No One Needs to Arrive 2 Hours Before Flight, Here's Why

You’re running through the airport, waiting in endless security lines, dealing with your baggage, rushing yet again to the gate – if only you’d arrived two hours early! Right? Not necessarily. And airports know that.

For example, along with lots of other secrets, they’re not telling you that some hubs have facial recognition scanners that can easily track you. Or that the cheapest days to fly are Tuesdays and Thursdays. Or that arriving at the airport 2 hours before your flight isn't really necessary. But why do airports recommend to do that?

Other videos you might like:

TIMESTAMPS:
They might be watching you 0:23
Beware of airport taxis 1:05
Free water 1:31
Check your carry-on luggage for free 2:11
The cheapest days to fly 2:31
"The golden hour" 3:55
Lost luggage sale 5:36
Don't exchange cash at the airport 6:10
Why it's bad to live near an airport 6:58
Secret places for a quiet retreat 7:35

SUMMARY:
- If the situation allows, use online taxi apps to order a car. If you can’t, then make sure to find out the rate in advance.
- Bring an empty water bottle through the security check and find a water refill station – they’re usually near the restrooms.
- The cheapest days to fly are Tuesdays and Thursdays. And if, for some reason, you want to buy the most expensive ticket, opt for a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday.
- Bags that are loaded last usually appear first on the baggage carousel.
- Some airports don't allow you to carry liquids over 3.4 oz through your layover destination, even if they're from duty-free and in sealed bags!
- Even if your flight doesn't offer a hot meal or snacks, it might still be cheaper to eat on board than at the airport, especially if you have the airline's credit card.
- The arrival time includes some wiggle room for potential small delays, taxiing from the runway, and so on.
- After you pass all the security checks and passport control, you have "the golden hour" ahead. That's 60 minutes during which you're most likely to open your wallet.
- A nice conversation with a security agent might not be what it seems. It's not that they don't find you fascinating – but getting all chatty could be a special technique that checks your behavior.
- Most hubs hold an annual lost luggage sale. After paying an entry fee, you can bid on electronics, clothes, bags, and whatnot.
- If you have an opportunity, don't exchange cash at the airport – you'll never get a good rate there.
- A medical study found out the connection between living near an airport and an increased risk of heart problems.
- Many airports have places for a quiet retreat, for example, yoga studios or even gyms with swimming pools. But they're typically hidden away – otherwise, they'll get packed with travelers.

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[BRIGHTSIDEOFFICIAL]

Hey Bright Siders! Have you ever lost something that was very important to you? What was that?

[lara_young]

I always arrive three hours early. I’d rather be able to calmly check in, go through security and hang out for a bit drinking coffee and looking around the shops than be rushing to get the flight.

[leesantos]

I feel less stress when getting there early !

[poojajagga]

Yeah I'd rather spend a few bucks on a coffee and sandwich than miss my 1000$ flight *BRIGHT SIDE* 😬

[HaXD]

Trick to not spending money at the airport: Be broke asf

[dandaadnad]

shout out to all the people like me that are watching this video, but too anxious and still going to the airport 2 hours earlier. LOL

[rachelduke]

As an airline employee who sometimes depends on people missing their flights because they show up late this video is great. In reality most people should give themselves 90 min - 2 hours unless you have tsa precheck, know the airport and more. Tsa lines can be long. Especially if you plan on checking bags or traveling with kids you need 2 hours to account for variables.

Honestly the number of inaccuracies in this video makes me question all the bright side videos I have previously enjoyed and found interesting.

[rawanalafnan]

Who just scroll into the comments😂😂I you 🙈

[rupe]

The most unpredictable part of air travel is the drive to the airport if it's in a big city, like NY or similar. That said, I would think it's best to have the car parked about 2 hours ahead of the flight, or a drop off at the terminal door 90 minutes ahead of the flight. What you are aiming for is a smooth transition to be at your gate a few minutes before boarding, which is roughly 30 minutes before the posted flight time. What they don't cover in this video is that international terminals tend to be more crowded, which is why it may take longer. Another thing they didn't cover is ALWAYS carry a photo ID when traveling and ALWAYS put all of your normal pocket items into your shoulder bag when going through security. You can't believe how much time that will save for you and everyone behind you.

[jdvlogs]

This guy really wants us missing our flights

[onlineo]

You don't need to reach your airport 2 hour early. The issue is that if you reach it late you miss your flight, now let's say its a holiday /vacation. Our last one was London Heathrow to LAX. We live 3-4 hour taxi away from Heathrow (taxi is roughly the same price as train or airport parking, and more convenient as no drive after a long flight and no hauling car seats and suitcases and tired toddlers from 1 train to a subway train etc.) . Our flights cost £2000 premium economy for a family of 4. If we get stuck in traffic or a queue at immigration and we miss the flights we loose the flight. We also loose the £6000 of accommodation we have prepaid and the car hire and our whole holiday. So our next option would be to rebook flights for sometime in the following 24 hours. Most planes were fully booked and we would be paying another £4000 extra for our flights. Not wanting this stress is why we arrived at the airport 2.5 hours early.

[karlwalentin]

But... I go to the airport early because I love watching planes in the airporrt.

[ghost]

I always thought the reason to arrive 2 hours early so TSA can take 90 minutes to do a 5 minute job. Welcome to security theater...

[scigirl]

I want to be early and you should arrive 2 hours early because the lines to ticket counter and security gates get long. Your flight could also be early and they may board and/or leave early. It's when your plane is delayed and that is when you want to occupy yourself with things to do while you wait.
Good video though and I like to plan my travels and I always check my flight status.

[mvmbapple]

I always come 4 hours before the flight. I have time to finish all the processing with no stress and my extra time I can do window shopping, watching the airplane, take selfies and read ebook.

[smmmyummm]

As someone that works at the airport, I can tell you one thing. It is always better for you to come early than late. Because of videos like this, people arrive 1 hour before the flight leaves, which can cause an airline to be late. Why?
Most airlines close their check-in counters 1 hr before the flight leaves for intl flights and 45 mins before domestic flights. On a daily basis, we refuse around 40 to 50 people on average because they arrive late or they don't have the proper travel documents.

Please arrive 4 hours before departure time as there might be traffic on the road, or a huge lineup at checkin counters, or at security. Just because you are late, it does not mean that you will be allowed to go in front of everyone in the lineup. We have forced people to stay in line before and you might be surprised on how their turn came up 1.5 hours after the plane has left.

[Legoluke]

I always plan for 3 hours since I live about 45 minutes from the airport — an hour to get there and get from parking lot shuttle hut to bag check (unless I have a friend dropping me off so I don’t have to worry about parking rates) then the standard 2 for all the other crud. Rather be early than running late

[neilstrickland]

I live less than half an hour from our airport. Sure, arriving at the airport an hour before departure may seem smart, but I often have checked baggage and I have to get boarding passes at the kiosk, etc. Depending on how many people are on my flight and where the ultimate destination is, I would rather be two hours early to allow for time to get through security (sometimes the lines are quite long) and then relax.

[statikcitten]

Yeah tell that to the people waiting in a 30 minute ticket counter line, and a 30-40 minute security line at the Atlanta airport. Good luck getting to your gate before the aircraft door closes.

[PrincessAlexaLaboy]

Well, planes starts boarding 30 mins earlier before departure. So you still gotta be 60 mins ahead of time for check ins and customs 🛃