How Early Can You Check Bags for Your Flight?

If you are planning to travel by air, one of the questions you might have is how early you can check your bags for a flight. Checking your bags early can save you time and inconvenience at the airport, especially if you have a long layover or want to explore the city before your departure.

How early you can check your bags for a flight depends on several factors, such as:

• The airline you are flying with.
• The airport you are departing from.
• Your travel itinerary

In this blog post, we’ll explain everything you need to know about checking your bags early for a flight, including:

• The general rules and recommendations for checking your bags early.
• The specific policies of some major airlines and airports.
• The benefits and drawbacks of checking your bags early.
• Tips and tricks to improve your chances of being able to check your bags early.

Summary

Generally speaking, most airlines allow you to check your bags up to 4 hours before your scheduled flight’s departure. However, low-cost carriers have a shorter window, ranging from 2 to 3 hours.

To find out how early you can check your bags for your specific trip, you can do the following:

• Check your airline’s website.
• Check your departing airport’s website.
• Contact your airline directly.

Why Check Your Bags Early?

There are several benefits to checking your bags early for a flight. Here are some of them:

• You can avoid long lines and delays at the check-in counter or the self-service kiosk.
• You can have more time to relax, shop, eat, or explore the airport before boarding your flight.
• You can reduce the risk of losing your bags.
• In some instances, you can leave the airport after dropping off your bags to do some last-minute sightseeing or shopping.

Important: Not all airports allow you to exit the airport after dropping off your bags. This is especially true if you’re required to go through security before reaching the airline check-in counters.

If you want to leave the airport after dropping off your bags, contact your departing airport to confirm that you can do so.

How Early Can You Check Your Bags for a Flight?

The earliest you can check your bags for a flight depends on the airline you are flying with and the airport from which you are departing.

Different airlines have different policies and procedures for checking bags, and different airports have different facilities and security measures. Therefore, it is important to check with your airline and your airport before you travel to find out their specific rules and regulations.

Generally speaking, most major airlines in the U.S. allow you to check your bags up to four hours before your scheduled departure time. For U.S. airlines, this timeframe is generally consistent whether you’re flying domestically or are taking an international flight.

However, there may be exceptions depending on the airport and the destination. For example, some airports may have earlier or later cut-off times for checking bags, and some destinations may require extra screening for checked baggage.

Here is a table that shows the earliest you can check your bags for some of the major airlines in the US:

As you can see, the general trend for bag drop times is that legacy carriers offer earlier bag drops, while low-cost carriers tend to have shorter bag drop timeframes.

Important: Please note that these times are subject to change and may vary depending on the airport and the destination. Therefore, it is advisable to confirm with your airline and your airport before you travel.

General Tips for Early Bag Drops with U.S. Airlines

Unfortunately, U.S. airlines don’t have any established policies or procedures to allow early bag drops beyond the timeframes in the above table.

However, all is not lost. Anecdotally, travelers have had some success with turning up at their airline’s check-in desk at the airport before the check-in counters officially open. However, day-before drop-off is not available.

It’s at the discretion of the airline check-in counter agent to accept your luggage early. There should be no expectation that they will.

Here are some tips to improve your chances of dropping your bags off early:

• Review your airline’s check-in times on its website.
• Contact your airline directly: If you do receive advice that you will be able to drop your bags off early, request that advice in an email. You can then present it at the airport ticket counter as evidence. Again, the check-in agent has no obligation to honor it.
• Ensure your baggage is packed properly. Make sure that none of your luggage is oversized and/or overweight. Traveling with special baggage such as sports equipment or musical instruments will further reduce your chances of having your baggage accepted early.
• You’ll have a better chance of success if you’re departing from one of your airline’s airport hubs. Your airline will have more infrastructure and staff to manage the storage of luggage.
• Check in online before you arrive at the airport and prepay bag fees.

Essentially, what you’re trying to do here is to do as much prep work as possible, to make it easier for airline staff to check your bags.

Hot Tip: If you are able to check your bags before the standard check-in time, confirm with the airline’s counter agent whether there’s a chance that your bags could be sent on an earlier flight. If that is the case, ask where you would need to collect your bags upon arrival.

Important: If you decide to turn up at the airport early in the hope of checking your bags in early, have a backup plan! For example, your airport may have a luggage storage service available that you could use to store your bags. Of course, you’ll have to pay a fee, but it’s an option.

