Edinburgh airport question

Well, the general rule is 3 hours before an international flight, so if you're heading home (and I'm assuming home is the U.S.), so 3 hours beforehand. You could probably wing it a bit and maybe cut half an hour off that or so, but a lot depends on the time of year, the day, what else is going on in town, and a host of other reasons. I usually play it safe.

You could take either the tram or the bus. The tram has a bit more room for luggage, so that's probably what I would do, but the bus would be fine, too. The bus is also cheaper, and maybe a closer walk than the tram. Really, it's probably six of one and half a dozen of the other. And some of it depends on where you are walking from to get there.

I haven't been there in awhile, but I don't think the tram has to deal with road traffic, so maybe be faster, unless the bus has a dedicated lane.

We stayed near St Andrew Square and took the tram to the airport. If I had a flight that early, though, I'd probably just take a taxi or ride share, but that's just me.

My memory of the Edinburgh airport is when we were going through security, we automatically took off our shoes and put them in the bin. We got some startled looks until one of the security agents figured it out and said, "Oh, Americans!" 🤭

I really like the tram to and from the airport and have taken it as recently as last Sept.

https://www.edinburghairport.com/transport-links/trams

Unfortunately, the tram does not start running until 6:30am which would not give you enough time.

That leaves you with the bus

https://www.edinburghairport.com/transport-links/buses-and-coaches/edinburgh-city-bus-links

or a taxi.

https://www.edinburghairport.com/transport-links/taxis

There is no passport control when departing the UK, so you do not need to worry about long lines there. I would still allow at least 3 hours.

I used to fly out of this airport regularly (including intercontinental flights), and still do on occasion, and two hours has always been plenty of time. It's not a very big airport. I once had a very early flight and arrived before the airport was even open but it seems it's now 24 hours so that's not a concern. But some of the check-in desks won't be open more than 2.5 hours before the flight- you can check here: https://www.edinburghairport.com/inside-edi/for-passengers/check-out-your-check-in-desk-opening-times-at-edinburgh-airport

I personally would take the tram if it can get you there by 7am.

We took a taxi at 6:30 am for a 9 am flight from Edinburgh to Amsterdam this last May. Worth it to not have to lug carryon’s and backpacks. We found the cabs get a bit grumpy if you don’t pay cash which is interesting when everyone else in Edinburgh wants a tap cc and there’s only a very few bank ATM’s about the city. The line at Security took about 20 minutes and then we went and got in line for coffee. The airlines do say 3 hours for international flights.

While I understand the 3 hour guideline, if you have status with the airline, or
are flying business class, you'll be able to use a shorter line at the airport to
check bags. If you're just doing carry-on and can go straight to the gate,
same situation. In those cases, I think getting to the airport less than 3 hours
before the flight is just fine.

Also, if I am reading the (2024) online tram schedule correctly, the first tram
through St Andrew Square is at 5:42am, and takes ~35 minutes, so you're
still pretty close to the 3 hour guideline.

It looks like this page might have more up to date times than those posted on the airport webpage:

https://edinburghtrams.com/plan-journey/timetables

I do see times here earlier than 6:30.

The trams are tap to pay now so no need to buy a ticket.

https://edinburghtrams.com/tap-tap

One of the points of the bus is that it is a 24 hour a day operation. If you rely on a very early tram and it doesn't turn up for any reason then you are suddenly looking for the bus or a taxi, and no one on the forum who is advising you to cut the time down is going to buy you a new flight ticket.

Their experience may not be yours, at a busy time of the morning.

Both the airline and the airport tell you 3 hours, so as far as I am concerned I comply with that.

Thanks everyone for your replies. They help a lot.

There is also Uber. I take them all over Edinburgh including yesterday.

Edinburgh is not a big airport. If you don't have luggage to check in, and you have your boarding passes, there is no need to get there three hours ahead of time.

But that's your choice.