It's important to get to the airport well in advance of your flight time in order to give yourself ample time to check-in, drop off your bags, and get through airport security.
For domestic flights - at least 2 hours in advance of flight departure time.
For international flights - at least 3 hours in advance of flight departure time.
Important
- If you are traveling with family or need additional assistance checking in and boarding, consider adding additional time.
- If you are denied check-in due to late arrival to the airport, the airline may cancel your ticket and require that you purchase a new ticket to travel.
Short Layovers or Connections
To ensure a smooth connection between flights, it's important to give yourself enough time between the arrival of one flight and the departure of the next. Airlines keep this in mind when selling itineraries to prevent you from missing a flight.
The amount of time between connecting flights is referred to as "minimum connection time" in the airline industry and it's dependent on the size and configuration of each airport to allow for security checks and terminal changes. If an itinerary does not meet the minimum connection time at your connecting airport, then the flights cannot be sold and booked together.
When in doubt, select itineraries that have at least 1 hour connection time when travelling internationally or at least 30 minutes when travelling within the country.