What Is Airport Theory? Here’s What Happens If You Arrive 15 Minutes Before Your Flight.

Another day, another TikTok trend. This time, creators are testing “airport theory.” It basically means playing chicken: getting to the airport only 15 to 20 minutes before boarding time and trying to make their flight. Many creators have (supposedly) had success, too.

If this works, I think many of us would be interested. It could mean less doomscrolling at the airport gate or more time at the beach, for instance.

At the same time, let’s be realistic: With security lines, checking baggage and lots of other travelers running around, how much can we trust the airport theory?

HuffPost turned to travel experts and an airport employee for their thoughts on whether this is a realistic strategy.

When it comes to internet trends, it’s important to decipher what’s real and what’s not. Are these creators really making their flights in that little amount of time?

“Just because they show their watch doesn’t mean they didn’t change the time,” said Eli Harris, a travel adviser and the owner of After Hours Travel, a personalized cruise planning resource. “It could be an attempt at schadenfreude,” where they’re trying to set you up for failure — and getting a kick out of it.

It’s not impossible, however.

“There is no doubt in my mind people have done this successfully,” said Katy Nastro, a travel expert at Going, a flight alert service app. “I myself have cut arriving to the airport with only 30 minutes before takeoff to make it on time before the door closes magically, but I also had TSA PreCheck and [an] empty airport to run through, and a flight that was in fact delayed by 10 minutes.”

So really, it might just depend on your luck (as well as the size of your airport, whether you’re checking your luggage, and a few other factors).

Travel experts and staff across the board agree: As interesting as this theory may sound — and as possible as it may be — they wouldn’t recommend it.

“[Even with] all situations lining up perfectly to allow for a late arrival, I would not suggest this to anyone, especially if they have onward travel and/or are flying internationally,” Nastro said.

“The airport theory makes for entertaining content on TikTok, but in practice, it’s more of a gamble than a strategy,” agreed Jesse Neugarten, a “travel hacker” and the founder…