When to arrive for international flight?

I assume that 3 hour prior arrival recommendation applies to the departure time of the plane, but I am not sure. That is how I have viewed it...I start my international journeys from home in the US in a smaller regional airport, so I don't need to be there 3 hours ahead of departure. But when I am flying home from Europe, I allow every bit of 3 hours ahead, and sometimes more than that if I have any concerns about traffic to the airport, or any other concerns that could delay me getting through security and passport control. I don't ever cut it close abroad, prefer to have time to spare, get a bit to eat, and so on.

Please provide more information regarding the airport(s) from which you will be departing so that we can better answer your question. In particular, if you are flying from an overseas airport back to the US, arriving 3 hours early is definitely wise in many cases.

Check with your airline also. Three hours is not always the recommended time. For instance, ANA airlines at Tokyo Narita suggests 2 hours.

Personally, I am risk averse like the others above and don't cut it short.

For big airports, I plan on arriving at least 3 hours prior to flight time. Most international flights start boarding an hour before departure time. That gives two hours to check in, check luggage, get through security, find my gate, use the restroom, fill my water bottle.

It definitely depends on the airport. I’m lucky to fly from a tiny regional airport that has never taken more than 5 minutes to get through security. The downside is I usually have one or two layovers to get to Europe. But I can arrive an hour before departure and be fine.

We plan for 3 hours prior to the stated takeoff time. Boarding time can vary from day to day, even at the same airport, as can the takeoff time, once everybody’s onboard and belted in.

If the flight booking says 4:10 PM, we aim for arriving at the airport at 1:10. The gate may open for boarding at 3:30, or any other time, so that’s never part of the equation. And even off the plane is boarded by 4:10, depending on weather or runway traffic or other factors, it might sit on the tarmac until almost 5:00 before getting in the air, so no point in trying to guess when it will actually take off.

The large British Airways planes start boarding an hour before take off. It always feels good to me to be on the plane. Good luck and safe travels.

Well, the recommended time of arrival is 3 hours before take off. But I must admit I arrive 2 hours before. Now this assumes I have a boarding pass which I usually do. But if I don’t, I arrive closer to 3 hours because I have to wait in line to get one.

But if I have boarding pass and carry- on luggage only, I have found 2 hours gives me more than enough time.

3 hours before departure time

My default for international flights is 3 hours before scheduled departure, but I try to remember to Google for the airline's specific guidance for my departure airport. That may vary somewhat from the typical 3 hours.

My travel mate received a notification from her airline two days before departure, asking her to be at VCE (Venice, Italy) 3-1/2 hours before departure for a flight to Philadelphia. She was traveling on the day before some airport workers were striking, so flights were probably nearly all departing full on her day of travel.

I'm probably a bit of an oddity. I prefer to fly direct from IAD and use public transportation to get there. I'll use the morning Amtrak from Williamsburg to DC and then Metro to Dulles with an evening departure. So, Amtrak & Metro schedules dictate my times, and while i don't like cutting things close or doing things at the last minute i end up with flexibility and more than enough time that I can afford to dawdle over coffee at Union Station.

On line check-in, mobile boarding pass and I've never spent more than 5 minutes at security. I'll just go relax at a lounge, have lunch there and stream video.

In Zurich I used to arrive between 2 and 1 1/2 hours before departure, but now that there are direct trains Interlaken - Zurich Airport every two hours I usually take one of those, and that determines when I am there.
In Zurich I expect to have my bag dropped, security cleared and be airside in half an hour. Before the pandemic I flew up to 25 times a year from ZRH, and never went to the airport more than 2 hours before. And I have never needed more than 20-30 minutes from train to the airside concourse.

At other European airports I usually arrive about 2 hours in advance as well (I will even cut that to 1 1/2 hour if it is short haul and I have been to that airport before). One day in Stockholm the Arlanda Express broke down and I arrived at bag drop a few minutes late, but they still checked me in as they knew about the Arlanda Express problem, and for the airline being a bit flexible is easier than having to rebook lots of passengers...

SWISS will happely sell you you a train + plane combo. The MCT for train to plane is 1h10 minutes. So they do seem to believe that being there 3 hours in advance is not needed...

There's no generic answer for this. Coming from Singapore i normally arrive two hours prior, but even an hour before is fine. For Heathrow I normally arrive three hours prior.

it also depends on what you mean by "international". You need more time for flights between Europe and the United States than for a within Schengen flight of, say, Naples to Salzburg.

It really depends on:

--where am I departing from? How big is the airport?

--do I have to check bags? (Adds time.)

--will I already have my boarding pass prior to arriving at the airport? (Saves time.)

--will I have to go through exit immigration? (Adds time.)

--can I head straight to security after arriving at the airport or do I have to stop along the way?

If I am departing from an airport where I will not have to go through exit immigration, only have carry on bags and have my boarding pass, I would only arrive three hours early if I can hang out in the lounge for free food and drink. Otherwise, two hours is max.

YMMV