I departed EZE last night (November 29) for my UA flight to IAD. Terminal 2 was the busiest I've seen it in the last five years.

Normally I can be checked in (using the 1K/C/F line), have paid my departure tax, cleared security and customs in 30 minutes or so. But last night even though I arrived at the aiport 130 minutes before departure, I only spend 5 minutes at the UA Red Carpet Club before going to the gate for secondary inspection/wanding/manual shoe inspection, and boarding.

Even though there were only two couples ahead of me to go through the initial security questioning, one had a bottle of wine that they spent about 10 minutes arguing about (after having admitted they had the bottle in their checked luggage), before they handed it over to the security screener. The other couple needed to repack their entire luggage right in front of the checkin agent to avoid excess baggage charges. There seemed to be a lot of tourists returning to the US, seemingly unfamiliar with the current security regulations.

The departure tax line was about 70 people deep (at the usually shorter line upstairs). Mercifully hand luggage screening and immigration were only slightly longer than normal - although there were more people than usual who had seemingly lost their duplicate immigration necessary for departure

Also note that on US-bound flights, no liquids/gels more the 100 ml exemption are allowed on board even if purchased in the secure area. I knew the rules about no duty-free wine on board changed last month (as reported by Gaucho100K), but that also includes sealed bottles of water picked up at the Red Carpet Club - the gate screeners told me they thought the rule was crazy, and knew where I picked up the water.

So if you are need to check in using the economy line (and especially if you are travelling on AA with their four evening departures), get to the airport in plenty of time. My flight left full - with some passengers boarding right before departure after a seat count was completed.

John