A viral TikTok trend has emerged called “airport theory” that advises arriving at the airport just 15 minutes prior to departure – the claim is that you can still make it through security and board before the doors close.
Of course most airlines will give away your seat if someone is standing by for it 15 minutes prior to departure, and close the doors 10 minutes out. So 15 minutes is a bit of an exaggeration. But the general sentiment is right, but the advice – especially for people likely to receive it on TikTok – is not.
@itslexismith testing airport theory at LAX
However, not all attempts are successful—there are clear instances where travelers missed their flights. Reportedly the TikTok trend has led to a dramatic spike in online searches for missed flights.
@jenny_kurtzz i would not recommend ✈️ #airporttheory #airport #flying #fyp #lifehack #tipsandtricks ♬ son original – tswiftmusic
I frequently say that there’s no reason for many people to show up at the airport 2.5 hours prior to a domestic flight. Airlines and airports give very conservative guidance because (1) they don’t want to be blamed by outlier cases where someone shows up closer to departure and misses their flight, and (2) they benefit from people who are there earlier, ready to travel, and spending money at the retail shops while they wait.
However, the amount of time you should arrive prior to departure depends on:
- Checked bags. That adds time to your airport journey. How much time depends on whether you’re flying coach or in a premium cabin, whether you have status with the airline, and whether there are other options like curbside check-in that you could pay for in a pinch.
- Priority security. If you have PreCheck or CLEAR or both – and these are going to be available to you – there’s less risk that security will take inordinately long to get through. The biggest risk factor in getting through the airport is the security line. There may be almost no line at all, or it may be an hour long, and while there are ways to make educated guesses about which to expect the truth is that it simply varies. Having options to use different queues helps reduce (but not eliminate) this risk.
- Whether you have special needs and that’s not just a need for wheelchair service. It includes the need for frequent bathroom stops, or the need to shop for snacks and other items to prepare for a trip. If you must stop to buy a toy to keep a child occupied during the flight, that’s a special need too. So is having time to run a toddler around and let them get out excess energy before they’re forced to stay still for the flight.
- Which airport you’re flying from since some major airports are easy to get through while others like Miami, Austin, Denver, and Atlanta can be a disaster.
- How bad it would be to miss the flight? There are some meetings that you absolutely must get to, and some personal engagements too. You don’t want to miss your annual board meeting or your wedding! But maybe if you missed the flight to see the in-laws for Thanksgiving that’s actually ok? You made the effort and were hosed by the airline – and dodge the bullet of excruciating conversation over turkey!
If you absolutely must be somewhere, travel early and with backup options to get where you’re going in time.
However, for many trips, take ordinary care. If you have PreCheck and CLEAR and you aren’t checking bags, walking into Washington’s National airport while your plane begins boarding is actually usually ok! You might not get overhead bin space but you’ll probably have no difficulty making your flight – as long as you don’t need to stop at Starbucks or for a long potty break along the way (they have lavatories on planes).
If I want to be leisurely about it, I’ll leave home around 90 minutes before my flight. That way I’m comfortably walking into the airport an hour out, which is great even if I’m checking bags (at elite bag check, or pay for curbside – American outsourced its curbside check-in and there’s now a per bag fee which of course trades off with tips for staff). Austin airport’s security situation has gotten quite bad, with only a single checkpoint offering TSA Pre. Nonetheless, that’s plenty of time to clear security in the worst case and make it to the gate prior to boarding commencement. But I could easily shave that down 20 minutes, and my worst case scenario becomes having to gate check my bag.
It all comes down to knowing how long the different pieces of the journey are likely to take, how much buffer your planning gives you, and just how bad it would be if you suffer a two standard deviation event along the way.
Well, if one ever wanted proof that Tik Tok influencers are idiots, Q.E.D.
Well, if one ever wanted proof that Tik Tok influencers are idiots — Q.E.D.
Anyone stupid enough to try this without knowing the realities of airports gets what they deserve.
Please keep doing this tiktokers. It’ll be a massive help for me to utilize my standby flight benefits better.
Gary, I really like your posts. But today’s was disappointingly US-centric. I don’t know if most of your subscribers fly US domestic most of the time.
