If you’ve been to an airport recently, you know that security lines can be very long. The number of air passengers being screened each day at TSA security checkpoints is the highest it’s been in years, with some days seeing nearly 2.8 million travelers.
“At nearly every [domestic] airport, there may be periods when the number of passengers who need to be screened by TSA will exceed the capacity of the security checkpoint,” Lorie Dankers, spokesperson for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), tells Afar.
For years, TSA recommended arriving at the airport two hours before a domestic flight and three hours before an international flight. This is guidance for airports in the USA. Unlike in many countries, the United States does not have exit immigration; whether flying domestically or internationally, your only hurdle to clear is security. Airlines such as United and American also recommend arriving two to three hours before your flight. This will vary, of course, based on which airport you’re flying from (Atlanta is the world’s busiest; Burlington, Vermont, has just 14 gates.) If you have only carry-on luggage and if you have TSA PreCheck or Clear, your airport arrival time can be more relaxed than someone who has a bag to check.
Dankers’s advice is to “arrive in plenty of time in case you encounter delays in any aspect of the travel process.” Potential slowdowns include traffic on the way to the airport, a snaking line to check a bag, packed security lanes, and long lines to use the bathrooms.
Are you an arrive early or arrive late airport person?
How early to get to the airport for a flight is divisive. There are two camps: those who like to arrive at the airport (ridiculously) early and those who like to show up (way too) close to their flight departure time, regardless of whatever the official or unofficial advice may be.
Sam Sferrazza, a Toronto-based stand-up comedian and film producer, is clearly on team early.
“I’m here at the airport representing some of my favorite people once again, the early-at-the-airport girlies. We are at our favorite part of the airport, which is after security,” Sferrazza said in a TikTok video that garnered more than 1 million views. “We have two hours of goofing off, getting coffee, getting treats, and having a good time.”
Sferrazza isn’t alone in enjoying being extra early at the airport.
“Cutting it close at the airport is not a thrill I volunteer for,” says Harriet Baskas, founder of Stuck at the Airport, a blog about airports and their amenities. “Showing up early to avoid the stress of having to wait in a long line or run to a gate is one thing [I] can control.”
She likes to arrive at least two or three hours before departure and bring work, a book, a list of calls to make, and her walking shoes—“those long concourses are great for making sure I hit my daily steps.”
We polled the Afar staff on the topic and, of the 12 who voted, 5 claimed to be early at the airport types (two to three hours), and 7 raised their hand as late airport people (1-1.5 hours before departure). Bearing in mind that this is a group of very frequent travelers, here’s what they had to say:
“I’d rather walk straight to my gate and board immediately than spend time wandering. I’ve never met an airport worth the time I’d rather spend at home or at a destination,” wrote Afar’s marketing activations manager Maggie Smith in a Slack thread on the topic.
Ami Kealoha, Afar’s director of branded content, is willing to arrive early—at some airports. “I don’t mind being early when airports are well designed. Otherwise, I’d ideally arrive when it’s time to board. But despite being a very calm traveler, it’s not worth the stress, especially if I’m with any anxious types.”
Lyndsey Matthews, Afar’s former senior commerce editor and staunch member of team early, chimed in, “I have a recurring nightmare about missing flights before I travel, and to avoid living that hellish experience in real life, I aim to get to the airport at least two hours, if not somewhere in the three-hour window before takeoff.”
Afar associate director of SEO and video Jessie Beck is living on the edge: “I usually cut it pretty close at my home airport, SFO, because I know what to expect and can reliably time it well. I have TSA PreCheck, will check in online in my airline’s app, and never check a bag, so stepping out of my Uber 30 minutes before boarding is typically plenty to clear TSA and walk to my gate. If it’s an airport I’ve never been to before—especially international—or if I’m flying during the holidays, I’ll arrive 1-1.5 hours before boarding.”
What the airlines require
Ultimately, it’s the airlines that make the call on how long before your flight they’ll allow you to check in, check bags, and board at the gate. Most U.S. airlines, including United, American, and Delta, will cut off check-in for domestic flights between 30 and 45 minutes prior to departure and for international flights between 60 and 75 minutes before departure time. Checking in online beforehand and bringing only a carry-on allows you to arrive later and head straight to security.
As for when passengers need to be at the gate to be able to board, for domestic flights, it’s typically 30 minutes before departure, and for international flights, it’s between 45 and 60 minutes before departure. But again, this varies by airline and airport so always double-check.
Early birds should be warned that there are also often limits on how early you can check in as well. For instance, American Airlines reminds its passengers that you can’t check bags more than four hours before departure when flying with American from certain domestic hubs.
How to get through the airport more quickly
At some international airports, the check-in window is even shorter. Even if you arrive extra early, you might not actually be able to check in, check bags, and go through security until closer to your departure time. So again, research the policy for the exact airports you’re flying out of and the airlines you’re flying with.
TSA has been investing in tools to help bring security line wait times down, including scanning devices that allow travelers to scan just their ID and not pull out a boarding pass when going through security, and next-generation x-ray scanners that allow even non–TSA PreCheck travelers to leave their liquids and laptops in their carry-on bags—helping the security lines to move along faster.
The MyTSA app provides access to information on delayed flights and allows travelers to see how busy the airport is likely to be on a specific day and time of travel based on historical data. Many airports, such as JFK in New York, provide frequently updated information on their websites and mobile apps about security wait times and even how full parking lots are.
The fastest ways to get through TSA are TSA PreCheck and Clear. PreCheck costs $78 for a five-year membership and allows travelers to enter a usually shorter security line and keep their shoes on and laptops and liquids in their bags. It’s available at nearly all U.S. airports but not all airlines participate. Alternatively, travelers can also invest in a Clear membership, another security expediting service, that costs $189 for an annual membership. Or if you’re a frequent traveler and don’t like arriving early, you can cover all your bases and get both.
Those who don’t have either TSA PreCheck or Clear can check to see if their departure airport is one of several U.S. airports that allows travelers to reserve a security line time slot and jump to the front of the line—free of charge.
Although travelers are pretty set in their ways on how early to get to the airport, Afar contributor Kathleen Rellihan admits she’s “switched sides,” so to speak. “I used to pride myself on never stressing about flying or arriving at the airport early. I thrived on the adrenaline rush of making it without any time to waste. But in recent years I have seen the other side—arriving a few hours early lets me start to enjoy the journey before I even take off, especially if I have lounge access or the airport has great amenities. I now use this time at the airport to get last-minute things done, look for a new book, and call my family, too.”
This article was originally published in 2019 and most recently updated on November 1, 2024, with current information.
