Maybe Dad was right about getting to the airport early. But it turns out there’s still such a thing as TOO early.<\/p>\n
Travelers panicked by scenes of never-ending lines<\/a> at U.S. airport security checkpoints and frustrating tales of missed flights over the past few weeks are now showing up way before their departures. Some airports where the wait times<\/a> have been manageable say those early birds are only adding to the misery \u2014 and in some cases causing other passengers to get to their gate too late.<\/p>\n In Ohio, John Glenn International Airport in Columbus is warning passengers against arriving hours in advance, even creating a chart showing when to show up: \u201c90 minutes before departure is all you need.\u201d<\/p>\n The airport says those premature arrivers \u2014 reacting to the funding standoff on Capitol Hill<\/a> that\u2019s creating crowded security checkpoints \u2014 are making things worse by creating bottlenecks during peak times.<\/p>\n \u201cArriving too early can actually create longer lines right when we open,\u201d the airport said in a social media post Thursday. \u201cSpacing out arrival times helps keep things moving smoothly for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n It’s Airport Dad’s moment \u2014 finally<\/p>\n In some ways, the airport chaos is turning into a full circle moment for \u201cAirport Dad\u201d \u2014 a humorous TikTok and social media take on the dad who always makes sure the family is out the door, parked, through security and positioned at the correct gate well before anyone else, with paper boarding passes in hand.<\/p>\n Airline customers aren’t laughing, at least right now. They’re facing record wait times in a jumbled environment \u2014 the modern American airport \u2014 that can serve up assorted stresses and snafus<\/a> on the best of days.<\/p>\n Amber Campbell said she missed a morning flight this week despite arriving at Baltimore-Washington International Airport more than three hours ahead of time.<\/p>\n \u201cWe noted several people in line with later afternoon flights,” Campbell posted on Facebook. “There was no organization or consideration for those of us missing flights vs people with later flights. We missed our flight by ten minutes!\u201d<\/p>\n What’s confusing for air passengers is that it’s hard to predict<\/a> which airports will be plagued next by security lines spilling out of terminals.<\/p>\n Checkpoints in some places are beyond two hours<\/p>\n The government shutdown straining Transportation Security Administration staffing has ballooned checkpoint wait times beyond two hours at some major airports. George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston has become the biggest chokepoint<\/a> for travelers with four-hour security lines.<\/p>\n \u201cAn absolute nightmare,\u201d said Arthur Tsebetzis, while standing in a line Friday that snaked through the main terminal and spilled outside Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta.<\/p>\n Those are by far the worst-case scenarios. Many airports \u2014 like the one in Ohio \u2014 have been seeing wait times comparable with those in normal times. That’s why airlines say the best advice for passengers right now is to check TSA wait times before their scheduled departures.<\/p>\n