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 this explains the uptick in people showing up late. I work for an airline. There is a reason for the 2 hr early rule. 1. The ticket counter/bag check typically closed 30 mins before departure, this is to allow all bags make it through TSA screening (yes your bags are screened) and put on the right cart to go to the right plane. We need to give that count to the bag room 30 mins. 2. The Gate to the jet bridge closed 15 mins before departure. Airlines get fined by the min they are late. Once passengers are loaded there are a number of things that need to be done before they take off including a manual head count, verifying infants and pets in the cabin and reassigning seats for those unable to perform duties such as emergency exits. The luggage guys also have to make sure all the gate checked luggage and strollers make it under the plane.
It may seem like an inconvenience for you to be at the airport but it’s more of an inconvenience to the 150+ passengers sitting on the plane waiting for you. We will assign your seat to a standby if you have not arrived at the 15 min mark. If you show up to the ticket counter with checked bags and ice shut down my computer and given the bag count there is absolutely nothing I can do. The computers will not boot back up to add luggage for that flight. You can demand to speak to my manager, write down my name and call corporate but the answer will be the same. The times are given for a reason.
All that being said if you aren’t checking bags and hr is usually ok in smaller airports to get through security but I would never suggest less than that.
Use your common sense to this advice from Tic Tok. I fly from Hartford, CT. to San Jose, CA annually. TSA lines are a lot longer than Hartford and it can take up to 30 minutes to get through because San Jose TSA seems to be pickier about what’s in your carry on luggage. Right there you would have missed your flight.
The fact that you have to write a column telling people things to consider to do this gives me zero confidence in the TikTok generation’s mental ability
As someone who mostly flies standby, i approve of this trend
@Jacobin777 — Thank you for responding. We do travel quite similarly, actually. Also OneWorld Emerald, so those benefits do help, especially abroad. DEL Terminal 3 (the international one) is a good example of an airport that I prefer to be at ‘early’ because even in Business Class it can take awhile to check-in, proceed through exit immigration, security, and the gates can be far away. At least they expanded that Encalm lounge to add (paid) sleeper chairs, and it is nice to get some fresh masala dosas in the mornings, if you can manage access there. And, very true, it all depends who you are traveling with, alone, spouse, kids, elderly family, etc., that makes a HUGE difference.
It depends on the airport and time of day. At ATL during Thanksgiving rush the security line can exceed an hour and a half.
Admittedly this isn’t recent, but in 1991 in Burlington I showed up 2 hours before flight time. I was the only person at the ticket counter. I started walking to my gate and discovered that the security checkpoint was closed. It only opened an hour before the next flight out.
At BWI my wife had a 6 a.m. flight. So I dropped her off at 4 a.m. and got a message a bit later that the ticket counters and security lines opened at 5 a.m. so we then started showing up just before 5 for the drop off the next times she took that flight.
It is sad how far the dummying down of Gen Z has gotten. Glued to their phones endlessly watching TT. Keep it up, at least you will learn the hard way how things really work.
Who the heck would take advice from TikTok
I used to be one of those people who mocked others who would get to the airport extra early. That is until I missed my flight because an object fell off a truck in front of me and shattered my windshield. Now, I arrive early and relax before my flight.
@1990 – No worries! Having status while flying economy with family makes a huge difference – at least to us and that is why I’m still loyal to One World/AA. All the small stuff makes a difference.
Fortunately I haven’t had too much of a problem at DEL the past 2-3 years, even when I have to switch terminals and carriers (such as AA JFK-DEL and Indigo to DEL-PAT airport and return).
Yes you can do it! Break the rules! I fly free on standby and will gladly take your seat! Be cool and follow TikTok.
I know AUS is such a mess lately, between rapid expansion and the shortage of TSA agents who can’t afford to live in Austin.They also test out a lot of TSA changes with AUS. But I still feel so lucky to have it as my home airport. Almost all local food options, only one terminal (not counting the “side airport” as I call it), taxiing is fast, and 95% of the time it takes me less than 5 minutes to get through TSA PreCheck.
That said there is some strategy; I don’t fly out on Thursday or Sunday afternoons or Monday mornings; I like morning flights; I almost always book with two backup flights later in the day. And I’ve adjusted my arrival time from “insanely late” to “arrive 10 minutes before boarding” mostly so I can snag some juiceland or tacodeli before the plane. But the only time I’ve missed a flight in years was when I forgot trump was coming to town and the highways were literally shut down.
I miss flying out of National sometimes – you can’t beat their efficiency! – but give me Austin’s food every time. It’s the only airport I’ve ever actually not minded being in.
If your “job” is *Influencer* then you don’t really have a job. You have an incessant , unhealthy need for attention.
