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> That sounds pretty exceptional. 45 minutes is usually given as the minimum time to go through airport security, since you have to allow enough time to not mis

> That sounds pretty exceptional. 45 minutes is usually given as the minimum time to go through airport security, since you have to allow enough time to not miss your flight if you do get pulled out for some reason (or be prepared to sometimes miss your flight, I guess). Airports are usually about an hour away from anywhere in the city you're going to. So I'd say 3 hours' overhead is the norm, and it gets worse if you're trying to fly after a day's work because the transport system of the place you're going to is usually shutting down by the time you arrive. This document [0] has airport-to-city-center-by-taxi timings for top European airports. 1 hour seems to be the absolute worst, 27 min average, 22 min median. And it only gets better with smaller cities [1]. Almost any airport nowadays lets you walk in with your boarding pass. You scan it, go through security and go straight to the gate. You'd need to be very unlucky with unusually clogged security (unlikely early in the morning). Or be dealing with a huge airport where it takes a long time to get to the gate. Boarding for short flights shouldn't close earlier than 20 minutes before departure. For large airports 40 mins should be enough. For tiny regional airports 30. Even check-in counters will sometimes close as late as 30 mins before departure. Also note that the arrival time given on the ticket, isn't touchdown time. It's either aircraft door open or final parking. There's often a bit of padding added too. So for arrival 10 extra minutes should be the absolute worst case. Very conservative average for first-time travel between sizable EU cities: 50 mins before departure + 2 x 30 mins for taxis + 10 mins for exiting the airport = 120 min = 2 hours. Subtract 10-30 minutes for repeat travelers. In my example I was going from a small city to a capital city and the breakdown was roughly: 10m taxi + 30m before departure (20m would have been fine too!) + 20m taxi + 0m for exit (disembarked before claimed arrival time) = 1 hour. Need to be very unlucky to hit 3 hours. [0] https://ec.europa.eu/transport/sites/transport/files/modes/air/studies/doc/intermodality/2010-airport-accessibility-in-eu.pdf https://ec.europa.eu/transport/sites/transport/files/modes/a... [1] in my example the airport was in fact closer to my house than the train station. No other departures at the same time, 0 people in line for security, 1 minute walk to the gate.

lmm 6y ago
> This document [0] has airport-to-city-center-by-taxi timings for top European airports. 1 hour seems to be the absolute worst, 27 min average, 22 min median. And it only gets better with smaller cities [1]. Sure; rail times were what I was assuming; your document puts them in the region of 40 minutes from a "hub" (though there's a lot of variation), so I stand by about an hour from a typical origin/destination. If you routinely take taxis then fair enough, but that comes with its own set of downsides. > Boarding for short flights shouldn't close earlier than 20 minutes before departure. For large airports 40 mins should be enough. For tiny regional airports 30. Even check-in counters will sometimes close as late as 30 mins before departure. I've never seen an airport that didn't officially advise 45 minutes, and every major airport I've been to had check-in counters closing an hour before departure. (Whereas, Eurostar excepted, the official number I've heard from train operators is 5 minutes). You can probably get away with less most of the time, sure, but I wouldn't want to take the risk.
- auganov 6y ago
  Wizzair, 40m for baggage drop-off https://wizzair.com/en-gb/information-and-services/faq/frequently-asked-questions https://wizzair.com/en-gb/information-and-services/faq/frequ... Air Baltic, 40m for baggage drop-off, 30m for business class https://www.seatguru.com/airlines/Air_Baltic/checkin.php https://www.seatguru.com/airlines/Air_Baltic/checkin.php Polish airlines, 30m (also note many different airports around Europe are listed under 30m) https://www.lot.com/ge/en/at-the-airport https://www.lot.com/ge/en/at-the-airport Munich Airport, 45m with luggage, 35m without https://www.icelandair.com/support/airports/munich-muc/ https://www.icelandair.com/support/airports/munich-muc/ Heathrow, the busiest in Europe, 45m for short haul flights, 35m cut-off for security. https://www.britishairways.com/en-us/information/airport-information/london-heathrow-airport/heathrow-t5 https://www.britishairways.com/en-us/information/airport-inf... Alitalia, 40m from Rome Fiumicino https://www.alitalia.com/en_en/fly-alitalia/check-in/check-in-time-limits.html https://www.alitalia.com/en_en/fly-alitalia/check-in/check-i... And again, these don't matter to us if we have out boarding pass and only carry-on luggage. But it clearly demonstrates arriving 45 minutes before departure is hardly tight. And many airports and airlines don't consider 30 minutes crazy.

lmm 6y ago

> This document [0] has airport-to-city-center-by-taxi timings for top European airports. 1 hour seems to be the absolute worst, 27 min average, 22 min median. And it only gets better with smaller cities [1]. Sure; rail times were what I was assuming; your document puts them in the region of 40 minutes from a "hub" (though there's a lot of variation), so I stand by about an hour from a typical origin/destination. If you routinely take taxis then fair enough, but that comes with its own set of downsides. > Boarding for short flights shouldn't close earlier than 20 minutes before departure. For large airports 40 mins should be enough. For tiny regional airports 30. Even check-in counters will sometimes close as late as 30 mins before departure. I've never seen an airport that didn't officially advise 45 minutes, and every major airport I've been to had check-in counters closing an hour before departure. (Whereas, Eurostar excepted, the official number I've heard from train operators is 5 minutes). You can probably get away with less most of the time, sure, but I wouldn't want to take the risk.

auganov 6y ago
Wizzair, 40m for baggage drop-off https://wizzair.com/en-gb/information-and-services/faq/frequently-asked-questions https://wizzair.com/en-gb/information-and-services/faq/frequ... Air Baltic, 40m for baggage drop-off, 30m for business class https://www.seatguru.com/airlines/Air_Baltic/checkin.php https://www.seatguru.com/airlines/Air_Baltic/checkin.php Polish airlines, 30m (also note many different airports around Europe are listed under 30m) https://www.lot.com/ge/en/at-the-airport https://www.lot.com/ge/en/at-the-airport Munich Airport, 45m with luggage, 35m without https://www.icelandair.com/support/airports/munich-muc/ https://www.icelandair.com/support/airports/munich-muc/ Heathrow, the busiest in Europe, 45m for short haul flights, 35m cut-off for security. https://www.britishairways.com/en-us/information/airport-information/london-heathrow-airport/heathrow-t5 https://www.britishairways.com/en-us/information/airport-inf... Alitalia, 40m from Rome Fiumicino https://www.alitalia.com/en_en/fly-alitalia/check-in/check-in-time-limits.html https://www.alitalia.com/en_en/fly-alitalia/check-in/check-i... And again, these don't matter to us if we have out boarding pass and only carry-on luggage. But it clearly demonstrates arriving 45 minutes before departure is hardly tight. And many airports and airlines don't consider 30 minutes crazy.