How early do you get to the airport for a flight? Would you get there 15 minutes before takeoff or does the thought of doing so make you start to panic? The recently viral “airport theory” trend tests popular conventions, challenging people to show up just 15 minutes before their flight.
Posited as a time-saving hack meant to limit how long one has to be in the airport itself, the trend is a byproduct of consumer dissatisfaction with air travel in general (at least in the US where complaints to the Transportation Department are rising).
For many major airlines, 15 minutes before liftoff is right when boarding ends. And yet, slews of influencers and casual social media users have posted videos of themselves testing airport theory and coming out on top. Of course, not everyone does — Wired reported that Google searches for “I missed my flight” surged in the aftermath of the trend going viral. Even after “airport theory” dies down, its central question will still stand: How early should you get to the airport before your flight? There’s no universally accepted rule, but we used our social listening and analytics solution to find the leading answer.
How early should you get to the airport?
Mentions of different times in discussions of how early to get to the airport across 17 social media channels, including X, Bluesky, YouTube, and Reddit, from April 14, 2024, to April 15, 2025.
According to more than 22,300 social media posts from April 14, 2024, to April 15, 2025, the most popular time to get to the airport before a departing flight is two hours early. This aligns with the standard recommendation for domestic flights from many leading airlines. Three hours, another common official recommendation, especially for international flights, was a distant second.
Maturing and traveling makes you realize that America has no problem offering the bare minimum and selling it to you like it’s the best thing out there….this would make me actually want to get to the airport 2 hours early 😂 pic.twitter.com/gRVPxpdUIj
— Certified Hoodie Thief 🏁 (@KryssyLaReina) November 18, 2024
A significant amount of conversation about the two-hour standard was generated from November 13 to 14, 2024, when the above post went viral on X. Featuring an influencer’s video of Singapore Changi Airport’s famed indoor forest and waterfall, the post proclaims “this would make me actually want to get to the airport 2 hours early.” The post, gesturing to two hours early being the popularly accepted rule as well as a lacking standard for US airports, inspired thousands of other X users to chime in with their own air travel opinions. However, even without the virality of that X post and the flurry of conversation it sparked, two hours was still mentioned most in discussions of airport arrival times.
Which airports come up most often in discussions of how early to arrive?
Mentions of different airports in discussions of how early to get to the airport across 17 social media channels, including X, Bluesky, YouTube, and Reddit, from April 14, 2024, to April 15, 2025.
Our analysis found that of the world’s eight busiest airports the least busy of the bunch was mentioned most in social media discussions about arriving pre-flight. Los Angeles International Airport, better known as LAX, generated about 1,000 more mentions than London Heathrow, the next-most mentioned airport. This could be linked to Los Angeles’s cultural prominence as the world’s gateway to Hollywood and a frequent spot for celebrity sightings. However, it could also be linked to LAX’s notoriety for being big and bustling. Either way, the California airport takes the starring role in social media discussions about how early to get to specific airports.
Takeaways for marketers
It’s safe to say that airport theory isn’t (ahem) taking off, but the trend is successfully speaking to many people’s dissatisfaction with air travel. For some, an indoor waterfall and rainforest is the only thing that could get them to show up to the airport with a smile. However, for many others, a selection of great restaurants or places to shop is enough to get them out of the house faster. Just look to the many food and beverage publications covering the airport dining renaissance as evidence.
For marketers, airport theory highlights just how much modern air travel has become an exercise in minimizing the time spent on the most annoying parts of the process: the packing, the waiting, and the discomfort. Staying on top of relevant consumer conversations can reveal new opportunities to meet travelers needs as they get from point a to point b
