Traditionally, airlines have said to arrive early at the airport about two hours before domestic flights and three hours before international flights. But a new TikTok travel trend, known as “airport theory,” has travelers essentially throwing their middle fingers up to this conventional advice. The theory instead suggests passengers can arrive shockingly close to departure, sometimes as little as 15 minutes before takeoff, and still make their flight.
@michael.dicostanzo Can Airport Theory survive the world’s BUSIEST airport?? 👀✈️🤔 #airportheory #atlantaairport #challenge
♬ original sound – Michael DiCostanzo
Supporters of “airport theory” argue that arriving hours before departure is a waste of time, and you’ll just end up sitting at your gate and waiting. These risk-takers say conservative arrival times are more for the airline’s convenience than the passenger’s. Several TikTok posts of passengers successfully boarding flights in record times have gone viral. But not everyone’s convinced. One TikTok comment on a successful attempt says, “So you had precheck, didn’t check a bag and were at the nearest terminal? Now let’s do it when it’s not all the optimal situations.” Other posts of passengers left stranded at closed gates have shown it doesn’t always go so smoothly.
@jenny_kurtzz i would not recommend 😩😭✈️ #airporttheory #airport #flying #fyp #lifehack #tipsandtricks
♬ son original – tswiftmusic
It seems to have worked in some cases, so the argument that conventional advice is too conservative isn’t completely debunked. If you aren’t checking a bag and know your airport inside and out, it’s possible you could cut it closer than the airlines recommend. But this “airport theory” is terrible advice because there are too many factors that could leave you stranded — and that inconvenience is a bigger waste of time than chilling at your gate.
Why the ‘airport theory’ is a big gamble
