Recent change at FLL? 2 hours before flight to go thru security

[kywildcatfanone]

At FLL now. Was told can only go thru security 2 hours before flight.  Used to be 3 as I recall.  Is this new?

We had an 11:30am flight, and got to the airport at at 8:30 and they wouldn't let us in, so had to sit for a while.

 

Wasn't sure if this was a recent change so thought I would mention it.

[DaveOKC]

It may depend on how busy that day and the terminal.  We did an early Oct flight out on American and checked bags 4 hours early and no questions at security.

 

[Elaine5715]

Two hours prior to check luggage unless you use curbside is common at peak times

[capriccio]

27 minutes ago, Elaine5715 said:

Two hours prior to check luggage unless you use curbside is common at peak times

And any Saturday or Sunday morning from now until Easter may be considered 'peak times.'

[lx200gps]

3 hours ago, kywildcatfanone said:

At FLL now. Was told can only go thru security 2 hours before flight.  Used to be 3 as I recall.  Is this new?

We had an 11:30am flight, and got to the airport at at 8:30 and they wouldn't let us in, so had to sit for a while.

 

Wasn't sure if this was a recent change so thought I would mention it.

Which airline and terminal? At FLL terminal 2 a month ago, we discovered this rule the hard way, showing up 4 hours before our Air Canada flight, since their web site (and our previous experience) says bags can be dropped and check in can begin 4 hours before a flight. They were running 3 hours instead and refused to allow us to check in. Delta, in the same terminal, had the 2 hour rule in place, so the pre check-in concourse was absolutely jammed with people sitting on their luggage not allowed to check in.  I don't know if this is just a Delta thing, or an FLL rule across all terminals.  We'll be back there in February and will wait at the ship until the very last minute.

[Ashland]

Not sure this policy applies to business/first class ticket holders ??? Anyone ??

[Cienfuegos]

The Christmas / Hanukah season is often an unpleasant time for travel to and from south Florida. There is a clear and obvious volume of travel southward on Thursday and Friday, and northward on Sunday afternoon and Monday morning. Did that for years, hated it.

 

TSA at Fort Lauderdale airport has had issues lately. My niece arrived for a short visit on Monday afternoon (on Delta) and said the regular TSA lines seemed quite long.  When she left on Wednesday around dinner time, she said the lines were pretty short.

 

Right now (Sunday afternoon around 2.30 pm ET),  FLL TSA wait times are projected at under 30 minutes for the rest of the day.  ifly.com has good info on actual and predicted times.

[kywildcatfanone]

33 minutes ago, lx200gps said:

Which airline and terminal? At FLL terminal 2 a month ago, we discovered this rule the hard way, showing up 4 hours before our Air Canada flight, since their web site (and our previous experience) says bags can be dropped and check in can begin 4 hours before a flight. They were running 3 hours instead and refused to allow us to check in. Delta, in the same terminal, had the 2 hour rule in place, so the pre check-in concourse was absolutely jammed with people sitting on their luggage not allowed to check in.  I don't know if this is just a Delta thing, or an FLL rule across all terminals.  We'll be back there in February and will wait at the ship until the very last minute.

Terminal 2 and Delta.  There were people standing around everywhere waiting.

 

One thing I noticed on disembark notice was walkoff now was extended to 9:30am.  This was Princess.

[lx200gps]

59 minutes ago, kywildcatfanone said:

Terminal 2 and Delta.  There were people standing around everywhere waiting.

 

One thing I noticed on disembark notice was walkoff now was extended to 9:30am.  This was Princess.

We'll be on the Sky again in Feb, and have a 13:20 flight out of FLL. That means a check-in time of 10:20, so we'll have an hour to kill sitting around the terminal after leaving the ship at 9:30. Thanks for the heads up.

[dodger1964]

Is there a time limit if you don't have any checked bags?  

 

I guess my question is, can you get to airport 3 hours early and get thru security with just carry on luggage?

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

I don’t get it.

 

For years, airports and airlines have been telling us to get to the airport early early early as there’s a cut off time where you can’t check luggage 30 or 60 minutes prior to departure, and so there’s plenty of time to get through the long lines at security, and make sure your travel docs are in order, and in case you need to go through enhanced screening of some kind.

 

Now you can’t check in before 2 hours, but you still have all the time crunch issues above?

[capriccio]

6 hours ago, PrincessArlena'sDad said:

I don’t get it.

 

For years, airports and airlines have been telling us to get to the airport early early early as there’s a cut off time where you can’t check luggage 30 or 60 minutes prior to departure, and so there’s plenty of time to get through the long lines at security, and make sure your travel docs are in order, and in case you need to go through enhanced screening of some kind.

 

Now you can’t check in before 2 hours, but you still have all the time crunch issues above?

I’ve always heard that the issue at FLL is limited space for processing checked baggage at some of the terminals.  Or at least that is the explanation the airlines give.

[lx200gps]

1 hour ago, capriccio said:

I’ve always heard that the issue at FLL is limited space for processing checked baggage at some of the terminals.  Or at least that is the explanation the airlines give.

The OP's reported issue (and as observed by us a month ago) was specifically with Delta at Terminal 2 at FLL. Air Canada, who share T2 with Delta, are still at 3 hours. It would be interesting to hear from anyone else who has recently transited through FLL about experiences with other terminals and airlines. Are American or United also limiting check-in to 2 hours pre-flight, or is this just a Delta problem?

[Elaine5715]

On 12/20/2022 at 11:40 AM, dodger1964 said:

Is there a time limit if you don't have any checked bags?  

 

I guess my question is, can you get to airport 3 hours early and get thru security with just carry on luggage?

Yes, or if you use curbside luggage drop.  The only place I have been asked for flight times was entering the inside luggage drop line