What kind of idiot takes travel advice from TicToc or whatever it’s called? This fixation on when to arrive at the airport is ridiculous. Experienced flyers know that anything can hold up a security line, even a priority one. Wasting time and money rebooking a missed flight is not a good thing. Get there early, set up a nest at an empty gate and get some work done … or just read a book. Oh that’s right, nobody reads books anymore. They prefer to waste time reading inane websites.
This is hilarious!!!!
Grow up people and stop listening to social media for advice. I wish they would lose their money instead of possibly getting rebooked. How stupid is this younger generation to think they are so entitled to be able to pull this off.
@jsn55 — Are you doing a purposeful mispronunciation ‘schtick’ and/or a pretend-to-not-know-what-something-is-called ‘bit’? Because, it’s no better than when Nancy P did it: ‘Tic-tac-toe’. Oof. Yeah, I’mm’a go out on a limb and guess you don’t like the former Speaker much either. (Nobody does, mostly because of her blatant insider trading.) And yea, I don’t give a rat’s ass about Tick Tock, either–or the fools who trust it for ‘advice,’ much less Facebook or any other social network. It’s like you’re saying: ‘Wait…people can ‘lie’ on the internet? What!’ But, don’t you dare defame Gary or VFTW…we got only ‘experts’ on here. Psh. Live a little.
Never underestimate the stupidity and gullibility of many Americans.
As an exemplar, 49.8% of those who voted [34% of eligible voters went to the polls] chose a candidate who repeatedly promised that “inflation will end on day one and prices will plummet on everything from gas to groceries.” All in a free market economy.
AHHHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAA!!!!!
If you’re stupid enough to show up 15 minutes before your flight, you’re too stupid to fly. Period.
The airports I go through most often are JFK, LaGuardia and, Istanbul airport .
I have precheck, use carry-ons only, and am set up to go through security long before I get to the scanner. Sometimes the system works and I am at my gate or the lounge at JFK within 20 minutes. But, I follow the airport guidelines about arriving at the airport at least two hours before my domestic flights and three to four for international ones. There were times I just made boarding. People who take advice from tick tock deserve everything they get.
Anyone listening to advice from tic Tok is a blooming idiot.
@M.K.M. The Perspective — Yup, He promised to ‘fix everything’ on ‘Day 1,’ and now it’s Day 46. Many ‘swing’ voters said that they voted based on the ‘price of eggs’–yet, those prices are now 2-3x higher (not lower), if ever ‘in stock.’ I wonder if they realize they’ve been conned–probably not. And we know that there is and has been a bird flu affecting egg supply, and that solutions do ‘take time,’ but that was not what was promised–he promised ‘Day 1’ and that didn’t happen. How He was given another chance to screw us after all He did the first time (namely, the pitiful pandemic response, and His January 6th, 2021, attempted coup, really stick out to me), is still beyond me. I guess we all ‘deserve’ to suffer so that He can be our king again.
Gads…
Why would you jeopardize your travel by listening to knuckleheads
Just another example of people being idiots.
and THIS (TikTok skit) explains why we have the POTUS we have.
Taking advice from TikTok is almost as intelligent as responding to texts (supposedly from your bank) asking for your login credentials and social security number. But hey, you do you…. LOL
Maybe listening to TikTok is just one step less stupid than listening to X or TruthSocial.
Maybe folks who listen to any of the three shouldn’t be flying, much less voting!!
Every nonrev says, “More of this, please!”
I appreciate watching the ‘entitled’ who are denied boarding while nonrevs are being boarded.
It’s a Chef’s Kiss when they also get to watch as their bags are removed while the a/c is still attached to the jetway.
Them: You won’t delay the flight for me but you will delay it to pull my bags?!
Agt: Heck yeah, Princess!
Funny all the people blaming all tt people for being dumb watch CNN and MSM for “accurate ” information … play stupid games win stupid prices !
While every airport is different as are the first flight of the day, when to get to the airport will vary and never has 15 minutes before takeoff is smart. Then again, listening to someone on social media is probably not the best advice. Even folks on this forum is giving poor advice since there are 5:00 flights out of BWI and the security line opens before 5AM. That is why you don’t want to use SM as a fact source, many times people are either just poorly informed or trying to screw people up
Must be the same people who voted for trump because of some influencer or podcasters. BIG FAIL.
The only thing more stupid than Tik Tok are the morons who believe what they see on Tik Tok
Internet “intelligence” < wisdom
Well. I say… Let’s make America great. Strengthen our borders. Get rid of the illegals.
Well, if its on Tik Tok, it must be true!
If you are listening to someone you don’t know on tik to for travel advise you are some kind of stupid. The internet is ruining the world.
“If you never miss a flight, you’re spending too much time in airports.”
