WolfieG

Good Morning fellow FT'ers! For the first time in over two years, I will finally be travelling outside the Great State of Florida to New York for a couple of days (that's all the time I have due to work but better than nothing). I will be flying out of FLL on DL2416 to JFK on Thursday, May 20th, 2021, which leaves FLL at 7:45AM. Since I haven't flown in a while and know there are many changes due to COVID-19, I wanted to know about how early I should arrive at FLL? I am asking because I have not done a flight that early from there, as my last super early morning flight was from JFK. To help best answer my question, I reside in Delray Beach, just off Atlantic Ave about 3 miles west of I-95. It is highly unlikely I will be checking any bags and I will probably do an Uber or Lyft to FLL. Also, I have Pre-Check thanks to being a subscriber to Global Entry. Also, even if it is unrelated to my question, is there anything else you feel I should know? Thank you all so much and have a wonderful day!

WScottsdaleInsider

I'd recommend arriving by 6:30. That should allow you plenty of time to get through security and not have to be rushed.

Repooc17

Ditto with 630.

Assuming 745am is the departure time, boarding should start a little after 7am. Plenty of time with no checked luggage and Precheck.

Personally, I would roll in at 7am, but definitely 630am to be on the safe side. You can get there even earlier, but then you would just be waiting longer at the gate. Really up to your risk tolerance.

No matter what, just get to the gate by 730am (assuming on-time departure), as boarding door normally closes 15 mins prior.

N830MH

Actually, there is Tri-Rail from Delray Beach to Ft. Lauderdale Airport station. It will take 30 minutes to get there. There is free shuttle bus from the station. You don't have take Uber or Lyft. It is very expensive. If you catch Tri-Rail early morning. You don't have worry about your flight. You still have plenty time.

You can't take Lyft or Uber. Because the traffic is very bad on I-95. Too many rush hours. Avoid I-95 as you can. Just take Tri-Rail instead.

Mountain Explorer

Good advice here, arriving an hour or so before departure is fine. And btw, most things at the airport aren't much different than they used to be. Just wear a mask and the rest is mostly the same.

WolfieG

Thank you WScottsdaleInsider! That sounds good and assuming all goes well, I should have plenty of time to relax at the gate after clearing security .

WolfieG

That sounds about right as if memory serves me correctly, Delta generally boards flights 40 minutes prior to their scheduled departure times.

I see but I think 7am would be cutting it way too close, especially if boarding is around 7:05am. 6:30am at the latest would be preferable so I know that the hard part is done and in the worst case, I could do a little plane spotting and grab a coffee at the Starbucks.

No problem would be on the plane well ahead of 7:30am! Thank you Repooc17!

Hi N830MH! Always a pleasure to hear from you! True true I have used the Tri-Rail from Delray albeit not to the airport. That's not too bad 30-minutes on the train goes quickly. Perfect makes it easy to take the train to the plane lol (I know they had "The Train to the Plane" between Manhattan and JFK before the AirTrain in I think the 80s, before my time). Don't mind using Uber or Lyft and I find them to be fairly priced and cheaper than a car service. Mom cannot drive me as I don't want her to have to do it that early. I see that there is a train and with all said and done, I could be at Terminal 2 at about 6:10AM assuming all goes well.

Wow I didn't realize traffic on I-95 southbound is already hairy at that time of day. Should I still use Tri-Rail if I leave earlier? Definitely considering it though! Thank you again N830MH!

Hi kjnangre! I agree the advice I am getting is very good and I think an hour or so should be sufficient. Perfect perfect I will just do what I have been doing except that this time, I will be masked. Thank you so much!

ovacikar

Why did you not choose to fly out of PBI? It's 18 miles vs 32 to FLL.

WolfieG

Hi ovacikar! : D While I know PBI is closer and I happen to prefer it over FLL, I still use FLL as it is also close to home and can be cheaper than PBI sometimes. For this trip I opted for FLL as DL had no flights between JFK and PBI, PBI-LGA was $100 more roundtrip, and B6 PBI-JFK/LGA was also $100 more roundtrip. Hope this explains everything ovacikar.

N830MH

Yes, of course you can. You can take Tri-Rail. You have wake up at 4am. Take a shower. Get dressed and orders a Lyft to Delray Beach station. Catch southbound trains is at 5:11am and your trains will get there to FTL airport station is at 5:53am. You can hop on free shuttle bus. They will take you to FLL airport terminal. You have pay the fare at the station before boarding the trains. Go to vending machine.

Here’s a schedule:

WolfieG

Thank you N830MH I appreciate the detail! I would probably wake up at 4AM if not a hair earlier, which would allow me plenty of time to get ready. I could then catch an Uber or Lyft to the Delray Beach Station and get the 5:11AM train to Fort Lauderdale Airport from there. No problem could definitely buy my ticket before boarding just like the other times I have used Tri-Rail. Thank you again!

WolfieG

Hi again everyone and thank you all! I have taken all of your posts and spoke to family and friends about my trip and based on a combination of those factors, I think I will be going to the airport earlier, planning to be there at 5:30AM-5:45AM. While I understand I will be spending more time sitting at the gate, it could be worse as I know I will be on time for my flight and could pass the time eating breakfast and plane spotting. Plus, getting there is half the fun! Thank you all again and have a wonderful day!

El Boocho

Put me in the 7am group, but I can respect 6:30. 5:30 I don't know.... wait, you mean there's a 5:30 in the morning too?

WolfieG

That's OK I get that not everyone wants to mill about in the airport so if you're in the 7am group, I can definitely respect that. Haha yes I think there is a 5:30 in the morning!

writerguyfl

There's actually a Delta flight from Fort Lauderdale that leaves at 5:30am! I've done that one many times. There's nothing quite like showing up at FLL just after 4am.