Originally Posted by
Kiwi Flyer
Unless the airline specifically told you to check in later I'd aim to be at the airport at the normal time. Circumstances can change and you don't want to miss a flight because an expected delay turned out not to be (or to be shorter).
Since your flight is departing from EU then EU compensation rules apply - in this case for delayed flight. This doesn't change depending on when you check in.
This. ^
In Feb I received text and phone notification that a Virgin America flight was delayed several hours. I called to ask about other options and then I asked pretty much the same question as the OP. The Virgin America rep said "the flight could leave earlier if the weather and air traffic clear up". I was pretty shocked since they were the ones who told me that the flight was delayed and gave me a new, specific departure time. Needless to say, I went to the airport and waited out the delay (which was annoying since it was early morning and I had a nice, warm, comfy hotel bed at my disposal). I did not want to risk missing the flight in the event that it indeed left earlier than they planned.