Time to arrive at the airport

I would never only give 60 minutes The airports advise 2 hours and I always give at least two hours it can be boring but I d much rather be bored sit have a coffee sandwich look round the shops, people watch, Nothing worse than getting to the airport in a rush I m travelling on Monday its only an hours flight but I ll still be there two hours before
Are you arriving with son or getting to the airport independently if the latter I d get there when you are comfortable, if you are all arriving together you haven't a lot of choice really except keep your fingers crossed

No, we do as you do, in fact even earlier, and we do 'sail through'
Any later leaves hardly any time if something goes wrong on the way there.

Sixty minutes sounds plenty to me. We're flying to France next week and will already have checked in online, only have cabin bags with us, don't wish to do any air side shopping, so thirty minutes before will be our aim.

It is not often that I have managed to get through check in and security and walk to departure lounge at Manchester in under an hour. That incudes doing on line check in and I usually fly out of peak times.

If one of your party is chosen for an in depth seach at security it can take some time, so I would never leave less than 2hrs to get through. You are often expected to go to the gate 40 mins before a flight, so you do not have much spare time.

We have this 'discussion' every time we fly. Airports bore me ridged so the least time spent there the better. Even more so if it's my local one ( Southend) because its absolutely freezing with the air con.

Ooops sorry, I didn't see the Manchester bit, so probably a different story.

Two hour check in is for long-haul flights, not short-haul

Unless you're on the final flight of the day, the rush is never over in airports, in my experience. Just because your flight has been dealt with doesn't mean there isn't another flight hot on its heels, or a previous flight isn't delayed.

I've spent a lot of time travelling when we lived abroad and it is indeed v boring at airports but it's better to be safe than sorry. Prepare in advance for the boredom, with books, magazines, music etc and there are always cafes and shops, as well. And the last minute visit to the loo before boarding!

We often fly from Manchester airport,on short-haul flights.We travel to the airport by train so usually plan to arrive about three hours before our flight just in case of hold-ups on the way. Although we use on-line check-in there's still the security checks which can be slow and often a long walk to the Gate, once the number has been announced. I would never risk cutting it fine especially on a Saturday in the school holidays, rushing small children through the crowded concourse. Nightmare!

My holiday starts at the airport . I like a coffee, some duty free shopping, a leisurely drive on my scooter to the gate .

Your sons idea sounds like hell on earth to me grannysue

Thanks for all your advice GN's . I hate being rushed...I drop things and forget things, so I am going to insist that we arrive two hours before.
Jet2 says two hours advised for this flight.
It will all be worth it once we get to our destination!

Thirty minutes before sounds like cutting it very fine to me! What if there are traffic hold-ups on the way or other delays? Some airlines will not allow you to check in that late anyway.

We got to a local airport one hour in advance once (late for us but we were having a lift there) and we were the last ones to check in and they had been 'waiting for us'.

If we are going long-haul we use National Express and the coach timings mean that we arrive at the airport hours in advance. We used to enjoy a meal and a drink before the flight but unfortunately the food at T2 at Heathrow was dire last time.

En route to Heathrow for Sweden (with my usual tendency to be too early) the traffic slowed right down to under 40mph on the M25 , what I understand is called a "rolling road block" to allow for the clearing up of debris from the carriageway ahead of us. Fortunately we were near the front but it still added 15 minutes to my journey.
Better to relax with a coffee than stress about time (the security queues were also long, but moving)

Yes, of course one hour is enough, till the time when it's not! . Usually it'll be fine, but it just takes a long check-in queue or your being picked for a baggage check and you'll end up at the very least stressed and narky, not a good way to start your holiday. Surely we've all seen the person barging people aside because their plane's boarding, or rushing off to queue to buy a last-minute fast track ticket? Who wants to be that person?

We once arrived early for a flight to find it had just been cancelled. It would have been the last flight of the day. The previous one was still boarding and the first six early birds were rushed straight through the,airport and onto that. DH hasn't complained since about getting there in good time!

We have flown twice this year and both times have been told to get to the airport 3 hours before our flights due to 'increased security'. We did as we were asked and there were no queues for security whatsoever, we went straight through. We usuaally go 2 hours before the flight and sometimes the queues have been horrendous.

I am always at the airport ages before I need to be. I find it much less stressful that way. I hate having to sit in a taxi or on a bus in a traffic jam worrying about the time. Once I've checked in, been through security etc I love to sit and "people watch" for an hour or two !

I suppose it is very different if you have children to entertain for a couple of hours though. So maybe you will just have to trust them and "chill" as my sons would say.

Hope you all have a lovely holiday.

We always arrive 3hrs before boarding and check into excutive lounge for 2hrs and relax there with a decent meal/breakfast/ papers our holiday starts here for us,it costs less than the over priced food halls and luke warm drinks served much better to arrive with plenty of time to spare than rushing to the gate at the last minute.

I seriously never realised that other airports require you to check in 45 minutes to one hour before your short haul flight. We always use LCY and only have to be there 20 minutes before departure (cabin bags only), though we usually aim for half an hour before. There's only one terminal, so there's no walking to the gates and there's no shopping to speak of either. For me the journey isn't part of the holiday, just a means to an end, so even stopping for a coffee before departure has no appeal. I'd rather be the one with no time to spare, just on the run.

We generally try to allow 3 hours. By the time we've had a look round the shops, perhaps chosen a couple of books, bought a few odds and ends and had something to eat and drink, it's not that far off boarding time. I much prefer to get there early than have the stress of a delay beyond our control and the panic of trying to get there in time.

If we are flying from our nearest airport, which is Stansted, there is not quite so much pressure to allow so much time but invariably we fly from Gatwick or Heathrow.

We usually check in about two hours before a flight, having printed boarding cards etc before hand. I find the smaller the airport the quicker you get through, although saying that Paphos (Cyprus) can be a nightmare in the holiday season as every travel company seems to want to fly out at the same time and the queue is horrendous and can take over an hour just to put your luggage through. Heathrow and Gatwick security can take ages as well. Anyway I like to sit, relax and have a meal before the flight, no need to have what poor offerings there are on the flight then.

It can be very slow getting through security at Manchester! I would arrive at least 2 hours before to allow for any delays. Security may decide to check your hand luggage which can cause a delay. Mine has been checked a couple of times and I didn't have anything in it that I shouldn't have ! It must have looked suspect on the screen!!

grannysue05 we always "do this last minute" because we hate to waste time. We use London City or Stanstead, with no problems. But I have not been in or out of Manchester, maybe you must have all that time there.

Glad to hear that Norah, I was beginning to think I was a bit strange just jumping off the tube and onto a plane in 30 minutes. LCY is brilliant - Zurich, Nice, Frankfurt, Amsterdam - we've done them all.

I've booked to fly from Toulouse to Luton for the first time. Luton is just down the M1 from where eldest lives.
Has anyone ever used Luton, and if so, do they deal quickly with arrivals?