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?

Why is two hours such a problem? Just follow the guidance.

on a bad day it can take over an hour to get through security so yes if you want to catch your flight turn up 2+ hours beforehand!!! Have you never watched any of the easyJet tv programmes where it’s full of passengers moaning to easyJet they were only a minute late etc 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

An hour may very well be enough and usually will be (especially at smaller airports, I often fly from Knock and thirty minutes would be more than enough on most days!) Until that occasional time when it isn't for some unforeseen reason and you miss your flight. Why cause yourself the anxiety?

1000 percent this -what is your issue not being there 2 hours before ????

we were stuck in a car accident before our last flight and made it to the airport with 40 mins to spare on a flight to egypt. I'm usually a 3 hour girlie, but we had no issues, the staff were lovely. I wouldn't do it through choice it was v stressful, but if you like life on the edge, it obvs can be done

We are flying from Bristol in August (and have flown from there many times before). I have booked fast track security and we’re still going to get there at least 2 hours beforehand. It can be horrendously busy.

What have you got on before arriving at the airport that means you have to cut it down fine?

Security queues at Bristol can be very long and slow, even with the new scanners. You could book fast track.

Also the roads approaching the airport are often badly affected by traffic and events in the area so do allow more time than you might at first think to get to the airport.

I’ve ditched silver zone parking now after long waits for busses.

I’s always prioritise getting my flight, whether that’s for work or leisure.

Just don't post on here moaning that you missed your flight! Says two hours for a reason!

Up to you but why on earth would you risk the stress of possibly missing your flight?

Well it depends how much you want to risk missing your flight. It doesn't leave that much margin for error.

When I was biz travelling I used to turn up pretty late. For two reasons. One I was travelling a lot so it would have been a lot of extra hours wasted. Two because someone else would shell out if I ended up missing a flight (obviously this could not happen on a regular basis).

Now I travel mainly for personal reasons, I am less inclined to time it to the last minute. I hate being on tenterhooks wondering whether I will make it or not, and spending an extra couple of hours comfortably in an airport (lounge or coffee shop) is not a great price to pay for that.

What else would you be doing with the hour or two you saved ?

Fkew to/from there last month (albeit with a checked bag) and it was OK, but the problem with Bristol is it’s a small regional airport that has expanded its flight schedule rapidly but hasn’t expanded the infrastructure to get passengers through quickly at the same time. It can be an absolute shitshow during the holidays.

I just don’t understand people that need to go against the recommendations.

Airports all tell you what time you should get there for flights, what can you possibly be doing that an extra hour there is going to inconvenience you so much you risk missing the flight.

Just go, get a coffee and chill. Or be happy accepting the risk if you miss your flight.

A number of posters have asserted that Ryanair shuts its gates 40 minutes before departure. This is not correct. Whilst Ryanair is pretty ruthless in shutting its gates on time, the time is 30 minutes before departure (not 40 minutes) - https://help.ryanair.com/hc/en-gb/articles/12890675763089-When-will-the-boarding-gate-for-my-flight-close.

Agree with posters though that one hour is cutting it too fine. Like most posters on this thread, I don't have direct experience of Bristol airport - but those who have have given helpful advice and their opinion that one hour is too short, particularly in peak holiday season

It can sometimes differ on the day. I’ve flown with Ryanair and it’s been anything from 30 to a full hour

There’s always one

In my experience the budget airlines are quite random in their closing times: whatever it says their timings are in practice. The worst, as someone says upthread, is when they scan you for the closing time and then leave you sitting on a staircase or in a large standing queue - especially fun with children.

Check how many other Easyjet flights are flying out of Bristol at a similar time. A few years back I got an early flight from Bristol. My OH insisted I didn't need to be there two hours early so dropped me off later. There were huge queues for the Easyjet check in (and security) because there were several flights leaving at similar times and I only just made the flight.

I fly out of Bristol a lot. Even for a domestic flight with no luggage (not even hand luggage, just coats) it's tight on less than 75 mins. The security queue can be five mins or 45 mins, you just don't know. Adding in passports etc you'd want more than an hour.

Honestly whilst Bristol is a smallish airport it has a lot of customers and some of the gates are a decent walk away (like 10 mins) from the terminal central.
its also undergoing a huge redevelopment so there are building works everywhere.
it also depends what time you’re flying. Early hours is horrendous, although they do seem to have sorted out security a bit. We last flew lunch time (May half term) and that was busy but less so than early doors.
i’d say 1.5 hours minimum. We usually arrive 2 and have time to grab a coffee and get to the gate and that’s it!

Because of heightened security the days of turning up an hour before your flight are long gone even if you are travelling without checked in luggage.

We flew from Bristol in April, early flight 9am on Maundy Thursday. Baggage plus carry on luggage. I've not flown for a long time and i was pleasantly surprised how quick it was to get through security. However, when we were driving to the airport, there were lots of roadworks plus about a million tractors and farm vehicles about which delayed us.
I'm one of those who likes to be at the airport as far ahead as possible, and although we left in plenty of time I was getting a bit twitchy. We had time for a coffee and cake when we got there, leisurely wander through duty free and no rush for the gate.
Depending when you're going, school holidays will be busy, going in school run time will be horrendous, farming vehicles, the list of possible issues is too varied to say yes or no, sorry if that's no help!
I think now that you don't have to take your liquid stuff out separately when going through the scanner for hand luggage, I vaguely recall that being on the website so have a look.

2 hrs is really not that long. That will include time for boarding etc so really you only have 1.5 hrs. You'll easily use up 30 mins of that through security, potentially more if it's busy. Then you will have less than an hour to nip to the loo, buy some water and walk to the gate. If you get bored you can pop out on the balcony bit and watch the planes. Some gates at Bristol are a long walk so factor that in as well.

I can't comment on Bristol airport specifically but I fly very regularly out of various London airports. Assuming you are not getting on tiny prop plane that seats 40 people, they will start "boarding" people anywhere up to 1hr before the flight. What that actually means is checking tickets and passports and moving you into a holding area usually a sweltering corridor with no seating. The gate often closes well before the flight goes anywhere as the staff are also often the aircraft hosts. If you haven't checked luggage you're more at risk of being blocked.
Security queues are mental this time of year. Even fast track can take 30 mins.

Having had the displeasure of living close to Bristol airport and using it more than once, I would say that 1 hour you've got no chance, 2 hours is absolutely the minimum and 3 hours is probably closer to it if you want to play safe.

It takes one accident on the A38 for all the traffic in the area to stop absolutely dead. These happen fairly frequently in the summer. How are you even getting to the airport? If you're driving I would strongly suggest booking airport parking (and not one of the scamalamadingdong parking outfits either) in advance. There are public transport options but they're not always the cheapest and besides they're using the same roads as everyone else.

The queues for security and check in are slow. As in 'end up on the local news' legendarily slow.