Airports at 4 am
 

So I'm told to show up 3 hours ahead for an international flight leaving Newark at 7 a.m. <BR> <BR>Is there any point walking into the airport at 4 a.m.? Will anyone be working? <BR>

There are more people than you would expect, if recent experience in New Orleans (5 am)and O'Hare (also 5 am) is anything to go by. The thing to do is find out when your carrier opens its check-in desk, which was 5 am for United, and get there around then. At O'Hare the extra time wasn't needed, but in New Orleans I pretty much needed the whole 2 hours to get through--actually, 90 minutes, because of when their check-in desk opened.

Don't know about Newark, but since I've been in two much less pivotal airports at 5 am recently, I'd guess that Newark will be awake and running. <BR> <BR>

Sleep in. You can't even get a cup of coffee in Newark at that hour, much less be allowed anywhere near a gate. I've gone from curb to gate in Newark in less than 10 minutes TWICE since 9/11, one an int'l flight, carrying on ALL my luggage.

I recently had a 6 am flight from DFW, got there at 5 am thinking no one would be there much earlier. Not true, the lines were substantial. I had to be called out in order to make the flight. By the time I got to the gate it was well into boarding. I did have one flight where I breezed thru the counter line and securtiy however, that was unique. Don't count on it, unless you can catch the next flight. I've been pulled out and "hand" searched. And you never know when your luggage may be hand searched. Don't push it unless, again, you can jump on the next flight.