Originally Posted by
jonu
When several friends (not necessarily frequent fliers) posted recently that they missed flights due to very long checkin and screening times, I noticed that MCO is recommending 3 hour arrival time before flights. It seems that this started pre COVID, but with staffing issues post pandemic, is this an issue with airports in the US more broadly? Other specific US airports?
In my decades of travel, I’ve always stuck with 1.5 hours without checked bags and 2 hours with checked bags. Is that changing, even if only temporarily? Having just started traveling for work again with multiple family trips planned this summer, travel definitely feels different now, but I could just be out of practice. I know status and precheck help, of course, but would like to get a sense of anything is changing overall.
ive flown during Covid. About 6 or so RTs per year.
MCO is an outlier because it’s skewed heavy as a tourist destination with families and inexperienced fliers which results in line back ups.
others it’s airport dependent. Seattle on Alaska the lines can be long. I add time flying out of there. I’ve gone to the non AS security side to go through there. You also have Seattle as a cruise port so you get the infrequent traveler factor too.
time of day matters. Early before 7 am flights…TSA runs inefficiently. Note erroneous starts on time so in small airports youcan have a backlog at security.
i usually shoot for about 2 hrs with checking a bag then add some based on time of day and airport and time of year