In my country, Canada, there is a verified traveler program, but you are only eligible to use it if you have a NEXUS card. There is no domestic equivalent of TSA pre-check. Thus the advice associated with how long it takes to get through security is not really applicable in Canada.
Canada’s largest airport by number of aircraft movements per year is Toronto Pearson (YYZ). This website tracks the current wait times for security (it’s Wednesday at 12:17 EST when I am writing this): https://www.torontopearson.com/en/airport-wait-time-dashboard
“I get my news and information from TikTok!” ( or facebook, or insta or ‘X’ or “IdiotsSocial”)
Instant disqualification from voting in any US election.
“TikTok And Find Out.”
Just one of many downsides to getting your education from social media. Makes me laugh.
As I’ve gotten older I’ve done a complete 180 on my philosophy about airports. I now show up a couple of hours early, and am likely to check my bag even if it’s a rollaboard. So much less stressful. I usually fly Delta and have lounge access which certainly helps, but I think I would do it anyway
I blame a lot of where we’ve ended up today on the weaponization of social media to divide and distract us from holding those that abuse power to account. Yes, ignorant viral ‘trends’ like this are absolutely the outcome. Now, watch as we tariff our allies and aid our former adversaries. Insane.
The later I depart for the airport the more stress I feel. I’d rather waste half an hour by arriving too early and avoid the stress.
Walk into a small, regional airport and you’re probably going to be ok walking in the door (landside) 45-50 mins before the flight leaves – if you have precheck. Its true of some larger airports as well (if you know the place well). That said, you can get badly burned too. Even some smaller airports can get you (BTV took forever early one morning, for example). And don’t get me started about DEN, MCO or ATL where the TSA can take an hour even with preCheck. I had ATL take nearly an hour with preCheck and CLEAR. It was that bad, because all of the terminals use the same screening area.
ORD or LAX, on the other hand, have multiple locations to get through TSA and access airside with the ability pass between terminals airside. You have to know stuff like this before you decide to cut it close and be “efficient” with you time. Because you may well be faced with the irony of how saving 30 minutes can end up costing you several hours and big bucks on another flight.
@AngryFlier — So true though, some of these airports, like ATL, wow, I’ve never seen security lines so long. Not to mention, you need to know when to ‘dance’ between the lines. Like, even if you have a First/Business class ticket, CLEAR, and PreCheck, if you’re in a rush, and there’s an open line, I’m fine taking off my shoes and bringing out my laptop, even if they won’t honor PreCheck benefits, especially if it’s really the difference between making or missing a flight.
@1990 I don’t blame social media. I blame the idiots who are dumb enough to believe what they read. The dumbing down of our society.
It’s official! Relying on social media for news and education and listening to 22 year old “viral video addicted” influencers DOES make you dumber.
@AngryFlier
Sometimes I wish all airports were designed like SFO or DFW with airside connections between all terminals. You get those odd ones like BOS terminal A or ORD terminal 5 that don’t connect airside to the rest of the airport and will definitely mess up a first time user.
I’m going to post on TikTok that I’m the new Commissioner of the IRS and that I need everyone using TikTok to send me $100. I’ll bet that the dolts who use TikTok will do it.
Frankly TT should be banned, not because of being a CCP tool, but the sheer stupidity of most of the content.
Looking for a reason why the public has become so ill-informed and ready to believe the stupidest shiite? TT and Twitter and FB. Don’t patronize them.
Tik Tok is the 1970s version of Acid. And in the 1970s not very smart people dropped acid. The same can be said of people that take life lessons from Tik Tok.
And you can be even dumber by throwing coffee at the gate agent when you arrive at T-10 and think that will get your on the plane.
If you’d like to enjoy your Tik Tok experience on an elevated, Earth-forward flight, please consider Delta.
@David — Idiots are nothing new. It’s the lies that concern me. Here, a silly prank causes some idiots to miss their flights. ‘Fool me once…’ Ok, this is ‘limited’ harm. Fine. Whatever. Sucks for them.
But, historically, new ‘mass media’ technologies, such as the internet and social media, as with television, radio, and the printing press before, and perhaps artificial intelligence next, are abused by bad actors who seek to obtain and keep power unjustly–sometimes it’s just to ‘profit,’ but other times, it’s to enact violent ‘revenge’ on their ‘perceived’ enemies–regardless, it often leads to great harm. I want accountability for these lies, so we do not face greater consequences as a society.
