When should you actually arrive for your flight at DIA?

DENVER (KDVR) — If you spend your hard-earned money to book a flight somewhere, it’s probably safe to assume you want to make it onto the plane before it departs.

This is easier said than done, especially when dealing with flights out of Denver International Airport — one of the busiest and largest airports worldwide.

The general advice is to arrive at the airport at least two hours before your flight time just to be safe, but for those who would rather live life on the edge, there are a few things to consider.

What are the busiest times at TSA?

According to the Transportation Security Administration, the security checkpoints are busiest at DIA between 4 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

The single busiest hour at TSA on most days is 3 p.m. because of people with flight times in the late afternoon and early evening.

People should also keep in mind the busiest days of the week: According to TSA, Sunday, Monday, Thursday and Friday are typically when they see more people passing through security, holidays included.

So, if your flight is scheduled for 5 p.m. on a Friday, you may want to plan on waiting in the TSA line longer than someone with a flight scheduled at 8 p.m. on a Tuesday.

TSA said the goal is to have TSA PreCheck passengers in and out of security in 10 minutes or less and standard check passengers out in 30 minutes or less.

However, depending on how busy it is, people could end up waiting longer than that.

How long will it take to get to your gate?

DIA is a very large airport , and, depending on which gate your flight is at, you might be in for a lot of walking.

If you have a flight at the A gate, you can skip taking the train by going through Bridge Security on level 6 of the Jeppesen Terminal. However, everyone else will have to take the train to get to their gate.

The following is the average time it takes to get to your gate , depending on if your flight leaves from the A, B or C gate. The farther away your gate from the train, the longer the walk will be.

• A gate – Between 5 and 12 minutes
• B gate – Between 7 and 15 minutes
• C gate – Between 9 and 17 minutes

All three gates are split into two halves, and the gate numbers count up from west to east.

For example, in the B gate, the lowest gate number is B7. It’s located at the farthest end of the west wing, while B95 is at the farthest end of the east wing.

Boarding time vs. departure time

If you have ever been unfortunate enough to arrive at your gate at the departure time listed on your ticket only to find out the gate is closed and you’re out of luck, you know all too well the difference between “departure time” and “boarding time.”

Many times, boarding passes will list both the departure time and the boarding time on them, but the latter is more important if you want to make it onto the plane.

The amount of time people are given to board depends on the airline.

United Airlines, for example, begins boarding between 40 and 50 minutes before takeoff. Boarding will usually end around 15 minutes before takeoff, at which point the plane doors will close and no one else will be allowed on.

DIA’s second-largest carrier, Southwest Airlines, typically begins boarding 30 minutes before takeoff . All passengers must be at the gate and able to board at least 10 minutes before the scheduled departure time or risk losing their seats and not being able to board the plane.

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