Fly, you fools!

Parents who have experience in both airport security, and trying to get kids to do literally anything.
- fr if your flight is at 14:00 you better be in the airport by 10 am and you might just about make it in time
  
  I got to the airport 1hr before liftoff last week and made it before boarding started. Layovered in vegas and didnt see any lines at TSA there either. Maybe theyve improved?
  
  My record at Detroit airport from stepping out of the bus to stepping into the plane is 7m43s. What is going on at your airports?
  
  Arrive FOUR fucking hours early??? I've flown A LOT over the years and that is just crazy. Is the extra 2 hours because of the kids or what
- s/airport security/security theater/g
  
  there's only one instance, no need for iterative g
  
  What is this ?

Airport security when you forgot to take off your belt:
- The belt in question:

As a parent myself now, I completely understand this behavior.
- Gotta budget 15 minutes for tying their shoes, 20 if they are doing the tying.
  
  Don't forget the 15 minutes of inexplicably staring out the window, when you sent them to put something warm on.

I will happily sit at a gate for 2 hours waiting for a plane, instead of rushing to catch it.
- Yeah same here, also airports are the only place I allow myself to drink regardless of the time of day, so there's that.

If it's anything like Toronto Pearson International Airport it's a crapshoot.
Step 0: With kids, corralling the children takes a while and can be like herding cats.
Step 1: Just getting to the airport, from 40km away if you are driving/Taxi, it will take from 20 minutes or 2 hours+ to get to the airport. People who use YYZ often live further than that so add any additional time from that. The Union Pearson Express train is only useful if you are trying to get from Union to Pearson or somewhere between. The 900 bus from Kipling, local TTC routes, Go Bus, MiWay, Brampton Transit all feel second class and you get the same rush hour traffic.
Step 2: Check-in. Domestic flights are fine because not as many people check bags and the counter is quick or you can often skip it entirely. International flights have long, long lines at the counter so add an hour.
Step 3: Security. Another crapshoot depending on whether you are there at peak time. Could be 5 minutes, could be an hour or more to get through.
Step 4: Attending to food and washroom needs. Since it's not possible to know exactly how long this process will go, if unprepared, random food and bathroom stops may be necessary.
So all in all preparing for the worst by leaving/preparing to go at 6:30 for a 14:00 flight is not unheard of when flying via Pearson.
- People who use YYZ often live further than that so add any additional time from that.
  ...ah, that explains the rush...
- Ah yes the 401 game, where everybody loses.
  This is also to avoid having to deal with Air Canada support in you do miss your flight.
  
  Both extremely salient points.

I mean... those airport lines do be annoying though:-P.

i still remembe needing to wait literal hours at the gate every damn time. we were never even close to late. they were always panicking. i don't understand it...
it's not just parents either. some people are just like that when they travel. I've tried going places with friends that made it absolutely miserable as an adult because they were fucking panicking the whole time until we sat on the plane. i swear some people have never dealt with a deadline before or something. don't know how to deal with a clock ticking down i guess.
- it’s not just parents either. some people are just like that when they travel.
  Dude I flew out somewhere for a work training and it was 11x easier than my parents ever made it out to be. Just read the signs, follow the directions and get there about 1-2 hours before boarding. The biggest hassle was finding coffee in the Orlando airport (I ended up finding it tucked in the back corner of a bar)
  The whole experience was more enjoyable than I ever remember flying being and it just comes down to going with the flow and being ready to roll with the punches
  
  You flew by yourself, without taking care of a child, and you're surprised it's easier? Everything is easier without a kid. Your parents flew all over the place before you arrived. Planes weren't invented when you were born.
- It's the complete loss of control which panics me. It's quite understandable that people also get anxious over maybe forgetting to remove stuff (from their bags which the security wouldn't let through) or rechecking if they've everything. Because if not, you have to run around a lot and potentially miss your very expensive flight with likely no monetary compensation
- Well put. Also, it's not like there's 1 single sky zeppelin that you won't see again for weeks. Admittedly, I'm a bad about deadlines and preparing. I traveled for work for years and missed several flights. Not fun, but as long as your actual schedule isn't too tight, it's usually no big deal. I talk to the airline, they put me on another flight later, I wait around a bit or go home and come back for the alternative flight.
  At one point I lived like 15 minutes from a smaller airport. I could literally get there 30 minutes before departure if I overslept or something and usually made it through the quick security and onto my flight...
  
  My guy, you're missing flights. That's exactly what the panicked people are trying to avoid.

And you still missed the flight because the airport decided to run a single security checkpoint and the line for it wrapped around the entire ticketing area. The desk agent looked at her watch when you checked your bags and said, "good luck". There was still four hours to take off at that point.

When I fly, I fly from Oklahoma City. Getting through OKC is a dream. Hardly anyone flies out of here. Tix are usually cheaper flying from DFW. In my experience, you have to leave really early, maybe get a motel room, and it costs at least another $70 worth of gas to get there. It's so much extra cost and inconvenience. It's actually been cheaper overall for my wife and I to fly from OKC since we live here.
It's like 30-45 minutes getting from your car to your boarding area. Getting through TSA is always pretty quick and easy. I can't imagine the place is solvent.

I've just about keeled from trying to catch a plane, stressed out and with hypertension. I have and will wait for a full 8 hours outside my gate.
- Lol, I always try to spend as little time as the airport as possible. I've only missed 1 flight ever, and they just put me on the next one for free. It was like 30 minutes later.
  
  I wish I could have done something like that. Strangely enough, that time I was technically early, because after I got to the empty gate way past departure time, I hadn't realized I scheduled my flight a week later than I thought. I didn't think I could get it moved up, and I ended up buying really expensive tickets same day.