@Matt — I enjoy your ‘consider Delta’ comments. Keep climbing!!!
If one is getting their ‘expert’ travel advice (or any other advice, for that matter) from TikTok, then no offense, but they’ll get what they deserve.
I agree…2+ hours ahead isn’t necessary for most folks, but 15 minutes is crazy (not to mention if you aim for that and hit a traffic snag on the way…but I’d guess most TikTok enthusiasts probably aren’t thinking much ahead of the right now anyway…).
GenX has a lot of the blame here. They raised a generation of gullible morons and led the development of the apps that gave the gullible morons a place to congregate. I pity the world that will have to deal with the offspring of these chimps.
People who take life advice from influencers pretty much deserve whatever they get.
As to arriving at the airport an hour early, that is highly variable on working out well. Last year my wife and I were taking a dawn flight and I arrived home about 2 hours before departure to find her asleep because she had set her alarm wrong and hadn’t packed, showered, or prepared in any way. Long story short she told me to just go (it was a business trip for me) and I arrived at the airport about 75 minutes before departure. Due to impressive ineptitude by the airline – like making the family of 8 people just ahead of me readjust one pound from a suitcase to another – I got to the counter to check my bag 43 minutes before departure. The same rule stickler told me that it was too late for my checked bag and that I should have arrived at least two hours before departure. Ultimately I picked some things out of my suitcase, dropped my suitcase back in my car, then barely made my flight. Episodes like that are why I always try to arrive at least 90 minutes before departure. The stress of wondering whether you’ll make a flight just isn’t worthwhile.
My housekeeper hadn’t flown in 20+ years (if ever…I sort of think it’s never) and her teenage kids had never flown. Family going to Florida on Spirit on a Friday afternoon…I casually asked when she planned to go to LAS for departure as they had 5 suitcases. She says” we’re going to take an Uber 45 minutes prior to the flight”
Stunned, I advised luggage had to be checked in 1 hour in advance.
They ended up leaving 2 hours before the flight and barely made it.
People will listen to anything but common sense.
Usually 1-2 hours for domestic (airport/weather/traffic/# of flyers) dependent. For international, I try to show up about 30-40 minutes before check-in opens.
That’s my general rule of thumb. Each situation is different.
@Jacobin777 — Hmm. So, you ‘line-up’ 30-40 minutes before check-in ‘opens’ for international departures? I suppose lines for Economy can really stack up (but hopefully never more than 30-60 minutes waiting, and if more than that, it sounds like a poorly-run airline).
Some airports are notoriously inefficient (but again, in most cases, security and exit immigration should not be more than 30-60 minutes).
So, 3-4 hours before departure is usually ample time, but it can be a lot of waiting, especially if you do not have status, a higher class of service, or a lounge to make it a little better.
I’d say arrival immigration is where ‘times’ are so wildly different depending on the airport and country. Like, Puerto Vallarta at peak times is one of the worst (1-2 hours to enter, minimum).
@ AngryFlier It’s true that all the concourses are funneled through one (domestic) terminal, but there are four screening areas, not counting the international one. I’ve learned to always check atl.com/times/ which shows wait times reasonably well. If you have TSA Precheck, you can go to any of them. Even if not marked Precheck, they will hand you one of those cards without you having to ask. The Lower North area is often worth the short extra walk. It has a Clear lane and also the older, faster scanners rather than the slow Analogic ones.
At ATL, that is.
@Jinxed_K: So true about BOS and ORD (after I posted, I knew that someone would call me on T5…but I usually fly UA or AA so it rarely impacts me). On an average day, I pass through security at ORD T1 in an average of 5 minutes. Seriously. DFW is also a pleasure and SFO is usually good, though sometimes you need to switch to another screening area. IAH is another large airport that is usually pretty quick to get airside.
@Randy Cobb: Didn’t know about the Lower North area and will have to remember that. I usually just walk in from the airtrain (from rental car area) and go to PreCheck and it’s often horrible.
