Before you leave for the airport: a quick flight check routine

Most of us check a flight once, the day we book it, and then again at the airport. In between, a lot can change. Schedules move, planes are swapped and delays build up during the day. A short routine on the day you fly takes a few minutes and means you find out about changes while you can still do something about them.

The night before

• Open the airline app or website and check your booking. Confirm the departure time, the terminal and that your name and seat look right.
• Check in online if you can, and save your boarding pass to your phone.
• Look at the schedule change history in your booking, if the airline shows one. A flight that has already been moved once is worth watching.
• Share your flight number and date with anyone collecting you, so they can follow the flight themselves.

Two to three hours before you leave home

This is the most useful check of the day. Airlines often announce a delay only shortly before departure, but the signs can appear earlier. The best one is the plane that will fly you. If it is still on an earlier flight that is running late, your flight is likely to leave late too. Our guide on where your plane is coming from explains how to find it, and will my flight be delayed? covers the other early signs.

You can also check your flight on DelayAhead, which follows the incoming plane for you and shows whether it can be ready in time. Remember that a prediction is not an airline notice. Until the airline changes the time, plan to be at the airport as normal.

A prediction is most useful for decisions you can still change: whether to leave home a little later, whether to warn a hotel or a driver, and whether to ask the airline about a tight connection. It cannot tell you that the airline will hold the flight, swap the plane or cancel it. Those decisions are the airline's, and only its own notice counts.

Before you walk out the door

• Check the flight status once more, along with any messages from the airline.
• Look at the traffic or train times to the airport. A delay on the road can matter as much as a delay in the air.
• Turn on alerts for the flight, so you hear about time changes without having to keep checking.

On the way and at the airport

Keep to the airline's check-in and bag drop times even if you expect a delay. Airlines can find another plane or make up time on the ground, and a delayed flight can end up leaving close to its original time. Once you are through security, find your gate early and check the airline app for gate changes, which are often shown there first.

If you are the one doing the pickup

For a pickup, the landing time matters more than the departure. Check the flight before you set off, allow time for bags and passport control, and use the expected landing time in local airport time. Our airport pickup guide has more tips, including how to share alerts with a driver.

If a delay is announced

Read the airline's message, update anyone waiting for you and check what the delay does to any connection. Our flight delay help guide covers the next steps, from what to keep to which form to use.

The routine in one line

Check the booking the night before, check the incoming plane a few hours before you leave, turn on alerts, and keep to the airline's times until the airline itself changes them. It takes a few minutes and puts you in a much better position if the day does not go to plan.