traveler2005

I am trying to figure out whether it would be possible to go to a (short) memorial service at Evergreen Cemetery on 3015 North Oracle Road at 1 PM and make a 3:30 flight out of the Tucson AZ airport. Normally I would not even consider it. However there aren't later choices and leaving the next day would add a great deal to the cost.

Does anyone have any idea how far the cemetery is from the airport (in time) and how much time it is necessary to allow for security. We usually allow 2 hours - but I'm not sure that is the rule for domestic flights.

Debbie

WhereAreWe

Mapquest says it's about 12.5 miles and 28 minutes. That's supposed to be fastest route and goes through town rather than on the interstate.

I'm assuming you have to return a rental car? I'm not familiar with the Tucson airport but in general it's safer to give yourself a bit less time for smaller airports. Would it be possible to make an extra trip to check in and check your bags before the memorial service? Not sure if that would be necessary, but you would be able to walk in and just go straight to security after the service.

traveler2005

Thanks for checking mapquest. I didn't even think about doing that.

Yes, I'll have a rental car.

I think I may try to go carry-on only since I plan to just be there one night. If I do take a suitcase, I could drive there to go on and check my bag. It's just too bad I'll have the rental car. I assume that most of them are off-site and often that takes as much time as anything.

Debbie

WhereAreWe

According to the airport's website at least some (if not most) of the rental cars are right next to the main terminal. That's another advantage of smaller airports.
http://www.tucsonairport.org/index.html
Look under ground transport, then rental cars.

I suppose you could call your rental agency and find out - would be one less thing to worry about. If you check in online with just a carry-on, and the rental cars are right there then I wouldn't worry a bit about making your flight.

CollegeMom

Tucson airport has rental cars at the airport for most rental companies (Enterprise, Budget, National for sure). In late Oct., I rented a car at and returned it to the Tucson airport with great ease. The big unknown for time concerns is how many other cars are being returned to your agency at the same time since it takes maybe 5 -10 minutes to check each car upon return. Usually 90 minutes is all that is expected for domestic flight departures checkin, and Tucson airport is usually a breeze to get through. Of course if it is a holiday, the times would be extended. With a mid morning Friday flight with carry on bag only, it was probably 20 minutes from dropping off rental car, passing security, and arriving at gate using preboarding passes off internet. With the massive construction on Highway 10 in Tucson, I would ONLY take a route through town to the airport with time concerns. If there is a problem on the highway, it can tie up traffic for a LONG time since there are very few exits now. Given a 30 minute service, and a 30 minute trip to airport, you still have 90 minutes at the airport which should be plenty of time. Domestic flights usually board only 30 minutes prior to departure so you would have 60 minutes to return car, go through security, and get to the gate before the start of boarding. IMO it is very possible to make the 3:30 flight especially if you use internet checkin. Perhaps the flight might even be delayed which would help you even more!

rkkwan

Where are you flying to? PHX has a lot more flights than TUS. It's about 120 miles.

LordBalfor

Tucson Airport is TERRIFIC - not too big, and VERY EASY to navigate around. Rental car return is VERY EASY.

Plenty of southbound routes to take so if you are not checking a bag it shouldn't be a problem.

Ken

traveller69

Yes Tucson airport is great and easy to get around etc but I would not chance the traffic on Oracle. The highway is fine once you are on it because there are no on/off ramps for quite a distance. However, if there is an accident you are stuck - no way to get off. It is risky with such a short time frame.

traveler2005

I decided that it was too chancy to try to make the 3:30 flight. What if the memorial service started late for some reason? To go that far and worry about catching the flight - and maybe even leaving the short service early if it happened to start late made less and less sense as I thought about it.

So I decided to take another day off work and fly home the next day.

Thanks for everyone's help. Now I need to post up some questions about the airport situation in Indianapolis.

Debbie