Frontier Airlines has an important announcement that may come as a surprise to travelers who are habitually late or even those who just missed their alarm.
“Starting August 16th, all Frontier ticket counters will close for check-in and bag drop 60 minutes prior… to your flight departure,” wrote Frontier Airlines in a post on Facebook as well as on X, formerly Twitter.
Until then, however, those counters will close 45 minutes before Frontier’s domestic flights depart.
“We continue to be committed to getting you and your bags to your destination without interruption,” Frontier continued.
The policy change is intended to make the check-in process more uniform across the airline’s ticket counters and also make the baggage loading process easier, explained Jennifer de la Cruz, a Frontier spokesperson.
“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,” de la Cruz said, according to USA Today. “It will also serve to standardize the cutoff times for both international and domestic travel.”
Airport Arrival Guidance
The general rule of thumb from airlines and airport authorities is to arrive at the airport at least 2 hours before departure for domestic flights.
That said, Frontier’s policy change means the low-cost airline’s passengers will need to arrive at the airport earlier than travelers on most major U.S. airlines.
For instance, United Airlines, American Airlines, and Southwest Airlines all require passengers to check in and check their bags at least 45 minutes prior to departure for domestic flights.
Meanwhile, JetBlue requires check-in at least 40 minutes before a flight’s departure and Delta Air Lines requires passengers to check their bag just 30 minutes prior to departure.
Know So You Can Be On Time
Frontier may be closing its ticket counters for check-in and bag drop 60 minutes before a flight departs, but that doesn’t mean the airline advocates for passengers to wait until the last minute before arriving at the airport.
“We recommend you arrive at least 2 hours prior to departure to ensure you are checked in and at the gate by the cutoff times,” Frontier explains on its website.
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