How late can I leave it to the airport?

Voyager2002

There has been an important change since I began flying (possibly since the OP's last trip)...

It used to be that you "checked in" on arrival at the airport, and once you had checked in you were guaranteed to be on the 'plane. Check-in closed a sensible (and stated) time before take-off, and getting to the check-in desk late meant that you had missed the flight. If a checked-in passenger failed to get to the departure gate before closing time, there would be a delay while s/he was called: only if all search attempts failed would they then off-load the missing passenger's checked luggage. I was on a flight that was delayed for this reason late in 2001.

I consider it deplorable that the deadline for passengers is no longer a time for arriving at a check-in desk, but now a time for arriving at a departure gate: any delays in security that most passengers can neither predict nor control are now a risk to passengers rather than a risk to the airlines.

eamon

If the OP is using LBA note that their busiest time is 5am to 7am. I flew from there last Sep and even with allowing 90mins for security I almost missed the flight due to the security queue.
It is possible to roughly work out security time pressures by counting the number of departures in any given 1/2hr period and multiplying that by the number of passengers approx 200. I would estimate that more than 3 departures per 1/2hr causes security delays at LBA

budgetflyer

Im normally a wreck until I am through the boarding gate. I always give it 3 hrs.

shaun_from_Africa

Voyager2002 wrote: »

There has been an important change since I began flying (possibly since the OP's last trip)...

It used to be that you "checked in" on arrival at the airport, and once you had checked in you were guaranteed to be on the 'plane.

Checking in on time has never guaranteed that you will get on the aircraft.
Just about all airlines overbook flights and in the majority of times this doesn't cause any problems as there are often a couple of "no shows".
However, if everyone that has been ticketed turns up and there are more passengers than seats, the airlines have to bump someone and they will initially ask for volunteers but if this doesn't work, they will make the decision.
These involuntary non fliers may be chosen based on the fare paid or class of ticket and this is something that has always gone on.


It's happened to me a few times as I do an awful lot of flying for work purposes and the company I work for always buys the cheapest possible tickets and whenever it's happened, it was always at the departure gate.
As I'm normally a single traveller, I must be fairly near to the op of the list of "bumpees".

maman

As this is a mse thread:money: I thought I'd mention a programme that was on tv last night. It was Channel 4 and called Thrifty Ways to.... Last night's was about holidays. I didn't learn much but they did mention a lounge at Gatwick with 'free' food that was cheaper than the average meal in the airport. Might be worth checking out if we're going to be there with time to spare.:D

Voyager2002

shaun_from_Africa wrote: »

Checking in on time has never guaranteed that you will get on the aircraft.
Just about all airlines overbook flights and in the majority of times this doesn't cause any problems as there are often a couple of "no shows".

Yes, that is very true... however getting "bumped" is rather different from being told that you have missed the flight.

LUHG1878

To avoid queues at security we generally purchase a FastTrack pass, it's around £4.50 per person (at the airports we use anyway) and I can get through security in about 2 mins flat.

It's obviously a bit more money, but less hassle, and if you want to leave it as late as possible before getting to the airport, then this would save you around 20mins.

Pollycat

LUHG1878 wrote: »

To avoid queues at security we generally purchase a FastTrack pass, it's around £4.50 per person (at the airports we use anyway) and I can get through security in about 2 mins flat.

It's obviously a bit more money, but less hassle, and if you want to leave it as late as possible before getting to the airport, then this would save you around 20mins.

Unless it's at MAN - this is a post from Tripadvisor Air Travel board last Saturday:

The queue today in fast track was as bad as the regular queue.
I know it!!!8217;s a revenue stream, but when you factor in families, disabled, business/first class and frequent fliers such as myself the queues are getting ridiculous.

Another comment:

The fast track at Manchester is a joke. There are no fast track scanners, you just end up in the same scrum as everyone else when you reach the scanners.

and another:

I think security lines at Manchester airport are a joke at the moment. Fast Track or not.

As the OP hasn't said where he/she is flying from and what time, it's hard to advise further.

lea2012

I second (or third) the comments about Manchester. We flew at 10am last Saturday from T3 and it was a nightmare!
We arrived at check in at 7am and sailed through it with only 5 couples in front of us. Got to departures and what a scrum!
We'd booked fast track but the security staff were moving people from standard to fast track if they were being called to board. Some airlines such as Air France did have horrendous queues at check in so I understand moving people if they arrived on time but there were a few travellers that admitted they had cut it too fine but the were moved in front of us for free to get them through on time!
Mix in biometric scanning for certain flights and people arriving with boarding cards issued by airlines that wouldn't scan and it was a complete disaster, it took us almost an hour to get through and that was in the 'fast lane'.

splishsplash

It depends on the airport you're flying from.

I fly to London quite regularly from either Cork or Shannon airports in Ireland. I live approx midway between both, maybe a 2 - 2.5h drive. I allow fifteen to twenty mins to park at the airport, walk to the terminal, walk through security and find my gate before it closes 30 mins prior to take-off.

All that takes less time than travelling from London to either Heathrow or Stansted, getting through security and getting to my gate. The scanners don't always accept the phone boarding cards either so you have to stand in those ridiculous scanner cameras which add more delays at a couple of junctures. Very frustrating in this day and age.

So short answer, research your airports to get a realistic idea of the time you'll need, it can vary enormously. Enjoy your break!