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?

I fly from Bristol pretty regularly and I wouldn't cut it much tighter than 1.5 hours. I find security is usually pretty fast but every now and then it isn't, plus some of the gates are a bit of a trek from the main hub. I also always build in plenty of contingency for actually getting to the airport because the roads in the area back up badly and the actual airport site is a mess at the moment with building/roadworks, so if you aim to arrive two hours ahead you may lose some of that additional time trying to enter the building.

I don’t know about Bristol, but I flew from Glasgow last month and security took over an hour. Aberdeen on Thursday had no queue for security at all. I suppose I’m saying it’s difficult to predict how long it will take. Such a pain isn’t it?

Check when your gate closes, as ours was 50 min before departure.

Ermmmmm I think it's you who may need a lie down, so worked up

OP I fly out of Bristol regularly. I used to get there 2 hours ahead because of security queues. But they have amazing new scanners now which mean you dont have to take anything out of your bag at security. It's soooo much faster. No faffing, everyone is straight through. I've been literally 5 minutes max at security since they installed them. And its so pleasant because the staff aren't screaming out all the things you need to take out of your bag!

The airport is fine but gets very busy and hot so if you're not fussed about getting food, etc, I would personally be confident arriving approx 30 mins before my gate is due to close.

For me the risk outweighs the gain. Why would you potentially cause yourself a stressful journey if the security queue stalls, accident on motorway or ANY other reason, when all you will gain is an hour back?

what are you doing in that hour? Spending it with a loved one who you’ll never see again?

If it’s for an extra hour in bed, it’s just not worth it.

I wouldn’t risk it. Not in summer. To Europe. It’s likely to be busy, there could be long queues at security you just don’t know. But then I LOVE airports and like to have plenty time there lol

The roads approaching Bristol Airport are not big fast roads, it’s some distance from any motorway. So bear in mind that if there is any accident or traffic hold up, you can easily miss a flight. Everyone I know who uses Bristol allows more than the specified 2 hours. Even fairly local residents will stay the night before an early flight at the hotel across the road from the terminal, to remove any chance of a missed flight.

Flights are regularly over sold - so if you don’t get through security and ready to check in for your flight and be boarded - then you’ll be left behind.

Already been mentioned - for Bristol you need contingency time for traffic. It’s a short distance once you’re off the motorway (M5 in summer!). That short distance has taken us an hour from M5 to the airport, quickest was 25 minutes at 2.00am.

If your flight is at a quiet time, security can be very quick. If you’re parking in the long stay /park & ride silver zone, the wait for a bus can also be a while.

Bristol is my least favourite airport due to all the unknowns and contingencies that need to be allowed for.

I fly 3 times a year out of Bristol and I wouldn’t chance it to be honest. The queues for security are lengthy and slow and the walk to whatever gate your assigned can be surprisingly lengthy. Get there the 2 hours before hand and don’t leave it to chance.

I’ve often been caught out (DH seems to think planes will wait for him) and have had to cancel a food order, sprint to the gate etc. you really do need the 2 hours.

Well, if you disregard their advise it's at your own risk.. as long as you are happy with the risk of missing your flight....

Hi OP, me and DH flew from Bristol to Europe a few weeks ago with just carry on bags. We had a 6am flight, got to the airport for 4am and only had about 20 minutes leeway to grab breakfast in the end. We were surprised at how quickly the time disappeared, but not sure how typical our experience was.

Probably called it the wrong thing, but you have to go through security, have your luggage scanned, passport and boarding pass checked. That took us nearly 2hrs last summer… the queue was endless even with some people using the biometric passports.

I recently flew from Bristol with 1h 15 before my flight and I had a checked bag… that was a bit too rushed for me tbh. I think 1h30 with nothing to check in is fine. But make sure you’re allowing yourself enough time to get to the airport as it doesn’t leave a lot of contingency. I prefer to allow 2 hours just so I’m not rushed.

That might be ok as long as you mean actually setting foot in the terminal an hour before. As others have said, getting there can be a nightmare, and the road layout keep changing during the works.

I find flying alone with just under seat baggage really efficient. We are the non-faffers! If I was going with other people I'd allow more time as its usually those other people who slow everything down.

Honestly Bristol Airport is a nightmare. 9 times out of 10 security is backed up like crazy. I remember getting a Ryanair flight from Bristol and thinking at least the airport will be quiet gliding at this ungodly hour but nope, still a ridiculously long slow security queue at 5am.

Better early and having a coffee than late, running through the airport and missing the flight? We always aim to arrive at least 3hrs before departure because life never works out to plan and so many things can screw it up…traffic on the roads, roads closed due to accidents, public transport issues, long queues at airport…if you allow extra time, less stress..

Just to add about silver zone, it says buses every 15 minutes, but we queued at least 15 to hand in our keys in the first place, then queued again for buses and a few left full before we got on, so I'd say it was more like 45 minutes minimum from parking to airport building. Obviously it could be less if quieter.

I personally wouldn’t risk it because if security is busy you might not get to the gate on time.

The infrastructure around Bristol Airport is a fucking nightmare. The ingenious plan of expanding the airport hasn’t actually expanded to the surrounding single-carriage road with mini roundabouts either side of it, and all the flights seem to come in and leave at the same time so there are queues on the road at all hours it seems especially if you’re travelling southwards towards it. I wouldn’t chance it op.

Birmingham airport is notoriously bad. I have gone hours before a flight too, otherwise the risk is high that you’ll miss the flight.

I flew from Bristol to Cyprus in April and was there 3 hours before. Checked in and spent approx 45 mins - 1 hour at security and the gates closed 45 mins before flight. This was Easy jet. Definitely at least 2 hours you'll need

Yes! We nearly missed our 6am flight from Bristol as the queues were out the door. Had to run, Home Alone style to get to the gate in time and had to pay for the speedy security. We haven’t flown from there since. We normally always fly from Gatwick which is a lot more organised IMO or the south coast airports (where you can arrive and be at your gate within 10 minutes!). Id allow plenty of time from Bristol :-)

Bristol is my least favourite airport due to all the unknowns and contingencies that need to be allowed for.

DH says similar - he flys with work from Bristol couple times a year it's different every time.