Airport arrival time planner
Work backwards from departure to a target airport arrival and leave-home time, with your own travel and check-in buffers.
How this works
The target airport arrival is departure minus your airport buffer. Leave-home time also subtracts your entered travel time and contingency. Times are displayed in the departure airport time zone. The same elapsed-minute calculation handles midnight and clock changes.
The default buffer is a planning input, not an airline deadline or a live queue estimate. Check bag-drop, check-in and gate cutoffs and add time for assistance, parking or terminal transfers.
Sources and reference dates
airportsdata — MIT Reviewed 2026-10-27
Useful guides for this tool
Questions about this tool
Is the default three-hour buffer a requirement?
No. Replace it with a buffer appropriate for your airport, ticket and airline cutoffs.
Is traffic included automatically?
Use a journey duration from your transport or maps service. The extra contingency is added separately.
What if I depart around a daylight-saving change?
Skipped or repeated local clock times require clarification. The planner rejects ambiguous times so you can confirm the correct airport departure time.