I’ll take this advice, from a Nobel Prize winning economist, George Stigler, over TikTok… but it is true. Simple math.
I’ve missed two flights. One was road construction, the other was (intentionally) for a girl. I’ve come close a few times – a border control issue with a faulty passport led to a 15 minute departure delay in HBA, but thankfully Air New Zealand waited for me.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/case-missing-your-next-airline-flight-180951650/
This really only works if you have KCM and good running shoes.
That said, please keep doing this GenZ, you’re making my commute easier!
p. s. Stop blaming GenX for this social media nonsense. Zhang Yiming (ByteDance) is 41. Mark Zuckerberg (Meta) is 40.
These are millennials.
Elon Musk is 53, but we have officially kicked him out of our generation. He gives off serious Boomer vibes.
One more thing: it’s perfectly reasonable to give yourself additional time to get though security and locate your gate (which will certainly be at the very end of the concourse.) However, once you locate your gate sit down and relax. Hovering around the boarding lane is annoying to everyone. You’re in Zone 8. You can probably have a steak dinner before it’s time for you to board.
Airline employees have an ugly term for this. (Not going to repeat it. If you know, you know.)
@Peter Westwood — This is not generational warfare. It’s class warfare. The oligarchs weaponized social media from a town square to a dystopian circus—all so they distract us while they steal.
But anyway, on airport etiquette, you know there really isn’t really any set rule. Also, it’s not that pejorative or offensive because ‘gate lice’ isn’t always a bad thing. Some airlines actually request that passengers line up at the appropriate zones to facilitate a more efficient boarding process.
Not everyone is going to conform to our personal expectations—that’s fine. You do you. They’ll do them. And just because they’re younger than you, it doesn’t mean they won’t board ahead of you in Zone 1. Let’s try to be more kind, less cruel to others.
Anyone doing this has a smooth brain. Like literally smooth as a marble
Only happens to the dumb 25 and under crowd
Why is this news? And do people really post videos of themselves missing a flight? Lol, what a waste of the internet.
Never take advice from those who don’t have to deal with the consequences.
My apartment in Phoenix was next to the airport.
From locking my door, to gate at T4 A gates would be 13-16 minutes walking and sky train.
T3 is 15-20 minutes.
In addition to pre check/clear always have access to the 1st class/priority lane.
This is just another example of the lack of critical thinking and basic common sense that is becoming a societal norm. So many people seem to be mindless lemmings waiting for someone else to tell them how to think, and they just do what they’re told.
I don’t know if it’s poor education or misguided devotion to talking heads on screens, but whatever the cause, people seem to be less and less capable of effectively thinking for themselves.
If their lack of intelligence gets them into a bad situation, they just make a video documenting their stupidity and find solace by posting it on SM. It’s a self-supporting stupidity cycle.
These lemmings are more than a little frightening if this is the future.
Omg people really are completely gullible and brainless. But sure get all your information from other brainless people on a social site. Yikes
Everyone, this one trick guarantees a first class upgrade. Every time!
Show up at the gate 10 minutes before flight time, or less. Guaranteed first class upgrade because they gave away your seat to a loser standby like me, trying to get home sooner. If you reach your gate with more than 5 minutes to spare, hide out behind the trash cans, so the agent can’t hand you a boarding pass and make you sit with us poors. The horror Pretend! Just pretend you’re a janitor or soemthing and refuse to take the economy class boarding pass.
And when everyone at the gate points fingers and laughs at you, you can make a tiktok and score bigly on engagement.
You can pay for your next flight with the views abd heart-reactions.
See? Tiktok rulez!
Follow me for more tips on scoring free *t.
Your theory might work for you as long as most other people don’t follow it, but if 20-30 people consistently walked up at the last moment with bags to be gate checked, I bet the airlines quickly stop rewarding that behavior by refusing liability for getting the bag on the flight or delivering at the other end.. It is by most people “following the rules” that makes it possible for others to take advantage of the system, but do you really think an airplane could be boarded in 20-30 minutes if everyone showed up late? The answer is NO. Stop treating getting there late as a way to game the system and be thankful that sometimes everything might still go okay on those occasions when you are legitimately running late.
Absolutely a trend of buffoons.
But it does make me chuckle seeing all these “Gen Z morons will follow anything they see on TikTok,” as if other generations aren’t brainwashed by social media and news outlets. Be smart enough to see your own deficiencies or you’re just as hopeless.
I suspect some.of the advice has to do with making sure you get to the airport on time. If you focus on departure, you plan differently than if you’re thinking about 2.5 hours before a flight.
Last time I was in Salt Lake my scheduled Uber just never materialized. Thankfully I had planned to be early – this gave me enough time to download Lyft, recover my account and book a trip to the airport. Arrived at the gate just as my group was being called.