I fly out of Charlotte. Have to get to the airport almost two hours early because the security lines are insanely overloaded, the terminal is too small, and half of it is under permanent construction. Showing up 20 minutes early at CLT when it’s busy you can’t even get from the front doors to the end of the security line.
how bout if I jump for a rope ladder as it’s going down the runway?
Because of my highly classified job when I was in the United States Air Force, I am still a believer in my Dad’s WWII United States Navy mantra, “Loose lips sink ships”. Therefore, I do not participate in any social media. However, those that do participate with a “if it’s on the internet, it must be true” attitude wind up being rudely awakened as they show up at the gate AFTER the flight is closed out and wonder what went wrong. These are the same people that, sadly, do not monitor their children’s access to “anything and everything” and wonder why the child tragically died following some “dare” found on Tick Tock Crap, FaceCrook, Instacrap and the like. As “BC” said, they give me a better chance of using my flight benefits!
People‘s idiocy never ceases to amaze me …
That was dumb. Dumber for you to even post it.
According to airlines, as a general rule, passengers should be at the airport two hours ahead of time, or three hours ahead for international flights. They also tell you that programs such as TSA Pre will save you time. If you want to know the general recommendation for people with TSA Pre, according to airlines, passengers should be at the airport two hours ahead of time, or three hours ahead for international flights.
If you need to catch a plane at Las Vegas, the rule is the same, even though you might find that once you check your bags, you need to get on a train to get to the terminal, extending the time you need by another half hour. That’s in addition to the time it still takes to get to the gate once you get off the train. In a smaller airport, the walk might be a few minutes.
It shouldn’t be too hard to model the data for each airport and figure out how much time it normally takes on given days at given times to get to gates, with separate numbers for those with Clear or TSAPre. It shouldn’t be hard to go from that to the amount of time it would take to get to the gate a half hour early on days that are much worse than average, not including major holidays that could have separate recommendations.
It’s nice having an article saying that the rules are wrong, but it’s not going to tell people when to show up. In the meantime, if I follow the rules, I generally have at least an hour in the airport lounge before I need to get to the gate. That might give me time to eat, or shower before an international flight.
One hour is just not reasonable at any big or busy airport I regularly take 15 minutes to get through PreCheck or Clear and then have to 20 minutes to your gate. You are giving people advice that will cause them to miss flights.
My friend who loved to get to the airport an hour pre flight missed 3 flights last year and I ran out of sympathy.
Once again Gen Z trying to live like Gen X youth but the 90s are over. You should do a series on pre 9/11, pre shoe b#%^er, pre liguid issue, travel to educate them.
For flights at LAX I usually leave about four hours prior to the flight. For international flights using a rental car one way, using a shuttle or using Uber all take around the same amount of time. I usually get to the airport around three hours before the flight. Getting through check in, through security and getting to the gate takes some time so I am lucky if I am at the gate two hour early. I had a shuttle get stuck in traffic from an accident that delayed my arrival at the airport for more than an hour over normal arrival. Fortunately I was there before the checked baggage cutoff time but it was too close for comfort. On domestic flights I travel to a fly away location, park and take a shuttle. That takes more time but costs less. The extra time is why I also start out about four hours before flight time. Great for TikTok making flights less crowded.
Speaking for every legitimate non-revver, please continue to do this and don’t ever stop trying it. Show up 10 mins prior, really really push the boundaries.
If you jump off the Brooklyn Bridge between midnight and 04:00 you will float gently down to the East River, really, it was on Tik Tok. Just try it
And, if you’re running late, don’t stop to get coffee or you may have to throw it at someone to board.
Pre-check is not always short and fast, I was at lax pre-check line was not moving at all. One time in MIA ,global entry was 5 miles long.
But I love these idiots tiktokers you are more than welcome to show up 15 mins prior door closure so I can get on the flight on my travel benefits.
Never a good idea to show up at the gate less than 30 minutes to departure. While boarding is in progress should be the latest.
Ten years ago I was stranded in SFO as a non rev going to JFK and 2 first class passengers were in the lounge and showed up at the gate 2 minutes before the doors closed. Today their seats would have been gone. Why wait in an airline club just to get on a plane ? Same when I’m abroad . I always get to the airport 3 hrs early. Otherwise I’m sitting in my hotel room just waiting to go to the airport.