Hello and welcome to today's independent travel podcast with me, Simon Calder. It's, would you believe, Friday the 20th of June? Yes, by the time I come back to you on Monday, the nights will have started drawing in. Lots of people thinking about holidays, not least the travel desk, some of whom don't seem to be on holiday the whole time as I am, one of whom is, yes, that familiar

voice, Ashley Wilson, because of a story she's been working on about airport theory, which

seems to be what time do you need to arrive at the airport? Is that all there is to it?

It does seem to be the case. It's the latest in a string of crazy travel trends I think I write about.

But this one actually I think might be the most risky. Yeah, it might be the one I agree with the least.

So the theory suggests that you can leave it 15 minutes before your scheduled boarding time to get through the airport.

So that's check in security, security, the works.

I think we're talking here, if I'm not mistaken, about North America, where flying is actually

very different. Yes, you've got to get through the horrible old queue, but actually people

turning up 10 minutes before their flight goes is not unknown. So the trend has really taken off on TikTok, largely American

passengers from the looks of things. I think it's a very different travel climate to here.

But it has started us on the travel desk thinking about, well, how early should you get to the airport?

And surely you work out what's the last possible train ideally you could get to the

airport and then you travel on the one before that so you've got a little bit of wriggle room so

if i were going for instance to gatwick and i had 10 o'clock in the morning flight then i probably

allowing an hour to get through i probably want to plan to get there about maybe quarter to nine,

but any more than that. And I'd felt it was spending too long at Gatwick or indeed any other airport.

It's been surprisingly controversial on the travel desk for different schools of thought on this.

It does surprise me a bit that you're so last minute. Simon, spoons. How are you not factoring in a time for

a pint in weather spoons before you go? I'm not factoring in a pint of weather soons because

frankly, it's 10 o'clock in the morning. I know that some people on the travel desk enjoy a dream,

but where are you flying to next? So my next trip, I'm going to Nice on Sunday. Okay, what time's

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