What time would you arrive at Manchester Airport for a 6.10am flight?

[Mildredthehubble]

Flying from Manchester to Spain on Sunday at 6.10am 😴
We live about 40 minutes drive away

We're travelling with hand luggage only. Getting dropped off

What time would you get to the airport?

At that early hour, I feel every 5 minutes in bed counts.

I know it used to be 2 hours. I do travel a lot but always find myself with ages to spare and that's normally in school hols.

Would arriving at 5.10 be sufficient?

I would aim to be at the airport 2 hours before and add in your travel time (in this case 40 mins), so I'd leave home at 3.30 am, or get a room in a hotel nearby, or get to the airport in the evening the night before (this last is horrendous of course).
In this case, you're only '40 mins away, so I'd be prepared as in washed and dressed, lie on bed fully dressed in order to get an hours sleep, but leave at 3.30 am

I think 4am gives time for any problems with traffic and security.

4am to 4.30am.

Would arriving at 5.10 be sufficient?

Yes if you're prepared to miss your flight.

You know there's a reason that they say to arrive 2 hours beforehand don't you?

4am

4am for me too, fronting up an hour before hand is a huge risk to not getting through on time and it would be your fault.

She's only 40 minutes away! It would take 15-20 minutes to get from one of the hotels to the terminal. So you'd be spending about £150 for an extra 20 mins sleep 😂

I'd aim to be on the road for 3.30 so you should get there by 4.10, so two hours ahead. This gives you a buffer for flat tyre, closed motorway, security queue etc etc and it should be plenty baring multiple issues.

But YY to checking the motorway depending on what direction you're coming from - I read that the Scammonden section is being closed overnight quite a bit over the coming months for example.

Great thanks. I didn't even think about the way back !

You never sleep well at airport either. So noisy!

No way would i arrive at 5.10. Security can be hellish. And if your hand luggage floats off down the something suspicious line it can add a lot of time. Last time I flew easyjet they had us queued up on a staircase waiting to board 40 mins before departure as well.

Honestly OP I love my sleep too but I just accept that when I book a flight at a ridiculous hour (as I often do!) that I've sacrificed that day anyway.

I usually just try and sleep as soon as I get on the plane and catch up on the few hours I've missed!

Having had to sprint through Manchester airport due to security 2 hours

You need to give yourself at least half an hour to get through security at Manchester just in case your luggage is pulled for additional
screening. My perception is that the new scanners make the process of getting through faster, but more people get pulled to
unpack their bag.

Also, as pp said, practically every flight goes from T2 now which has made it really very busy.

Your boarding card will also tell you what time the gate will close, which for a 6.10 flight could be 5.30.

20 minutes to get to Security, get through security, possibly wait for someone to work out what innocent object has shown up on the scanner, and walk to the gate (which may be a 10 minute walk way) is cutting it ridiculously fine.

For the return journey it sounds like it's a tiny minority of planes out of many thousands where a significant number of passengers are being denied boarding.

I suspect that, in the vast majority of cases, late arrival at the airport (ie significantly under 2 hours) and dawdling through the bars, shops and smoking areas and forgetting about the outbound passport check is a significant factor in people missing flights.

90 minutes minimum, partly because you can’t guarantee no traffic even at 5am

Last time we flew from Manchester we arrived 3hrs ahead thinking we'd have a leisurely breakfast and a potter around the shops but we only just got through and had to run to the gate as boarding was about to close

It's far better to be at the airport early, than not leave enough time. I'd be there for 4 am. In theory traffic should be fine, at that time of the morning but you have no idea how busy it will be at the airport. I live about 30 minutes from my local airport, but still arrive a minimum of 2 hours before the flight.

I know. I fly every couple of months, it's just I've always got so much time to spare and I was wondering if I could cut it down a bit. I always get there 2 hours before, I'm also travelling with people and I didn't want to subject them to my early arrival.

(Apart from the fact I refuse to book flights before 9am) I always aim for 2 hours knowing if there’s taxi issues, cows blocking the road to the airport (happened) or queues (thankfully not been a problem) I have time in hand, I’m 30 minutes by country lanes to the airport, no direct road though, for Heathrow I aim for 3 hours but we need to use the long stay car park or national express

Those of us travelling from northern England don't really have the choice of not booking before 9 am. It seems that the majority of flights go at 6/7 am and if there is a second flight that day, it will set off in the evening, so faced with an early start or arriving at midnight, the early start often wins.

Well again, you can, but just because you've always got through quickly previously, sods law means that this time it'll be exceptionally busy / under staffed / technical issues which mean massive delays. I wouldn't risk it personally. Also as others have said, between 5-7am is the busiest time at all airports!

I mean I dropped DH at heathrow last week, he was through security in ten minutes and at a loose end for 90 mins.

I'd arrive at 4.30 earliest.

Urgh I know. It's so annoying. Either wake up at 3am and spend the whole day fucking knackered or fly in the evening and land at your destination at about midnight!

There's almost bound to be roadworks/road closures in the vicinity. I would book into an hotel the evening before to be on the safe side and ensure a nice relaxed start to the day.