Like most, I have gotten into the habit of checking into my flight 24 hours in advance. This way I have my digital boarding pass, have time to fix any mistakes and can make sure I have TSA Precheck. I then walk into the airport and head straight to security with my boarding pass on my phone.
More recently I have had to remind myself that I need to arrive at the airport a little earlier for international flights due to COVID precautions. Every country has a different rule when it comes to entering, transiting or leaving in terms of vaccination, testing and/or form requirements. Often times, the country uses the airline to verify your forms before you board the flight.
This means that most of the time, the airline will require checking all forms before issuing a boarding pass. While forms are not required for US domestic itineraries (meaning I can check in online for my digital pass), when flying internationally it can take extra waiting time to go to the ticket counter where the agent will check to assure every form or test is present before issuing a boarding pass.
Therefore, if you are traveling internationally in the near future, do not plan on receiving a digital boarding pass; instead give extra time to head to the airport.
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