Travel Advice/Travel Tips -  Terminal  know-how for foreign airports

When departing from large, foreign, airports, call the airlines, identify your flight by number/destination, and ask for the name or number of the specific terminal for check-in (a good time to do this is when reconfirming your reservations).

In large international airports, the terminal system can be confusing for travelers and taxi drivers.

• Do not depend on the taxi driver to know the correct terminal: usually the drivers know the terminal for the national airline but not the terminals serving other airlines (particularly U.S.- based carriers).
• Determine this information before you depart for the airport.

In addition, inquire as to how long before departure you should arrive at the airport. In most cases the time is two and half-hours. At some airports, the time requirement may be three hours.

• Don’t cut it short, the check-in and security at many foreign airports takes even longer than here in the U.S.

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