The 2019 version of this article listed twelve situations in which US airlines may not allow online check-in, such as groups, infants, wheelchairs and pregnancy. Those were general. For this update we read what each airline says today. Some airlines publish a clear list, some publish none. We say which is which.
American Airlines
American says you might not be able to check in with its app if:
- your first flight is not operated by American Airlines;
- you are travelling with a pet, a weapon or a firearm;
- you are an unaccompanied minor;
- it is outside the check-in window: 1 to 24 hours before departure within the US, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, or 2 to 24 hours before an international flight.
The app also needs a seat assignment. If the app refuses, try the website with your name and confirmation code, or check in at a kiosk or the ticket counter. A child travelling alone goes to the counter.
Delta
- Online check-in opens up to 24 hours before departure, on delta.com or in My Trips. In the Fly Delta app, logged-in customers are checked in automatically 24 hours before the flight.
- Other options are an airport kiosk (using a SkyMiles, confirmation or e-ticket number), a check-in desk with a Sky Priority lane for eligible Medallion members and premium cabin passengers, and curbside at most US airports at no fee.
- Delta's page names no group of passengers who cannot check in online. International travellers need extra documents, which can be provided through Delta FlyReady.
- Whichever way you check in, you must show government-issued photo ID and a boarding pass.
- Deadlines: for US domestic flights, bags 45 minutes and no bags 30 minutes before departure at most airports. Read our post on Delta check-in times.
Southwest
- Online check-in opens 24 hours before the flight's original departure time, on the app or Southwest.com. You can also check in at a kiosk where available, at a skycap podium in some places, or at the ticket counter.
- The deadline for domestic check-in is 30 minutes before the original departure time. For international flights it is 60 minutes, or 75 minutes for Aruba. If you try after these cut-offs, you are rebooked on the next available flight.
- Everyone must have a boarding pass and be in the gate area at least 10 minutes before departure, or the reservation may be cancelled.
- Partner itineraries: check in with the airline operating the first flight. If it is a partner airline, use that airline's website.
JetBlue
- Online check-in opens 24 hours before departure, and you can check in the other travellers on your reservation.
- If online check-in is unavailable, JetBlue says you must check in at the airport kiosk or ticket counter.
- Airport deadlines, domestic: checked bags 45 minutes before departure (60 from the US Virgin Islands). Without bags, check in at least 45 minutes before at airports such as Atlanta, Boston, Denver, Los Angeles, New York JFK and LaGuardia and Washington Reagan, and 30 minutes at the others.
- International: bags and check-in at least 60 minutes before departure (80 from Dublin), with a hard cut-off, or you are denied boarding. Some countries require proof of return or onward travel at the departure ticket counter.
- Bags are not accepted more than 6 hours before departure (4 hours at Fort Lauderdale and San Juan).
- Travellers aged 18 and over flying within the US need a REAL ID-compliant licence or another acceptable ID.
Airlines we could not confirm
For United, Alaska, Spirit and Frontier we found no readable list of passengers who cannot check in online, so we make no claims about them. Read each airline's help page, and check your own reservation in its app.
Questions and comments