The "massive line-ups" were for arrivals, not departures. The standard is to be at Heathrow 3 hours before flight time.

Thanks mme Perdue, either I don't watch the news much, or we only get dramatized news of such things!

My only reference point was a column in the Globe and Mail. Googled but didn't find much.

They are only flying from London to Bari, not long haul. If they do an online check-in, do they still need 3 hours?

I'd have thought 2 hours enough, but that assumes no need to go shopping at the airport!

I flew into Heathrow a couple days after the start of the Olympics and left on the last day (flying during the closing ceremony). Both times, everything controlled by the airport went very quickly -- immigration on the way in, security on the way out. I've never had quicker passage through Heathrow-controlled lines.

However: United's bag-drop line on the way out was very, very slow. I waited a good 45 minutes to check my bag, and that was after I and everyone else in line had boarding passes in hand. All we needed to do was check bags & have someone verify our passports as usual for international flights.

The 3 hour arrival prior to a flight is for safety's sake as, shopping aside, one never knows what's going to be the situation any given day or hour. Even having arrived 3 hours before on 1 trip the checkin line was so long I still had to run for the gate. They will likely have plenty of time with 3 hours and, yes, time to shop, best case scenario. There are also some pretty good places to eat while waiting. My policy is be safe, get there early, and particularly at Heathrow.

Thanks will any restaurants be open at 6 am in the airport?

"at 6 am...?"

I'm sure they will be. This is one of the world's busiest airports.

There are place in the airport open all night. And the point is not where they are going but where the other travelers are going.

I have always had bas luck at Heathrow )or else it's always very slow) but many of the people on the security line seem to have no idea of the rules and I have waited interminable while the security people try to convince people who seem not to understand any English that yes, they have to follow thee rules, where are their liquids, and you can't go through wearing or carrying pounds of metal.

Thanks everyone, I'll tell them to err on the side of caution, be there early.

", I'll tell them to err on the side of caution, be there earl"

What on earth for?

You've been told on this thread that:

a) United Airlines underman their checkin desks. But they don't fly to Bari
b) The hysteria about queues at the UK border is irrelevant in your case - because Britain doesn't operate outgoing border controls
c) That a regular passenger like Patrick thinks two hours are more than enough.

It's all very well isolating yourself from news. You might at least have the courtesy to read the advice you're given when you ask for it.

Giving your daughter fatuously pointless advice helps neither you nor her. It merely adds hard evidence to every daughter's firm belief that mothers are insatiable worriers, whose advice should always be quietly ignored.

If you want to give them useful advice (why do they need it anyway?) tell them to ring Lufthansa and ask what they think.

Often when I travel to BRU or other places on the first flight of the day, shops are not always open, they open from about 5.30am to 6.00am and generally close when the last flight departs and sometimes it's too early to buy a newspaper. I don't agree that places at the airport are open all night.

London-Bari from T1 does not require you to be there 3 hours prior, whether you've checked in online or not. I fly out of LHR frequently and have not noticed the issues mentioned.

Arriving at any European airport 3 hours before the flight time is only ever (possibly) necessary for flights to the US. For flights within Europe, including departures from Heathrow, I allow an hour unless flying with a budget airline *and* needing to drop off checked-in bags in which case I allow 1.5-2 hours.

I normally only check in 2 hours before when I have a bicycle to load on the big flappy thing.

Flan since you don't know me at all, don't bother lecturing me on my relationship with my daughter. And that's ALL I'm going to say to you.

Caroline, bilbo, and Odin thanks for your straightforward advice. I was thinking 2 hours would be plenty. I guess early is a 'relative' thing.
Since they leave Vancouver on Thursday and don't meet us until Saturday 5 pm (I got Aeroplan tickets for them, long waiting times YVR to LHR, 21 hr wait, to Dusseldorf, 5 hour wait, to Bari) I'm trying to make it as simple as possible for them. They both work incredibly hard, and do hours of volunteer work each week, so they don't have a lot of time for travel planning.

Bilboburgler I think you've done some biking in Puglia?
Caroline, you're Edinburgh again?

Sundried, sure have, I may have sent you a link to MyBikeguide. If we have already chatted about what to do after a tour you are doing, then you might like to look into the train ride between Potenza and Gravina as it is a single track narrow line and you end up gliding through fields of corn on a little track, great fun.

Watch out for the Murge! Come back if you want more info.