how long should i be in the airport before my flight

hidden

Hi,
Going to the States next week (Thursday) flight is at 11am what time should i get to the airport at? i have heard all kind of horror stories about it taking hours to get passed security.
Thanks

Ponster

Which airport?

Henry Ford III

2.5 hours should be fine.

hidden

sorry, Dublin Airport

Ponster

Personally, I'd turn up 2 hours beforehand while others, including my wife, would probably wish to be there 3 hours beforehand.

kimmykins

if you are checking in at the airport then allow 2 hours - if you have checked in online then you can just go to the security checks and on to the boarding lounge - if so leave about 45 minutes

P. Breathnach

kimmykins wrote: »

if you are checking in at the airport then allow 2 hours - if you have checked in online then you can just go to the security checks and on to the boarding lounge - if so leave about 45 minutes

Not for the US!

Ponster

kimmykins wrote: »

if you are checking in at the airport then allow 2 hours - if you have checked in online then you can just go to the security checks and on to the boarding lounge - if so leave about 45 minutes

45 is usually ok but as P. Breathnach pointed out, not when travelling to the USA where you go through US security in Dublin which can take a long time.

Berty

I personally like the airport and arriving early is the norm and a rule for me. Im normally there before the check in desk even opens except for flights for business. I dont care if I miss these most of the time.

If I am going on holidays I want to be there early to request the exit seats , bulkhead seat and like to get the whole smoking, duty free and immigration thing out of the way before everybody else slovenishly skulks through security at the last minute.

It always used to be one hour in airports and then somebody realised that 7up and toothpaste and going to take down the aviation industry and the delay was increased.

meditraitor

If you are going to San fran, the customs is on the US side(it was last year anyway) but if you are going to NY/Boston etc its in dublin.

I would recommend at leats 2.5 hours either way. And it also depends on the day.

The queue for baggage on these flights can vary a lot. then lately on fridays I noticed the queue for to enter the departures is brutal and can be as long as 20-30-mins. If you cut it too short it can be nerve racking.

Be early

flikflak

meditraitor wrote: »

If you are going to San fran, the customs is on the US side(it was last year anyway) but if you are going to NY/Boston etc its in dublin.

I would recommend at leats 2.5 hours either way. And it also depends on the day.

The queue for baggage on these flights can vary a lot. then lately on fridays I noticed the queue for to enter the departures is brutal and can be as long as 20-30-mins. If you cut it too short it can be nerve racking.

Be early

I went through 2 Fridays following (Last Friday and the one before) at about 6.30pm and the place was empty.

Be there 2 hours before. By that I mean in the queue to check in 2 hours before not be there and fanny around for half an hour before deciding to queue.

meditraitor

flikflak wrote: »

I went through 2 Fridays following (Last Friday and the one before) at about 6.30pm and the place was empty.

Be there 2 hours before. By that I mean in the queue to check in 2 hours before not be there and fanny around for half an hour before deciding to queue.

I was there the friday before that going to bergamo and it was mayhem, but also about 2 weeks before going to manchester and same deal, althought both were early morning, so maybe its the luck of the draw,

My misses is in the 3 hours before bracket when we go the states, so I have no option;)

flikflak

Yeah the mornings can be bedlam there I agree.

Oh dear poor you - I hate hanging around at airports!!

robinph

You'll just about miss the peak time for getting through security if you aim for 2.5 hours before hand, but at peak time the queues just to get to security can be close to an hour. If you have a flight to anywhere with any airline before about 9:30am on anyday then at the minimum double the time that you'd previously have expected to need to turn up at.

Get there as early as you can and then relax.