I booked my flights to Lisbon in Portugal this week. I've wanted to visit the city for some time to take in the beautiful architecture and, of course, devour as many pastel de natas as humanly possible.
But after I finalized the trip, my social media suddenly became full of people sharing horror stories about the airport. People have missed flights, some have waited over three hours in lines at passport control, and some colleagues even shared that the airport is impossible to navigate — yikes!
I'm not a nervous traveller, but I like to be organized, and the thought of having my trip messed up by something so out of my control is my worst nightmare. So naturally, I asked ChatGPT for help.
"I'm planning a trip to Lisbon, but I'm worried about the horror stories about the long wait times to get through security upon arrival and exit. What advice can you give me to make the experience more manageable?"
Here's what it had to say.
Timing your flights
ChatGPT says that the thing that matters most here is the timing of your flights, and this applies to arrivals and departures.
The worst time to arrive at the airport, according to ChatGPT, is first thing in the morning, between 6 a.m and 10 a.m. This is when a lot of long-haul flights arrive, so there are a lot of passengers trying to make their way through passport control. Luckily, my flight arrives at the airport in the evening, so I shouldn't be met with much of a queue.
Leaving the airport is also quieter for early morning flights, before 8 a.m. Unfortunately for me, my flight home is at midday. So what can I do to make sure I don't miss my flight?
Buffer zone
ChatGPT tells me that Lisbon airport is not one you want to be cutting it fine to get out of. And after speaking to my colleagues, it sounds like quite the maze to navigate.
Leaving yourself enough time to get through security on the way out is going to reduce a lot of the stress. Flying to a Schengen country will require less time in security, but if flying to a non-Schengen area, like the U.S. or the U.K., you should arrive three hours before your flight. So it looks like that's 3 hours of my morning accounted for.
Also, ChatGPT recommended that I leave enough time to get through passport control, but don't go through too early because this could create congestion for flights leaving earlier than you.
Travel light if you can
As a serial overpacker, I'll be honest, this is a tough pill to swallow. But travelling light without checked baggage means that you can get straight into the security line to get the ball rolling rather than waiting to check bags.
This means I'll be attempting to cram all of my things into a cabin bag and a carry-on — good luck.
Checking in online is also going to save you time, so you don't have to wait to get your boarding pass from the check-in desk.
So it looks like I might be waiting around for a while to get out of the airport, but as long as I follow these steps, I should be all good... right?
