on your phone, then you don’t need 2 hours.
security can get busy, but even mid season an hour is plenty - as long as you’re dropped off and don’t need to factor in parking.

Myself and family use Bristol regularly. When they close the gate depends on the airline. I would be there two hours before as last time I travelled via Bristol, the queues were pretty bad and took us well over an hour to get to the departure lounge. Just flew from Gatwick and quite a few passengers caused delays at check in. We only justmade our flight and were there over 2 hours before. You can never tell what delays you might have and if you only give yourself an hour before the flight to check in that means that with several airlines, you only have a very short time to transit security before they close the plane doors. You could, if you do get delays, miss your flight.

Always best to get there even earlier than that IME. Traffic to airport, queues, technical problems etc. Would rather be a bit early than rushing. Xxx

Why risk it? Really it is all too easy these days for all sorts of delays and unknown factors to intervene and cause you to rush / stress or even miss your flight. It has happened to me (though not at Bristol)

Bristol you need 2 hours, unless you pay for fast track security. Some flights you can just walk through in 10 mins, others it’s the que from hell

Oh god this!!! Or dont remove their jackets. Had a massive family in front of us when travelling last year with my mum and my youngest. There were loads of them kids, various adults, grannies etc. Security guy repeatedly shouting "please remove any jackets", signs everywhere stating the same but still they stood yapping. Eventually its their turn and the security guys staring at them as they start faffing, theyre still holding up the queue so i said "take your fucking jackets off ffs!!!".
My mum gave me "the look" but people behind me clapped and security guy smiled 😅

DD flew from Liverpool last week. She received an email asking her to be there 3 hours before the flight as there were delays at security due to redevelopment work - we had also been advised of delays via local news and social media. We dropped her off. 10 mins later, as we were driving away, she messaged to say she was through security and drinking her first prosecco of the week. I would allow 2 hours, checking in is much quicker now, as you do it before you go online, but it only needs a hiccup in security to cause chaos. At Manchester in April they had installed the new scanners, but they were rejecting every bit of hand luggage that went though them, so we all had to be checked manually.