How Early You Can Check Your Bags by Airline

In this section, we’ll examine the specific policies of several major U.S. and Canadian airlines. We’ll also provide links to each airline’s check-in information page.

All airlines include a list of airports that they fly to on their website. The amount and quality of information contained can vary from fantastic (Alaska Airlines) to middling (cough… cough… Frontier… cough… cough). We’ve also included a link to each airline’s airport page, which can provide more information regarding bag drop-off times.

Also, we have listed each airline’s airport hub. You’ll have a better chance of checking your bags in before standard check-in times at these airports. Airlines will have more infrastructure and staff to be able to accept and store baggage checked in early.

Alaska Airlines

Alaska Airlines allows passengers to check bags up to four hours before their scheduled departure time at most airports.

However, there are a couple of exceptions to this timeframe:

• Calgary (YYC) – Calgary International Airport: up to 2 hours before your flight
• Vancouver (YVR) – Vancouver International Airport: up to 2 hours before your flight

You can find more baggage check-in information here.

Alaska Airlines airport information can be found here.

When I examined Alaska Airline’s baggage policy, I commended the airline’s website for its well designed and informative content. Its section about airport information is a perfect example. It provided extensive check-in information, including minimum and maximum times to drop off your bags for each airport. Well done Alaska Airlines!

Airport hubs:

• Anchorage (ANC)
• Los Angeles (LAX)
• Portland, Oregon (PDX)
• San Francisco (SFO)
• Seattle/Tacoma (SEA)

Allegiant Air

Allegiant Air allows you to drop off your bags up to two hours prior to your flight’s scheduled departure.

You can find more baggage check-in information here.

Allegiant Air airport information can be found here.

Airport hubs: none

American Airlines

American Airlines allows you to drop off your bags up to four hours before your flight’s scheduled departure.

Interestingly, American Airline’s website maintains a list of airports that has an earliest bag drop of 4 hours. This implies that you may be able to check in your bags earlier at other airports, but I haven’t been able to find information to support this.

Here are the airports that American Airlines explicitly names as having a 4-hour earliest bag drop. It’s probably not worthwhile turning up to these airports earlier in the hope that you can check your bags earlier.

You can find more baggage check-in information here.

American Airlines airport information here.

Airport hubs:

• Charlotte (CLT)
• Chicago–O’Hare (ORD)
• Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW)
• Los Angeles (LAX)
• Miami (MIA)
• New York–JFK (JFK)
• New York–LaGuardia (LGA)
• Philadelphia (PHL)
• Phoenix–Sky Harbor (PHX)
• Washington–National (DCA)

Delta Air Lines

Delta Air Lines allows you to check bags at the airport ticket counter or at a self-service kiosk up to four hours before your scheduled departure time.

Delta has further baggage check-in information for domestic and international travel.

Delta Air Lines airport information can be found here.

Airport hubs:

• Atlanta (ATL)
• Boston (BOS)
• Detroit (DTW)
• Los Angeles (LAX)
• Minneapolis/St. Paul (MSP)
• New York–JFK (JFK)
• New York–LaGuardia (LGA)
• Salt Lake City (SLC)
• Seattle/Tacoma (SEA)

Frontier Airlines

Frontier Airlines allows you to drop off your bags up to two hours prior to your flight’s scheduled departure.

You can find more baggage check-in information here.

Frontier Airlines airport information can be found here.

Airport hubs: none

Hawaiian Airlines

Hawaiian Airlines allows you to drop off your bags up to four hours before your flight’s scheduled departure.

You can find more baggage check-in information here.

Hawaiian Airlines airport information can be found here.

Airport hubs:

• Honolulu (HNL)
• Kahului (OGG)

JetBlue

JetBlue allows you to drop off your bags up to six hours prior to your flight’s scheduled departure.

However, there is one exception to this timeframe:

• San Juan, Puerto Rico (SJU) – Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport: up to 4 hours prior to your flight

You can find more baggage check-in information here.

JetBlue airport information can be found here.

Airport hubs: none

Southwest Airlines

Southwest Airlines allows you to drop off your bags up to four hours before your flight’s scheduled departure.

You can find more baggage check-in information here.

Southwest Airlines airport information can be found here.

