What time should I leave for the airport?
Enter your flight time and how you're travelling. We work back from your airline's bag drop and gate deadlines to the time you should be at the airport and leave home.
Times are a plan, not a promise: queues change by the hour. Allow extra with kids, at holiday peaks, or if you need assistance.
How we work it out
We start from the airline's published deadlines (see check-in times by airline): when bag drop closes and when you need to be at the gate. Then we add typical time for security (15 / 30 / 60 minutes at small, average and busy airports), passport control on international flights, walking to the gate and a bag drop queue. If an airline doesn't publish a deadline, we use a common one and say so.
Carry-on only? Make sure it fits with the bag checker so it doesn't get stopped at the gate.
Questions people ask
How early should I get to the airport for a domestic flight?
About 2 hours is the usual advice, and 90 minutes is often enough at a small airport if you've checked in online and have no bag to drop. The hard limits are the bag drop and gate deadlines, which this tool works back from.
How early for an international flight?
Most airlines say about 3 hours, because of passport control and earlier bag drop deadlines. At big hubs at busy times, allow more.
What if I only have a carry-on?
Then the bag drop deadline doesn't apply to you, as long as you've checked in online. What matters is getting through security and passport control and being at the gate on time.