If you’re calculating just how early you need to arrive at the airport to make your flight, for those flying United, you may want to add a bit more time to that calculation. As of June 3, all United Airlines passengers have to be checked in at least 45 minutes before their flight, even if you’ve skipped the bag check and packed everything in a carry-on. Before this policy change, the check-in cut off was 30 minutes before departure if you didn’t have checked bags. For international flights leaving from the U.S., you still have to check in with United at least an hour before the flight leaves regardless of whether you have checked bags or not.
This change brings United Airlines in line with the timing policy of American Airlines, while Delta is currently a hold-out with the 30 minutes for non-checked-bag passengers. If you’re at the airport checking in 45 minutes before your flight, you still have to go through security, which can be quite the wait. And if you’re flying out of somewhere like Denver, America’s largest airport, you’ll likely be having to take a train to your departure concourse and then walking to your gate. Boarding for United flights typically ends 15 minutes before the departure time, so even 45 minutes from check-in to boarding may be pushing it.
The new 45-minute rule for United Airlines could cause some passenger hardship
You can typically check in online with United up to 24 hours before your flight. But if, for some reason, you didn’t get a boarding pass with your online check-in, weren’t able to use the online service, or had some other issue, you have to check in for the flight in person. If you’ve ever been running late to get to the airport, that 15 minutes could make a big difference. There are some times when checking in for your flight early might actually be a bad call, but don’t push it so far that you end up not being able to board and having to rebook, and potentially paying a fee.
Social media platforms feature plenty of people bemoaning being denied boarding since they checked in just a few minutes after the cut-off time. Don’t let that be you! Stay on schedule (or early) as much as you can, especially with United’s new rule. Better to be bored sitting around in the airport and make your flight than stressed and having to reschedule it.
