How early to get to Dulles for a Southwest flight tomorrow that boards at 6:00 am and leaves at 6:30 am
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Anonymous
| We will not be checking bags and will be ubering to the airport. No precheck or anything like that. |
Anonymous
| International or domestic? Which terminal? |
Anonymous
Southwest only has a few domestic destinations from Dulles so it's not international. Security lines can often be pretty bad on early Saturdays in my experience- I think lots of people grabbing cheaper early AM departure for a quick weekend or similar. I'd say aim to arrive by 5 AM. |
Anonymous
| I do not like cutting things close so I would be there between 445 and 5 AM at the latest. I want time to go through screening, walk to my gate and have time to make adjustments if need be. |
Anonymous
| 3am. |
Anonymous
|
Here’s the thing: sometimes flights board early. In fact, my last 3 flights have boarded earlier than the initial posted boarding time.
And like another poster said, TSA lines can be crowded even in the early morning hours on a Saturday when everyone is going on vacation. Personally, I have precheck but I would still plan to walk in the airport at least 75-95 mins before the posted boarding time. I would also build in time to park (and I always park in the lot directly next to Dulles or the garage attached to national) and deal with possible traffic or hiccups with uber/taxi. Safe travels! |
Anonymous
| Here's the other thing. Sometimes you get there so early in the AM and they haven't even opened up counters yet. |
Anonymous
|
You will be fine if you get there by 5am. If you are checking a bag or need to check in at the ticketing desk for some reason, I'd aim for a few minute before 5 just because a lot of people will arrive at 5 and it's nice to be at the front of that line.
Also add in some buffer time if you are using longterm parking |
Anonymous
| I hate flights this early because of the actual arrival time being even earlier. Sleep is always awful the night before. Good luck. |
Anonymous
|
Are you familiar with the layout of Dulles, op?
It’s my least favorite area airport because it’s a schlep from the entrance to your ultimate gate. I always build in extra time for flights at Dulles as compared to National which is so much easier to navigate (no tram, less distance, etc.). |
Anonymous
| How early does security open? |
Anonymous
East Security Checkpoint - 4:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m. West Security Checkpoint - 3:45 a.m. - 10:00 p.m. TSA Pre✓™ - 4:30 a.m. - 9:00 p.m. |
Anonymous
| 5:00 |
Anonymous
OP isn’t checking anything. No need for the counter. |
Anonymous
So helpful 
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