When should you leave for the airport? This app can tell you exactly when

Published on 12 November 2026 - 15:10 GMT+1 With the exception of dads who apparently take great joy in arriving at the airport four hours early (minimum), and duty free shoppers, extra time waiting around before a flight is something most people want to avoid. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT So much so that “airport theory” – aka arriving as late as possible because airlines supposedly overestimate boarding times – became a major trend last year. While we certainly won’t endorse it (experts previously told Euronews Travel it was a really, really bad idea), we can understand going to lengths to avoid unnecessary airport time. Now, flight tracking app Flighty is hoping to combat the problem with the release of its personalised “when to leave” feature. “Millions of travellers already trust Flighty to tell them what’s happening with their flight,” Ryan Jones, Flighty founder and CEO, said. “Now we’re helping beyond the flight with a personalised plan from door to departure, bridging travel time and airport routine in one simple timeline.” How it works After inputting their flight details, travellers can then add in their departure location so that Flighty can calculate how long it will take to drive to the airport. Flighty keeps track of the drive time estimates based on Apple Maps, which will take into account traffic or other factors such as public holidays that might affect your travel time. For those who are taking public transport, you can also manually input your needed travel time. While there are default airport time suggestions, you can adjust this to account for nine activities including parking, rental return, security, check-in, passport control and lounge time. Based on all of that information, Flighty will send an alert telling you to leave soon, followed by the “time to leave” alert 20 minutes later. You’ll also get notifications if traffic gets worse.