How Early to Arrive at Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Airport

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Airport is the main airport on the island of Gran Canaria and is used by domestic tourists visiting this popular island in the Canaries.

Unlike some other airports, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Airport has only one terminal for both international and domestic services which is split across three levels.

Despite this, I still recommend arriving at Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Airport at least 2 hours before a flight within the EU (Spain, Germany, Italy etc.) and a minimum of 3 hours before a flight outside of the EU (United Kingdom, Morocco, Senegal etc.).

However, personal circumstances might necessitate an even earlier arrival. Considerations include travelling with young children, transportation means to the airport, and the time of your flight.

What Time Should You Arrive at Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Airport?

We typically recommend arriving at Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Airport at least two hours before departure for flights within the EU and at least three hours before departure for flights outside of the EU. This should provide you with enough time to;

• Check-in for your flight
• Drop your luggage
• Navigate through security
• Reach your gate well in time for boarding

In our opinion, it’s always better to arrive at the airport a little early and have some extra time browsing the stores or grabbing a bite to eat rather than arriving late, feeling rushed and running the risk of missing your flight.

Why Do You Need to Arrive Earlier For Flights Outside The EU?

I recommend arriving at Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Airport one hour earlier if you’re travelling outside of the EU as additional visa, entry requirements, immigration control and customs may be required.

How Are You Travelling to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Airport?

One of the first things to consider when deciding how early to arrive at Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Airport is how you are getting to the airport.

It’s rare that traffic conditions around Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Airport are bad, however, you will need to take the motorway / highway to get from popular tourist regions to the airport.

It’s therefore worth allowing extra time for any delays or accidents, especially if you’re travelling by public transport.

For example, while the journey from Gran Canaria Airport to Puerto Rico is only estimated to take 35 minutes in a car or taxi, I’d still recommend setting off one hour early.

Meanwhile, the journey from Gran Canaria Airport to Las Palmas, the country’s capital, is only estimated to take 20 minutes by car or taxi, however again, I’d still recommend setting off 30 minutes early instead.

If you’re returning a rental car at the airport then I recommend arriving at the airport at least 30 minutes earlier as you may be required to wait in line and complete some paperwork before returning your vehicle.

In addition to this you’ll also then need to walk from the rental car drop-off location over to the terminal – all of which increases the amount of time you’ll need to get to the airport.

The Time of Year

The time of year in which you’re travelling can have a significant impact on how busy Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Airport is and subsequently how long you may have to wait to park your car, check-in, drop your bags and get through security.

School holidays, Christmas and New Year can lead to some of the busiest travel days of the year, especially on weekends. As such if you’re travelling during one of these peak times, then you may want to look at arriving at the airport at least one hour earlier.

Checking in For Your Flight

The majority of airlines now allow you to check in for your flight using either the mobile application or web application up to 24 hours before departure.

Checking in using this service should provide you with a digital boarding pass and therefore only require you to use the bag drop service (if applicable). However, if you’re unable to check in for your flight before arriving at the airport then you’ll want to make sure you arrive at the airport with enough time to do so.

The majority of airlines provide both self-service check-in kiosks and check-in counters at Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Airport which allow you to complete the check-in process quickly and easily.

However, keep in mind that airlines will close the check-in gates before the flight departs (exact times vary, however, it’s usually around 45 minutes – check with your airline).

If you have not checked in before the designated time then you will be denied boarding – even if you’re at the departure gate on time for the flight itself.

Dropping Checked Bags

Much like checking in for your flight, another factor you’ll want to consider when determining what time you should arrive at Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Airport is whether or not you’ll need to check your luggage.

The bag drop will close roughly one hour prior to the flight’s departure (exact times vary depending on the airline and destination so be sure to check your flight information) so you’ll want to make sure you arrive at Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Airport early enough to accommodate for this where applicable.

If you do not have any checked bags then once you have your boarding pass (either digital from checking in online or physical from checking in at the airport) you’ll be able to head straight through to security.