When should you arrive at the airport? Our travel team reveal how long they leave (without missing a flight)

Independent

20-06-2025

Last year, we had gate lice, raw dogging and the check-in chicken – but now the latest travel trend is testing the limits of airport arrival times.
'Airport theory' is a TikTok trend where people attempt to whizz through check-in, bag drop and security with just 15 minutes to spare before boarding their flight.
The 'theory' suggests that traditional timeframes to get from the terminal to aircraft doors see travellers waste unnecessary hours hanging around.
But does a short dash through the terminal save precious packing time, or is the trend pointlessly risking a missed flight?
Here's how far ahead the frequent flyers of our travel team rock up to the terminal, from allowing plenty of time for a Pret to cutting it fine in the security line.
Just in time
Unless you miss the odd flight, you are spending too long at airports. Obviously, though, missing a flight is annoying and expensive. So I work out the last train that will get me to the airport before the check-in deadline, then take the one before to allow some recovery time. Typically I will reach the airport with 10-15 minutes to spare. But if trains are disrupted, it can be close. Last year going to Kathmandu on Qatar Airways from Gatwick, I reached the check-in desk (physically the furthest possible location from the airport rail station) with three minutes to spare before the one-hour check-in deadline expired. On occasion, I hitchhike to the airport, most recently to Glasgow, but that really does inject uncertainty. – Simon Calder, Travel Correspondent
Planned ahead
This trend makes my skin prickle. Despite flying relatively frequently for work, I still get stressed about my journey to the airport. I like to allow at least two hours for flights to Europe and three-and-a-half if I'm flying internationally. The process is undoubtedly smoother than it used to be, and I recently flew Ryanair where even checking in my bag was done by a machine, but it's the fear of the unknown that gets to me. Traffic/rail delays/long queues/etc. I plan my journey at least a week in advance and get there early enough to sit smugly with a coffee as I watch the panicky last-minute travellers arriving flustered at the gate. – Emilee Tombs, Assistant Travel Editor
As little airport as possible
While I don't mind flying, I'm not a fan of airports. As with other forms of public transport, I always seem to be in painfully close proximity to the person conducting an extended phone conversation on loudspeaker with zero consideration for those around them, children sans headphones blasting Bluey from tablets, and passengers of all ages scrolling through social media at volume (yes, I AM fun at parties).
Hanging around a crammed departures lounge with irritable, exhausted and anxious fellow passengers, paying £7 for a substandard Pret sandwich and trying and failing to navigate the world's narrowest aisles in Boots with a wheelie in tow is far from a vibe. For this reason, my aim is to spend as little time as possible at the airport without running the risk of actually missing my flight – but I'm reasonably conservative when it comes to timings. For short-haul flights, 90 minutes seems more than reasonable, while for long-haul flights, I'll stretch to two hours at a push. If I'm travelling during a peak time, such as school holidays, I might reluctantly allow myself an additional 30 minutes, but anything more than two and a half hours seems deranged. I haven't missed a flight yet. – Joanna Whitehead, Travel Writer
Somewhere in the middle
The cavalier attitude I used to display towards airport arrivals has been replaced with something rather more cautious after a couple of near-misses – yet you'll rarely catch me at an airport much more than two hours before my flight departs. Even at the fanciest terminals, I have no desire to spend more time at the airport than is absolutely necessary. If I have lounge access, I may arrive 2 hours and 30 minutes ahead of departure, but I'd still rather be at home than even the nicest parts of Gatwick or Heathrow. Something between 90 minutes and two hours feels about right - enough time to nip into Pret, but not quite enough for a Wetherspoons breakfast. – Annabel Grossman, Global Travel Editor
With time for a Wetherspoons
If I am truly honest, I am not always a punctual person. However, my airport arrival time may be the exception to my 'running five minutes late' lifestyle. Not because I fear missing a flight, or because my flatmate has again lied to me about what time we actually need to be somewhere, but – as cruisers claim that the holiday starts when they step onboard – I am firmly of the belief that a holiday starts with spending an extortionate amount on a flute of fizz in an airport's Spoons-esque establishment. For this recreational reason, I am loyal to the general guidelines and tend to allow at least two hours to get to the gate, peruse Duty-Free and down a prosecco. – Natalie Wilson, Travel Writer
By the book
When it comes to airport punctuality, I'm strictly by the book. I know this because my partner's approach of arriving at the last minute leaves me cold with dread. So if the recommended time to check in is three hours before the flight departs, that's when I try to turn up, with perhaps even a cheeky 15-minute buffer thrown in on top of that. And when the gate is shown, I'll head to the gate. My partner? That's her cue to buy a new pair of sunglasses and a couple of coffees. – Ted Thornhill, US Travel Editor
There's time to spare
As a self-confessed over-organiser whose stress levels skyrocket whenever I am late, I could never take part in the airport theory trend. I tend to arrive at the airport at least three hours before a flight departs. While baggage drop and security never take up copious amounts of time, I always allocate over an hour or so in case of any wild airport queues or chaos fuelled by short staff or system failures. I would rather have hours sampling Duty Free perfume or sitting down for a drink and something to eat than sprinting through the concourse. I apply this to arriving at the gate too; as soon as my gate number is announced on the information screen, I am immediately on my way there. Gate staff sometimes crack on with loading passengers straight away, and being first at the gate can sometimes result in boarding before most, grabbing the all-important cabin bag space in the lockers and relaxing while everyone else gets impatient waiting for others to sit down so they can move up the aisle. – Amelia Neath, Travel Writer
Two hours – no more, no less
I'm a big fan of arriving two hours early as I fear missing the plane and like time for a pre-flight pint. That timing is probably pretty standard, but I also do that for long haul where I think the recommendation is three, so I guess I'm a bit brave. The thought of arriving 15 minutes before strikes fear into my bones! – Marc Shoffman, cruise writer
Most airports recommend allowing two to three hours to check in and get through security before your scheduled flight time.
In the UK, London Gatwick says: 'Generally we recommend you arrive at least two hours before your flight to allow plenty of time.'
The Crawley aviation hub advises that check-in opens 'around three hours' before the departure of long-haul flights.
Heathrow, the UK's busiest airport, says: 'We recommend getting to the airport three hours before your flight if you're travelling internationally, or two hours if you're travelling domestically or to Europe.'
Airlines tend to echo the two-hour guidance, with Ryanair passengers told to 'arrive at the check-in or bag drop desk at least 2 hours before they are due to fly'.
Simon Calder's top tips
To reduce the amount of time you need to allow: eliminate all the uncertainties you can, then build in a bit of padding.
Choose public transport to the airport, ideally on rails rather than road, which runs to a published schedule.
No luggage to check in. You don't need it, you won't have to allow extra time for an indeterminate wait at bag drop, and by taking carry-on only you also eliminate the risk that your case will go off on its own little holiday.
Check-in online, print out your boarding pass (or save it to your smartphone) and you can head straight for the joy of the security queue.