how early do you have to go to the airport?

Question

i have a 12:20 flight from san diego to LA
how early do i have to reach the airport??

no boarding pass yet so i must check-in
2 big luggages also to check in : (

Answer 1

It depends if you are checking bags or not. If you are, I would arrive about 1 hr 30 mins early. If you are only going through security with carry on baggage and will have your boarding pass already printed out, an hour should be more than sufficient.

Answer 2

I always allow 2 hours for domestic flights and 3 hours for international flights. You never know how long the check in lines and security lines will be and I would rather have 2 hours to kill than be 30 seconds late. For a flight that short, I would consider driving. LAX can be a mess, but then maybe you are going into one of the smaller airports, Burbank, Orange County or Long Beach. They are a lot easier to get out of.

Answer 3

The rule of thumb is 'an hour to spare'. Which means you need to arrive at a minimum of an hour till flight time. Certain airlines specify 45 minutes to 1 hour for domestic flights. Some high traffic airlines may ask you to arrive 2 hours before your scheduled departure time.

So, I'd suggest you arrive at 11 - 11.20 for your 12.20 flight.

Answer 4

Generally speaking, they tell you 2 hours. If you are taking a very small commuter airline and/or not from the larger international type, then you can go later. Also, need to know what day of the week as some days are alot busier and some may be quite slow. Are you talking about going to LA (Louisiana) or L.A., Los Angeles.

Answer 5

Generally 2 hours before your flight time, but better would be more. You don't know what the queues at security will be like.

Answer 6

At least three hours before ur flight leaves

Answer 7

Always be there about 2hours before to be on the safe side.

Answer 8

Id alot of two hours...just to be safe

Answer 9

1 hr. for domestic, 2 hrs. for int,l.