in today's video I'll be diving into
just how early you actually need to be
at the airport in order to make your
flight I'll also be sharing some travel
hacks and strategies to help you
estimate how long you will actually be
at the airport as well as how to choose
your seat for free
[Music]
deciding when to arrive at the airport
is going to depend on whether or not you
were able to check in online and receive
your boarding pass in advance one major
update for travelers to know is that
many airlines have extended their online
check-in window from 24 hours before the
flight is set to depart to 48 hours
before the departure time it's during
this online check-in window that you'll
confirm with the airline that you will
be taking the flight and where you will
be able to get your boarding pass
emailed to you before you even arrive at
the airport this allows you to go
straight through the security line
without having to wait in the check-in
line for an airline representative to
give you a ticket an added benefit of
checking in online is that you are
usually able to select your seat at this
time for free but to make the most of
this perk you are going to want to check
in as soon as the check-in window opens
check your airline's website to know
exactly when the online check-in window
opens and then set a calendar reminder
for that time so you are one of the
first passengers to check in let us know
down in the comments if you prefer a
window or an aisle seat I personally
prefer an aisle seat on the left side of
the plane this way I can work on my
laptop and extend my arm into the aisle
without poking someone in the middle
seat I have a full video on how to pick
the best seat on an airplane for you to
watch next down in the description and
on to one of the most common questions
that I get how early do you really need
to arrive at the airport in order to
catch your flight in a situation where
you were able to check in online you
have your boarding pass and you are
traveling with only carry-on luggage you
can arrive at the airport and head
straight to the security screening since
you are skipping the check-in line
security is now the only line that you
will have to wait in and you will likely
be fine to arrive three hours prior to
your international flight departure as
the TSA recommends or two hours prior to
a domestic flight to avoid any
unnecessary Airline stress I will
usually add 30 minutes to both of these
timelines and whether you checked in
online or not another reason that you
will have to wait in the check-in line
at the airport would be if you are not
traveling with just a carry-on and you
have luggage that needs to be checked
in-person check-in is going to open
somewhere between five and three hours
before your flight is set to depart even
more important to know than when
check-in opens would be to know when
check-in closes the in-person check-in
will close and you will not be able to
check your bag or receive your boarding
pass roughly 45 minutes prior to
departure for a domestic flight or one
hour prior to departure for an
international flight so check those TSA
wait times before leaving you home but
do aim to arrive giving yourself three
and a half hours for an international
flight and two and a half hours for a
domestic flight again I would personally
add an extra 30 minutes to both of those
times just to avoid any stress you are
able to ask the airline representative
which seat has been assigned to you and
then you can ask to have it changed
usually free of charge this is another
added benefit to getting to that
check-in line as soon as the in-person
check-in opens because you will have
more seats to pick from being one of the
first passengers to check your luggage
is also going to ensure that there is
space for it and I know that three and a
half hours can sound like a lot of time
at the airport but if you don't have
your boarding pass and you are checking
a bag I do think this is necessary you
need to get through the check-in line
sometimes you have to go through
immigration and then the security line
where you could be randomly selected for
additional screening after that you
still have to get to your gate which may
be a long walk or even a shuttle ride
away you will also want to take into
consideration how early boarding for
flights actually Begins for a long
flight with many passengers boarding can
begin up to one hour before the flight
is set to depart and you will want to be
at your gate for when boarding begins
and get on the plane as soon as you are
vegetable I used to like to wait until
the end of the boarding process and
board the plane last I would then scope
out any empty seats and see what I could
potentially move to once the plane is
taken off this is a terrible idea now
since planes are usually full and
overhead bin space is limited if you are
one of the last passengers to board the
plane you may have trouble finding
anywhere to store your carry-on and then
have to check your carry-on suitcase
another key deadline to know when going
to the airport is that boarding is going
to close somewhere between 30 minutes
and 50 minutes before the flights
departure time this is key for new
Flyers to know if you arrive at your
gate at your flight time you will not be
getting on the plane so strategies like
traveling with just a carry-on getting
your boarding pass during the online
check-in and checking the security wait
times can help you to shorten and also
estimate how long you will need to be at
the airport before your flight I
personally like using my flight or
tsawatetimes.com
where you can not only get current wait
times but also see the average wait
times by hour and by airport to help you
with your planning since there are so
many unexpected variables you could end
up with longer wait times than you
expect which is why I would recommend
any traveler arrive 3.5 hours at least
before an international flight and 2.5
hours before a domestic flight you can
let me know down in the comments if you
think that is just ridiculous in my
experience it's not and it is going to
save you from extra stress thanks for
watching and I hope you'll subscribe to
join us back here for more travel tips
and hacks next week bye