Last minute airport arrivers beware: Frontier Airlines is going to start shutting down its check-in counters further in advance of flights starting Aug. 16.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, the company said all check-in and bag drop positions across its network will close 60 minutes before departure. Currently those facilities stay open until 45 minutes before departure for domestic flights at most Frontier locations.
“We continue to be committed to getting you and your bags to your destination without interruption,” the post said.
Jennifer de la Cruz, a Frontier spokesperson, told USA TODAY in an email that the change was meant to make the check-in process more uniform across the airline’s flights and facilitate the baggage loading process.
“Increasing the standard check-in and bag drop cutoff from the current 45 minutes to 60 minutes prior to scheduled departure will help to ensure ample time for customers to get through security and to their gate, as well as allow additional time for bags to move through airport handling systems to aircraft,” she said. “It will also serve to standardize the cutoff times for both international and domestic travel.”
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With passenger volumes high and air traffic controller volumes low across the country this summer, most experts recommend arriving more than 60 minutes before your flight.
If you’re flying domestically, travel advisors have previously told USA TODAY you’ll want to leave yourself at least 90 minutes to navigate the airport before your flight. They generally up that recommendation to two to three hours for international flights.
Zach Wichter is a travel reporter for USA TODAY based in New York. You can reach him at zwichter@usatoday.com
