How early should I get to the airport?

[Cassandra]

I have never flown before. Got to fly from New Orleans to Orlando for some new job training. My flight leaves at 3:05 on Sunday afternoon. What time should I get to the airport? I found a website that said about 90 minutes. I want to be there in plenty of time because I don't know anything about it. I will have to figure out which way to go every single step of the way.

Cassandra

[ScrappinMom]

I don't know how large the New Orleans airport is, but I would suggest at least 2 hours, as you don't know your way around, etc. Also, be sure to bring lots of PATIENCE with you.
I always prefer to be very early because you never know what you are going to run into.
If you find your way around and get through security quickly, you can always get yourself a cup of coffee or soda and read a book.

Since you've never flown before, be sure you review all the do's and don'ts of what you can and cannot carry on.
Good luck!

[harry33]

2 hours is generally advisable in the usa

[Kiralynx]

I have never flown before. Got to fly from New Orleans to Orlando for some new job training. My flight leaves at 3:05 on Sunday afternoon. What time should I get to the airport? I found a website that said about 90 minutes. I want to be there in plenty of time because I don't know anything about it. I will have to figure out which way to go every single step of the way.

Cassandra,

LOL! I'm going to be at the N'Awlins airport twice on Sunday -- once to drop off my sister for an 11:30a flight, and once to drop my niece off for a 5p or thereabouts flight!

Which airline are you flying?

http://www.flymsy.com/airport_facilities.htm will give you information about the facility.

[Autopapdude]

Two hours. Give them time to xray your Cpap. They know all about them, but will check it carefully, anyway. Security lines can be long.

[tattooyu]

I just had to fly for the first time recently. Give yourself a good two hours.

To expedite things, I put my CPAP machine (not the humidifier) in a huge ziploc plastic bag, put it in its own security bin and then everything else (humidifier, hoses, mask) went through the scanner in the CPAP soft case. They will swab your CPAP machine separately for explosives and such. Ask them to put on fresh gloves, but they will probably do that anyway.

All in all, it didn't take much longer than a normal security sweep, and they knew exactly what it was when they heard me say "CPAP".

[Cassandra]

Good advice, everybody! I will be flying southwest. It was the only non-stop flight they could find. The flight's only supposed to be an hour and 45 minutes. LOL All that prep for such a short little flight. I wish they would have let me drive.

Cassandra