Airport hubs: none

Spirit Airlines

Spirit Airlines allows you to drop off your bags up to four hours prior to your flight’s scheduled departure.

You can find more baggage check-in information here.

Spirit Airlines airport information can be found here.

Airport hubs: none

Sun Country Airlines

Sun Country Airlines allows you to drop off your bags up to three hours before your flight’s scheduled departure.

You can find more baggage check-in information here.

Sun Country Airlines airport information can be found here.

Airport hubs:

• Minneapolis/St. Paul (MSP)

United Airlines

United Airlines allows you to drop off your bags up to four hours prior to your scheduled departure time.

You can find more baggage check-in information here.

United Airlines airport information can be found here.

Airport hubs:

• Chicago–O’Hare (ORD)
• Denver (DEN)
• Guam (GUM)
• Houston–Intercontinental (IAH)
• Los Angeles (LAX)
• Newark (EWR)
• San Francisco (SFO)
• Washington–Dulles (IAD)

Canadian Airlines

Air Canada

For flights from the U.S. or Canada, Air Cananda allows you to drop off your bags up to four hours prior to your flight’s scheduled departure.

For flights outside of North America, you can check your bags up to three hours before your flight.

You can find more baggage check-in information here.

Air Canada airport information can be found here.

Airport hubs:

• Montréal–Trudeau (YUL)
• Toronto–Pearson (YYZ)
• Vancouver (YVR)

WestJet

WestJet allows you to drop off your bags up to three hours prior to your flight’s scheduled departure.

You can find more baggage check-in information here.

WestJet airport information can be found here.

Airport hubs:

• Calgary (YYC)

International Airlines and Early Bag Check In

Now, this is where things begin to get interesting!

Let’s define what we mean by international airlines. These are airlines that are based outside of North America.

Most international airlines allow you to check your bags for up to 3 hours before your flight’s scheduled departure, if you’re flying domestically or within a continent. For all other international travel, you can usually check your bags up to 4 hours before your flight.

Many international airlines, in conjunction with major airport hubs, offer additional services to facilitate early bag check-in:

Early Bag Drop Off

Early bag drop-off is a service provided by airports, allowing you to check in your luggage up to 24 hours before your scheduled departure time.

This service is available for select airlines only. You can check your airline’s and/or departing airport’s website for more information.

Airports that offer this service include:

• Dublin Airport (DUB)
• Geneva Airport (GVA)
• London Gatwick Airport (LGW)
• London Heathrow Airport (LHR)
• Singapore Changi Airport (SIN)
• Frankfurt Airport (FRA)
• Dubai International Airport (DXB)
• Zurich Airport (ZRH)

Most airlines don’t charge a fee to check your bags in early, although Condor does.

In Town Check In

Although not widely available, in-town check-in is another way that you can check your bags in early.

So, what is in-town check-in? It’s a service that allows you to check in your luggage and get your boarding passes at designated locations in the city before going to the airport. This way, you can save time and avoid long queues at the airport.

You often can check your bags well before check-in counters open at the airport and, in some cases, the day before.

The service is usually complimentary on the condition that you purchase a train ticket from the city to the airport.

In-town check-in is available in certain cities that have major airports, such as:

• Dubai
• Hong Kong
• Kuala Lumpur
• Seoul
• Taipei

Many of these services were suspended due to the pandemic and have yet to reopen. However, Hong Kong’s in-town check-in service reopened on July 5, 2023.

Home Bag Check In

For the ultimate early bag check-in service, you can have your luggage collected from home or hotel up to 24 hours before your flight. However, you’ll have to pay a significant fee for this luxury.

Airlines that offer this service include:

• Emirates (Dubai)
• Etihad (Abu Dhabi International Airport)

Airports that offer this service include:

• Gatwick Airport
• Manchester Airport
• Zurich Airport (ZRH)

Final Thoughts

We hope this blog post has given you some useful information and tips on how early you can check your bags for a flight.

For U.S. travellers, your options are fairly limited. Generally, you can drop your bags off as early as 4 hours before your flight’s scheduled departure. Some travelers have had success turning up at the airport earlier, but this outcome isn’t consistent.

However, for international travelers, there are more choices available to you:

• Early bag drop
• Day before bag drop
• In-town check-in
• Home bag check-in