Airports in the U.S. historically say to arrive 2 hours before your domestic flight and to get there 3 hours early if you’re going on an international flight. There are some exceptions to the rule, such as a tiny, regional airport where you can probably get away with arriving an hour before your flight. And then there’s Orlando International Airport – they recommend arriving 3 hours before your domestic flight.
Generally speaking, you can use this logical plan to determine how early you should arrive for your flight.
But what if you’re late?
But sometimes you just get to the airport late. Maybe you overslept. Or your ride was delayed. Perhaps you’re habitually late. Or maybe you like to live on the wild side and cut your time to the last minute (in which case, heaven bless you. I could NEVER…LOLOL!).
Whatever the case, let’s say you arrive at the airport significantly later than you intended and/or the airport recommends. You still have to get to your gate, and you have very little time to do so. Every second is going to count.
Bag drop off
Let’s assume you’re not Team Carry-On and have a bag you need to drop off. We know from our one experience of inadvertently getting to the airport way, WAY later than we should have (not my fault and I’m still giving my husband side eye for it, 2+ years later), that once you have your bag tag, you can ask the person at the entry to the drop-off spot if you can go to the front of the line because your plane is going to start loading in ## minutes. Show your boarding pass to prove it.
Chances are excellent they’ll let you bypass the queue. And it was an employee who permitted you to do it, so you can feel no guilt about the side eye the people in the queue are giving you. 😉
TSA Security Checkpoint
Lines of travelers snake past TSA agents at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport l
But now you have to get through the TSA security checkpoint. I am hoping REALLY hard that you have TSA PreCheck, since that queue tends to be shorter/faster at most (I know, I know…not all of them, and definitely not all the time) airports. But even if you don’t have PreCheck, you can still try these:
Ask a TSA officer
Just like at the airline queue, the TSA security checkpoint usually has at least one TSA officer manning the queues to make sure people go onto the correct line (Precheck vs not, CLEAR vs not, etc.). Ask them if they can help you reach the front of the line because your plan will start loading any second. Have your boarding pass available to show proof. Many times they’ll usher you through, to help the flow of the queue going.
Ask your fellow passengers
Unfortunately, sometimes the TSA officer isn’t as helpful as you’d hope. Or maybe you couldn’t find the ones who are manning the queues. That’s when you have to suck it up and ask your fellow passengers. Yes, those people who are irritable and exasperated. Your chances aren’t nearly as good, but try some of these tips:
- Be polite – You know the old saying, you catch more bees with honey than with vinegar? Be nice about it.
- Ask, don’t tell – Don’t be an A-hole and tell people, “My plane is boarding; I gotta get through!” How rude is that? All you’ll do is get people mad and they’ll tell you no, just out of spite. Instead, ask if it’d be OK.
- Explain & have proof – This goes hand in hand with asking if you can cut ahead of people. Explain the situation. Show them your boarding pass. “I’m so sorry but my plane has already started to load. Would it be OK if I went past you so I don’t miss my flight? Look, here’s my boarding pass.”
Good luck!
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